If you’ve been having difficulty teaching your pet a new trick, you
may just need to employ a couple basic strategies to get yourself on
the right track. The number one strategy in making dog training
effective is a technique called “progressive ordering.” Basically this
means you want to break a trick down into the simplest, most basic
components and teach your dog these components one-at-a-time. Once he or
she masters one element, reward them with praise and continue on to
the next part of the trick. Each new component builds on the previous
one and the trick will come naturally to your pet. It’s a good idea to
limit the amount of time you spend training, though. Five to ten
minutes per session with no more than 2 or 3 sessions a day is more
than adequate. Show your pet attention and praise throughout and be
sure that training is in no way an unpleasant experience for them.
Let’s illustrate this technique using a very basic example: Playing fetch. First, we want to chunk this down into the basic parts. You throw the stick, your dog chases the stick, picks it up, and returns it to you. You will want to be sure to reward your pet every time he completes one of his actions. So when you throw the stick, give praise to the dog when he runs over to it. Repeat this several times so that the dog begins to associate this behavior with the reward. Eventually you will want to cut down on the reward for this part until your dog learns his next part of the trick- Picking up the stick. Repeat the reward cycle for this as with the first part until you feel your pet has a good understanding and then move on to having them return the stick to you. This provides your dog a natural and safe way to learn new behaviors.
Another great strategy is to use a clicker. These can be purchased online or at pet stores very inexpensively and are highly effective at reinforcing positive behavior. The clicking sound that these training aids make works so well because it is a sound that your dog doesn’t normally hear. While “good boy” or “good girl” can let your pet know they’ve done something well, the simple fact is that our words don’t sound all that distinctive to a dog’s ears. We are talking all day long and most of the words we speak have no significance to our canine counterparts. The click, however, is a unique sound that your pet will only hear after he does something praiseworthy, and he will quickly associate the sound with a reward.
There are just 3 steps to training your pet using a clicker:
1. When your pet performs a trick (or part of a trick if they are still learning), click right away after it happens.
2. Give your dog a treat ASAP after the click. A small piece of people food or his favorite treat will work.
3. Show some affection and praise! Show your pet that you are pleased after rewarding him with the treat.
That’s it! Put these two strategies to work and you might be surprised at how quickly your four-legged friend adapts and learns some fun new tricks.
Let’s illustrate this technique using a very basic example: Playing fetch. First, we want to chunk this down into the basic parts. You throw the stick, your dog chases the stick, picks it up, and returns it to you. You will want to be sure to reward your pet every time he completes one of his actions. So when you throw the stick, give praise to the dog when he runs over to it. Repeat this several times so that the dog begins to associate this behavior with the reward. Eventually you will want to cut down on the reward for this part until your dog learns his next part of the trick- Picking up the stick. Repeat the reward cycle for this as with the first part until you feel your pet has a good understanding and then move on to having them return the stick to you. This provides your dog a natural and safe way to learn new behaviors.
Another great strategy is to use a clicker. These can be purchased online or at pet stores very inexpensively and are highly effective at reinforcing positive behavior. The clicking sound that these training aids make works so well because it is a sound that your dog doesn’t normally hear. While “good boy” or “good girl” can let your pet know they’ve done something well, the simple fact is that our words don’t sound all that distinctive to a dog’s ears. We are talking all day long and most of the words we speak have no significance to our canine counterparts. The click, however, is a unique sound that your pet will only hear after he does something praiseworthy, and he will quickly associate the sound with a reward.
There are just 3 steps to training your pet using a clicker:
1. When your pet performs a trick (or part of a trick if they are still learning), click right away after it happens.
2. Give your dog a treat ASAP after the click. A small piece of people food or his favorite treat will work.
3. Show some affection and praise! Show your pet that you are pleased after rewarding him with the treat.
That’s it! Put these two strategies to work and you might be surprised at how quickly your four-legged friend adapts and learns some fun new tricks.
No comments:
Post a Comment