Oh Behave!

In the midst of grocery shopping the other day I stole a few minutes to browse the magazine aisle. One headline jumped out at me. “HOW TO TRAIN THE PERFECT DOG,” it read, against a slick color close-up of a certain celebrity dog trainer.

“Ahh, the Perfect Dog,” I sighed as I moved on in search of apples. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of this creature. Loads of people are convinced he or she exists. You know, the dog who never barks, digs up gardens, or chews stuff. PerfectDog never jumps on people or pulls on leash or begs, and wouldn’t dream of raiding kitchen counters or garbage bins. PD loves other dogs, plays Perfectly with all dogs, and adores everyone all the time, vets and groomers included. PD never gets scared or growls or whines. PD stays, sits, lies down, leaves things alone and comes when you call, anywhere anytime, even if gophers are salsa dancing in front of his nose — and he does all this the first time you ask.

Early attempts at counter surfing

I hear folks lamenting a lot about their dogs’ imperfections. “Viv’s almost perfect. If only she’d quit barking when the doorbell rings and stop begging at the table,” they say with grim looks on their faces. Some rate their dogs’ level of perfection. “ Fred’s 80% perfect. If only he’d stop growling at men in hats.”
Almost? 80% perfect? Fred and Viv sound like top students to me. So why the sad looks on the guardians’ faces?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for well-behaved polite dogs. I know what it’s like to live with and train a dog with behavioral issues. My dog’s got a few. But what’s up with holding dogs to a canine standard of perfection? I’ve been on the planet for a while, I’ve lived in three different countries and traveled quite a bit. Yet, I don’t know a single human who can claim the title of Perfect. Why do we expect dogs to be perfect when we aren’t?

I’ll continue to ponder that question. I do know that many humans tend to focus on what’s wrong with stuff, rather than what’s going well. We home in on how badly Fred pulls on leash, or how obnoxious it is when he won’t stop chasing the damn pigeons. We barely notice the times that Fred does walk nicely on a loose leash, or the times we called him to come away from dog play and flying Frisbees, and he did.

If you were to take a “bowl-half-full” approach, you’d probably be surprised at how brilliantly Fred behaves and how often. Try an experiment. Pick an evening when you and Fred will be at home. Make a note of every time he behaves politely or in a way that you like over a pre-determined time period. I’d bet he behaves well significantly more often than you’d thought.

If you aren’t in the habit of noticing Fred’s polite manners, you may not think to reward him for his wonderful behavior. Rewarding good behavior is fun for your dog, and there are sound reasons to do it. Behavior that’s rewarded increases in frequency and intensity. This isn’t a matter of opinion. It’s a tried and true principle of behavioral science. Rewarding Fred for good behavior makes it more likely that he’ll do the behavior again. Timely rewards give him important feedback about which behaviors you like.

By the same token, not rewarding Fred’s good behavior will cause that behavior to disappear or extinguish. If you like the way Fred’s behaving, let him know. Reward that dog! He’s earned it.

When you start observing all of Fred’s lovely behavior something else may happen. You may be pleased with him, or tickled, heck – you might even feel proud of him. Instead of harboring constant low-grade frustration about Fred’s behavioral flaws, you might start thinking, “Fred sure is a great dog. I love the way he sits when he’s trying to get my attention. I love that guy.”

The bowl-half-full approach doesn’t mean we should ignore problem behaviors. If those arise they should be addressed as soon as possible through positive training. But noticing and rewarding Fred’s good doggy manners will make your relationship that much more positive and harmonious, and go a long way to ensuring that Fred behaves politely again and again.

As for that elusive PerfectDog, more on him in Part II of this post, “Dogs Will Be Dogs.”

Have you ever wondered just how far you could take your dog with positive reinforcement training? Can a clicker and some treats really teach your dog anything more interesting than sits, stays and downs?

The answer is a resounding yes. A clicker and some treats can take your dog further than you may have realized. In addition to the typical line-up of class offerings – puppy kindergarten, puppy intermediate, adolescent manners, basic manners – there’s a tantalizing selection of positive training classes, some all about having fun and some more serious.

Duke Shows Off A Trick

My Kelpie mix Vinnie and I’ve taken civilized canine classes, rally obedience, agility and our favorite, canine freestyle (or doggy dancing). All were taught using positive reinforcement methods and all the dogs learned new stuff. Like humans, some dogs learned more than others. That could have been due to any number of factors – clarity of instruction, the dogs’ learning styles, or the human guardian’s training skills, to name a few. The point is, all the doggies learned handy or fun behaviors in those classes.

One of my favorite videos of all time is of Carolyn Scott and her Golden Retriever Rookie doing canine freestyle to the song, “You’re the One that I Want,” from the movie/musical Grease. How do I know Rookie learned to dance through positive training? It’s written all over him. Throughout the 4-minute choreographed routine, that dog is bouncing and prancing with relaxed fluid movements and a huge doggy smile on his face. He’s totally engaged in what he’s doing. I can’t see inside his brain, but he sure looks like a dog who’s over the moon to be doing his routine.

All smiles in training class

That’s one beautiful side-effect of positive training. Because it rewards dogs for behaviors we want, it is by definition rewarding to dogs trained in this way. The dogs learn quickly that training means groovy stuff like food, playtime or lovies are on their way. Training is a happy event and naturally, these pooches are eager and excited to train! Of the many dogs I’ve trained, every one has really really liked or loved training.

If it’s been a while since your dog took a training class, consider enrolling in one soon. Aside from the types of classes mentioned here, there are positive classes for tricks, scent discrimination, flyball, fun and games, and real world adventures. A class is an excellent way to maintain/polish existing manners; great practice in getting him to focus on you around distractions (like other dogs and humans dispensing food); a nice infusion of mental stimulation into his doggy brain; and a chance for you to bone up on your training skills. A positive training class is also a perfect chance for you and your dog to have fun, improve your lines of communication, and bond even more deeply.

Check out champion freestylers Carolyn and Rookie’s Grease routine here!