There’s absolutely nothing exciting about good dog training. You’re probably never going to see a TV show that features a positive reinforcement trainer. There’s no yelling, no drama, no lunging, growling, or biting. There’s patience, treats, and wonderful moments. Good dog training is bad for ratings – absolutely no suspense.
Good dog training = bad television
Those wonderful moments happen all the time when you’re a positive reinforcement trainer.
One of our students has been having a hard time battling her habit of yanking on her dog’s collar. Especially when her 18-month old, active Miniature Poodle does something she considers naughty. Then, after class, when she was talking to us, her dog started jumping on Hope. And she dropped his leash! It was a wonderful breakthrough for her. She knows herself well enough to know, with leash in hand, she’d pull on her dog. Instead, she dropped it and trusted the training. And it worked! With no response to his jumping, the dog stopped, sat, and was quickly praised and rewarded. It was a two-fer! Both the student and the dog got it right.
But that light-bulb moment, huge though it may have been for the people and dog involved, made for dull watching. Only the people involved knew how huge it was, because it looked like a woman choosing not to control her jumping dog. Just two women standing there, and a jumping dog. No yelling, no motion, nothing dramatic. That’s the way it should be.
Not easy, but worth it
Of course our students have an advantage. We’re there. And while we never administer a correction on a dog, we’re famous for “yelling” at our students. We notice when their past experience and habit has them popping a dog’s collar. We see when they fail to maintain connection with their dogs. And we yell when they miss an opportunity to praise and reward their dogs.
Remember that dogs learn through the timing and placement of rewards. (“Careful where you put it!“) Behavior that gets attention is more likely to be repeated. So the one phrase our students hear over and over again is: “Doing it right has to look different than getting it wrong.” Give your dog the information he/she needs. Yes, that was good! That’s what I want! Good dog! Here’s a cookie!
Only happy sounds
Oftentimes there’s a lot of chatter with our own dog training games. But it’s never, ever yelling at the dog. While commands are given only once (Sit, Stand, Down, Front), it’s not the only thing the dogs hear. But all of the conversation is upbeat and encouraging; Go get it! Such a smart puppy! Whatcha Gonna Do? Who’s a good boy? Are you the cleverest fellow?
The worst dogs should hear is either a non-reward marker like “Oops!” or a simple phrase like “that’s not it, try again.” As long as your 2-Minute-Dog Training Games are focused and fun, you don’t have to worry about your dog disengaging. They will persist, because they’re having fun, too.
Value of video
While good dog training may not make for suspenseful TV, taking video of your own sessions is great. First off, when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see how incredibly cute your dog is during the session. So it’s great to have it for posterity.
Secondly, you can see how you did as a trainer. Did you miss a chance to praise your dog? Did you give attention to something you shouldn’t have? Was your energy happy and fun? And did you make doing the right thing look different for your dog every single time? Celebrate every little breakthrough, even if it would make bad TV.