My dog can't be trained that way.
As a dog guardian, you’ve probably done some degree of training with your dog. Perhaps it’s the run of the mill “sit/stay” training, maybe you’ve done some fun tricks, or your training experience might be addressing more complex behavioral concerns.
As with any dog guardian, you’ve probably had training wins…as well as some failures. We may not always know what we’re doing, or a tutorial that looks simple and flashy on Instagram might be far more complex and confusing in real life.
My dog can’t be trained using positive reinforcement.
Let’s say you’ve decided to give positive reinforcement training a try.
You load your pocket with cookies, you decide what behavior you’re going to reward, and you get to work.
But…. it doesn’t work. Your dog doesn’t learn what you’re trying to teach, and the whole training plan falls apart.
You might find another self-proclaimed expert online that tells you that the problem is that your dog can’t learn via this training method. They might reason that because of their breed, age, size, eye color, which direction they turn circles in before they settle down to sleep at night, positive reinforcement won’t “work” for your dog.
They might tell you that your dog needs more structure than someone else’s, or requires a “heavier hand” in order to be trained.
You’re frustrated by your lack of success, so you may be inclined to agree with them - after all, you tried what I suggested, and it didn’t work!
Here’s the thing about behavior modification; it’s a science, not an art. It’s not influenced your dog’s breeding, or who their Mom was.
Learning theory is pretty simple. Behavior that is followed with a good consequence, or a reward, will occur more frequently in the future. Behavior that is followed with a negative consequence, or punishment, will decrease in frequency (and may stop completely.) This is true whether you are training a Chihuahua, or a Cane Corso.
Positive reinforcement may not have worked for you and your dog this time, but it’s not because the approach itself is flawed.
Factors that can influence your training success.
Genetics
It’s important to recognize the breed characteristics of the dog in front of you.
My cattle dog is going to be more readily distracted by things that move - he might also be more inclined to engage with his mouth. He is, after all, bred to “heel” cattle using his teeth and body pressure.
A hound dog will be more distracted and motivated by scents in the environment, and you may have a lot of trouble finding a reward more valuable than the environment itself. Reading up on the characteristics you can expect from the breed of dog you live with can give you a better idea as to this dog’s natural drives, motivators, and the outlets they’re more likely to engage in.
If you don’t know your dog’s breeding or parentage, don’t sweat it. Take some time to observe your dog - what activities/games do they like to choose to engage in? What types of stimulants draw their focus when you’re out on your adventures?Motivations
Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Motivators are going to vary from breed to breed, and even from dog to dog. What drives my dog’s behavior might have no impact on your dog’s.
When considering the rewards we are utilizing in our training, we need to consider what the dog finds rewarding. What my dog considers a high value reward, may be worthless to yours. With force free training, we’re utilizing rewards to encourage the behavior we want, so it’s important to determine what your dog finds rewarding - and just exactly how valuable that reward is to them.
We don’t get to determine what our dog find’s rewarding - just like you don’t get to tell me that I like chocolate ice cream vs. vanilla ice cream; I decide that. Just like our dog decides if they like milk bones vs. freeze dried liver, or playing fetch vs. petting.
At the same time, a dog can find multiple things rewarding, but those rewards may not be assigned the same value. My dog will do just about anything for a piece of hotdog, but offer him a piece of kibble? He’ll still eat it, but is not nearly as enthused about it. Hotdogs are worth $10 to him, kibble is worth $1.
We don’t only need to know what our dog finds reinforcing, and where that reward ranks for them, but we need to ensure what we are offering them is worth the effort we are asking from them.
If you called me into work on Christmas Day to work overtime, I would only take that shift if you made it worth my while - that’s why we get so excited about STAT pay! We’re being reward for working the extra time, and putting in the extra effort. Now, if you called me into work an OT shift on Christmas Day, but told me you were only going to pay me minimum wage, do you think I’d come?
If I ask my dog to perform a 5-minute down-stay in the middle of a congested park, I need to make sure I am compensating him appropriately for his effort. If there’s nothing in it for the dog, why should they bother doing what we want them to do? Dogs are simple creatures, in the sense that, they’re going to do what works for them. If what I’m asking isn’t benefitting the dog in anyway, or worse, is pulling them away from something that is valuable to them (sniffing, playing, rolling in questionable dirt…), the dog is going to be far less likely to oblige us.Distractions
When training with your dog, we need to be aware of the distractions in the environment. If the environment has minimal distractions, your dog is less likely to loss focus and engage with the environment. On the flip side, if the environment is full of distractions, your dog is likely going to find the training incredibly difficult, as their attention is being pulled in various directions simultaneously.
We don’t want to eliminate distractions from the environment completely, but we do need to ensure we are training in an environment that will promote our dog’s success.
When teaching a new or complex behavior, your dog will be more successful if you train with minimal distractions around. As your dog becomes fluent with a new skill, you can start to add in more distractions without overloading them.
Imagine taking your 8-year-old child to Disney land for the first time. This environment is full of noises, smells, sounds, and temptations. Now, imagine you sit down to teach your child long division for the first time in the middle of the park. Chances are this is going to go horribly!
If you tried to teach the same math, in home at your kitchen table with no obvious background noises, your child’s success rate will be much higher.
The same is true when training our dogs. I always advise teaching new skills at home first, with ambient distractions only, and gradually increase the difficulty of the environment as your dog shows you they are ready.
Jump too far too fast, and your dog will likely struggle - not because they can’t be taught, but because you’re asking too much from them.Training mechanics
Lack of progress in training cannot be solely pinned on the dog, or the technique being utilized. If you are not executing the training technique correctly, or performing the steps in the wrong order, the training is not going to work as it is intended. The order of the events in which you perform training tasks is important. The technique you choose for the given training skill is important. Your timing and communication with your dog is critical.
All of these things can be simple to implement, if you know what to do, but left to your own devices you might be making mistakes that you’re not aware of.
Taking a class or watching a video tutorial before you attempt a new technique with your dog can be the difference between a frustrating failure, or an epic success!
Utilizing all of this information above might be the difference between solid success and frustrating failure; but that failure won’t be because the learning theory doesn’t work for your dog. It’s important to take the time to learn about the technique you are planning to utilize, including how to properly implement it, and how it’s supposed to work. The more you understand, the more likely you are to utilize the training properly, and achieve better results.
I would highly recommend all dog guardians take the time to learn more about how dog’s learn, so they can better understand learning theory, and understand how and why training techniques work to change behavior.
That’s the reason why I created my webinar on “How dog’s learn,” to go learning theory, the four quadrants of it, and better educate you to choose what training approach you want to take with your dog. This hour long webinar is packed full of useful information, and can be yours for only $15.00. You can check it out here.
Stay awesome,
Vanessa
Vanessa Charbonneau, is the author of Dog Care for Puppies: A guide to Feeding, Playing, Grooming and Behavior. She owns Sit Pretty Pet Services, employing force-free training techniques to work with companion dogs and their owners. Charbonneau lives in Prince George, BC with her husband, two daughters, and one dog.