Houston Dog Training Archives | Page 10 of 16 | Michael's Dogs Behavior Group

Speed Up Your Training

We want stuff fast: food, coffee (definitely coffee), replies to our emails – the faster the better, right? We want to feel better quickly, advance in our careers quickly, stop being sad and get happy – quickly. We’re in a hurry, zipping, weaving, taking short cuts and cutting people off (not you, I know). But here’s the thing about fast. It’s often sloppy. And a lot of the time it actually slows us down when we hurry up.

Here’s my advice, especially when it comes to working with your dog: Slow down. It will help you speed up your training. That’s a great paradox, isn’t it? It’s sort of like jumbo shrimp but, it’s true. If we dial back the rush and get out of our own way (and our dog’s way) we can actually step up the rate of our success.

We’re all guilty of this (me too). We want to teach a task, let’s say coming when called, and it feels like we’re on some sort of time crunch. So, we do two or three reps with our dog in the house and we get bored. Let’s go to the dog park and practice there. We call and call and call and she doesn’t come. Then we get frustrated. This isn’t working. We blame the dog. But, it’s not her fault. We’re rushing.

Here’s how you really speed things up. Break down all your training goals into small steps. For coming when called we may begin by reinforcing our dog for looking when we call her name – just a look (click/treat). Then we build to her coming short distances inside – then longer distances – then out in the back yard – and so on.

We do this when we teach our dog to lie on a mat. We reinforce her for looking at it, then stepping towards it, then stepping on it, then sitting, then lying. Those are all small steps with clicks and treats along the way. We could actually break down the steps even smaller to progress even quicker. That’s how you can train your dog to lie on mat in a matter of days – sometimes faster.

Breaking the task down may seem cumbersome and even boring. But, don’t be fooled. The key is to keep the process moving forward. As our dog masters each small task, we advance to the next one. Let’s not go too slowly and get stuck reinforcing one step for too long. But, let’s not move too fast and leave our dog in the dust either. Better to stay mindful and keep our dog (and ourselves) engaged and progressing. We can move very quickly that way.

Okay, but what if training falls a part and our dog just isn’t getting it? Tap the breaks. Go back to an earlier easy step at which your dog was successful. Jump start the process. Show her how to win again. Motor forward. Before long you’re building some speed once more.

Breaking things down as a key to winning is not a new concept. Trainer educator Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh (no relation) talks about it a great deal in her book, Fired Up Frantic and Freaked Out. Clicker training is all about teaching skills quickly (sometimes very quickly) in incremental steps. It works well for us humans too. Psychologist Angela Duckworth researches grit, that human quality that keeps us passionate and persistent in our life goals. She’s found that the grittiest of very successful people split their big goals in to many smaller ones. They thin-slice tasks and push speedily towards their own personal finish lines. I highly recommend Duckworth’s book, Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance.

Now a quick note about urgent dog behavior matters, the ones in which people and other dogs might be in danger. Dog who bite need to stop biting, right now. The same is true of dogs who might be a danger to themselves. We can take action to prevent dangerous behavior that can stem the problem right away. Baby gates, closed doors, leashes, and such all play a role. That kind of management of our dog’s environment is, in fact, essential. It’s an quick fix but, still, it’s not sufficient.

Training and behavior change plans complete the story. Can we teach our dogs to behave differently (better)? Yes, of course. Can we do it quickly? Yes, if we’re willing to slow down. When create a plan that breaks our big objective down into smaller ones, we speed up the process – one task at a time – one win at a time. All the while we are narrowing the distance to our goal, faster than we might have ever imagined.

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA teaches dog training in Houston, TX. He specializes in behavior problems related to fear and aggression.

Breathing for Dog Trainers

We are under pressure. Our dog’s behavior is dangerous. We need to change it. We’re in a hurry. We have no time. The only comfort we have, if there is any to be found, is that we are not alone. So many of us taking on complicated dog behavior problems get tripped up. We flail and sometimes feel like we are drowning in despair.

I’ve written elsewhere about the process of dog training and how we solve common dog behavior problems. We’ve also talked about the illusion of control in dog training and our human tug towards punishment in training. What I haven’t addressed head on, until now, is the basic human life skill at the root of excellent teaching and learning – at the root of life, in fact. Breathing.

You might have guessed by now that I’m not talking about that shallow in-and-out that keeps us upright. It’s not the gasping and sighing we do while we prattle off commands to our dogs either. No, I’m talking about mindful breathing. It’s the take-a-breather, focus on your body, draw it in, let it out slowly, stay in the moment kind of breathing. Breathe. Notice your lungs pulling in the air. Relax your belly, then fill your chest. Pay attention while you let it out.

In.

Out.

This is the breathing you’ve done in yoga class, or at least tried. It’s the foundation of meditation. It’s part of prayer and contemplation in every religion (the root of the word “spirit” is breath). Breathing, real attentive breathing is at the heart of who we are as humans. It certainly plays a role in our relationship and our ability to communicate with our dogs. Here’s how.

Breathe to prepare your mind for teaching your dog. Take five minutes. Sit quietly and focus on the in and out of your breath. This is a simple and short meditation. That word scares some people, I know. Breathe. You know how to do it. In. Out. The idea is to focus on one thing for a short period of time. Your breathing. You’re breathing.

I sometimes cheat. My focus becomes watching my dog as I breathe. There is no talking, simply observing and breathing. I’ve caught Stella looking back at me and we’ve held that observant vigil for minutes on end – long enough for me to get lost in it, awakened only by the tear tracking down my cheek. (I’m a sap, it’s true). Watch. Breathe.

Breathe while you teach. So much of what you and I are doing with our dogs is about modeling calm behavior. Mindful breathing helps us do that. Focus on the process of training, yes. Observe your skills and how they affect your dog’s behavior in the learning session, definitely. But, don’t forget to breathe. That remembrance will keep you connected to your body and your mind space. Are you tense? Are you losing patience? Are you okay? Take care of yourself. The teaching and learning will come more easily if you breathe.

I sometimes take a mini-breather while training. It’s easy to do when switching between exercises. I especially like to do that if I’m going to transition from clicker training to a play break. Remembering what I’m doing and breathing through it helps me smile in learning sessions. That keeps me connected to my dog and the work we’re doing together. It fuels the fun and the joyful praise in the moment.

Breathe in the space in between. So often we are caught in the illusion that learning and teaching are only things that happen in “sessions.” Take just a second, or a minute, or two. Then take a breath. Look at your dog. Is she looking back? Raise your eyebrows and say “hello.” It’s such a powerful moment. If she comes to you, pet her. Let everything else that is happening fall away (It will be there when you get back). Breathe through this experience with your dog.

Not just sometimes, but every day I sit on the floor with my dogs and let them come to me. I don’t talk. I breathe with them, and touch, and nuzzle. I do this even after very long days with everyone else’s dogs. It connects me to Stella and Stewie. It also reminds me of how I’m connected to my clients – all dealing with the stressors and the drama life – none of us really alone – keeping our heads above water. All of us, when we can, remembering to breathe.

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Houston TX. He specializes in dogs who behave aggressively and fearfully.

Human Centered Dog Training

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Yes, good dog training is mostly about teaching the human. And, there’s absolutely no shame in that.

All the stuff our dogs do, their behavior, is largely influenced by their external environment. Some would say behavior is driven exclusively by the dog’s external environment. Sure, our dogs have internal experiences, like pain, hunger, illness, etc. and those play a role in behavior.

Still, our dog’s external experience is key. Dogs walk, run, lie down, chew, poop, pee, bark, and jump – all in their in the physical world, our homes and neighborhoods. How the environment responds to those behaviors determines if the dog keeps doing that stuff, and if so where, when, and how. Here’s one example. My dog lies down and stretches out. He’s learned over time that areas in which the sun is shining provide him warmth. He seeks those areas out more often. The environment (angle of the sun) has influenced when and where he lies down. The world is always teaching our dogs which behavior is reinforcing and which is punishing. Right?

What does all this have to do with us humans? Everything. No doubt we are the most important players in our dogs’ environment. Every day we determine when they eat, where they sleep, when they are let inside or outside, what opportunities they have for social interaction (with humans and nonhumans), and how they live their physical, mental and emotional lives in general. Nothing influences our dog’s behavior more than we humans do. Nothing.

Of course our dogs think (and feel). They may not muse and contemplate. Those processes involve verbal language. But our dogs are expert observers, constantly assessing the world around them for potential danger or sources of pleasure. Our job is to line up the feedback we give our dogs (when they eat and when they have access to other pleasurable activities) with what they are doing. That’s called reinforcement. Our dogs remember, and memories of reinforcement (and punishment) guide their behavior. We call that learning. Harnessing this process is the most natural way to train dogs. It’s the natural way all animals learn.

We humans are the most important player in our dog’s world. But, there’s a down side to this. Whether we intend it or not our dogs are always learning from us. The only question is are they learning what we want them to or are our actions teaching them the wrong lesson? Here’s my short list of stuff we should avoid doing around our dogs (this is not an exhaustive list).

Yelling, Hitting, Choking, Shocking: teaches the dog that we are dangerous – may lead to them avoiding us or aggressing against us.
Lying to our dog with our actions (being inconsistent): teaches the dog that we are an unreliable actor in their environment – will lead to unreliable/ inconsistent behavior from the dog.
Misusing food / bribing / giving food at the wrong time: teaches the dog that they get food for doing wrong things (like begging at the table) – can lead to the dog only responding to us when we have food.

Noticing the mistakes we’ve made with our dogs is actually a good thing. Don’t ever let anyone shame you about the choices you’ve made. Just use the information to make better choices from here on out. Our dogs can learn. But, so can we. We learn which of our actions work and don’t work just like our dogs (learning by doing). We also learn by watching others model behavior (imitation), by listening, and by reading. So we’re actually in really good shape. We can learn to:

Be better observers of our dogs – notice when our dog gets stuff right and how to reinforce behavior we want him to do more.
Set our dogs up to succeed – creating opportunities to do the things we want them to do more and then providing reinforcement that strengthen those good choices.
Put those great behaviors “on cue” – teaching our dogs to do what we want when we ask it.
Be consistent – making training a lifestyle of good behavior and reinforcing experiences throughout the day and not just when we have a treat bag on.

Successful dog training hinges on our human behavior. That’s big, maybe even a little scary. But it’s empowering too. I call it human-centered dog training – teaching humans how to teach their dogs. It’s a two species process – always. That’s a lot of brainpower and lots of heart working toward changing behavior, even reversing the most troubling behavior problems. We are learning together with our dogs, learning cooperation – humans and dogs not in conflict but on the same team – making choices with each other – finding better ways to live with each other – looking together for that warm spot in the sun.

Dog Trainer Michael Baugh specializes in behavior related to fear and aggressive dog behavior in Houston, TX.