Archive for Dog Training
Click And Treat Training For Dogs
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The 1st major improvement in canine obedience training since choker chains and peaked collars, click and treat has quickly creating itself in becoming a top hit in the world of dog obedience training. Now, there are more than ten thousand trainers who are using this training technique every day. One advantage to using this form of coaching at home is it’s straightforward to learn for the dog and his trainer! Originally used to coach sea mammals, click and treat breaks down the method into two separate steps, info and inducement. The click is the info, the treat is the incentive.
While other trainers still work on these 2 steps, they try to show them all at the same time, which can confuse the animal and slow down results. Most trainers will verbally praise a dog for good behaviour, while at the same time motivating the dog to copy his actions. This may be a good technique, however it takes longer for the dog to appreciate which behaviors and actions caused the praise from the tutor. With the click and treat methodology, the techniques are simply taught.
In ordinary coaching, an individual would say good boy when a welcomed action happens and continue with giving a treat. The clicker becomes a substitute for oral praise and can basically catch the good boy behaviour faster than claiming it, letting the dog know precisely which behavior he’s being rewarded for. An alternative way to have a look at click and treat coaching is viewing it as a secondary beefing up, while food, water, physical sentiment and play ( things the dog wants ) become primary reinforcement.
When you take a dog for a stroll, the leash works as a secondary re-strengthening. It is apparent to the dog the leash isn’t taking him for a stroll, the owner is it triggers a reaction in the dog, enlightening him the leash will make sure he knows where he can go and where he won’t. And if he reacts to the leash with good behavior, his reward will be a pleasant easy going walk. Click and treat works the same way. When a dog hears the clicker, he’s going to know that he performed a good behaviour and so long as he keeps hearing a click, there’s a treat coming his way. So, the clicker works as a secondary re-strengthening, teaching him bounds and suitable behaviour. A pair blessings of the click and treat technique include, one ) Quicker reply than verbal praise. The clicker can identify the precise behaviour at the time it occurs.
Two ) It takes the place of treats. While motivating the dog to hear clicks, it’ll also teach him to work without the expectancies of having treats given to him every time he does something good. Three ) If the coach is working at a distance from the dog, the clicker will still work, without needing to be right next him. Are you prepared to try clicker training? The very first thing you’ll have to do is go to your favourite pet supply store and invest in a clicker. The clicker is nothing fancy and should just cost under 5 greenbacks. While you are there grab some pocket treats, little bits of dried liver work fine.
A good method to use when getting started with click and treat is to stand in front of the animal. Push the clicker and give a treat. Continue doing this for 20-30 mins, or till the dog becomes frightened by the sound of the click. This can familiarize him to the clicking sound, while teaching him that each time he hears it, he’s done something good. After he gets the trick down pat, start by adding commands, for example sit and stay.
Click and treat has proved to be an easy, yet consistent coaching strategy with fast results. So for the trainers out there who are on the lookout for a new and inventive way to incentivize and praise their animals, get out there, purchase a clicker and..click!
Dog Training Using the Reward Training Method
Posted by: | CommentsWhile reward training is commonly viewed as the most current style of dog training, it is actually a lot older than most other methods of dog training. It is likely that the reward training method has been in use since dogs were domesticated thousands of years ago. Early humans likely used some unofficial type of reward training when refining the wolf pups that ultimately became domesticated dogs.
A lot of the ideas about current methods of reward training go back several decades. But what we know as reward training today has only enjoyed its recognition for the past 10 or so years.
Most reward training proponents are not so eager about other methods of dog training, like the leash and collar style. It is likely, though, that the best approach to training your dog will be a mixture of leash and collar training with reward training.
Additionally, a certain training style might work great for one particular dog, but not for another. Some dogs who are not motivated by reward training but do well with the leash/collar method, and other dogs respond well to reward training while leash/collar training does not work at all. Fortunately, the majority of dogs fall somewhere in between.
One of the more popular methods of reward training currently is clicker training. While clicker training does not work for every dog, it can still be a highly useful method of training dogs. The way clicker training works is by teaching to associate a clicking sound with a positive reinforcement, such as a treat. When the dog does something well, the trainer reacts by clicking the clicker, then immediately offering the dog a treat. In time, the dog learns to react to the clicker only.
In reward training the most common type of treat is a food reward. Almost always, complex tricks or behaviors can only be taught using this type of reinforcement. In fact, trainers who train dogs for movies and television use food-based reward training almost totally.
Reward training is used for all types of dog training, including for police and military work. The majority of training in scent detection and tracking utilize a kind of reward training. You can also use reward training in teaching the basic dog training commands.
In reward training a lure is frequently employed to entice the dog into a desired position or stance. The lure helps to convince the dog to perform the sought after behavior of his own volition.
Getting the dog to carry out a behavior without being handled is important. The point of the training, in fact, is to get the dog to execute a behavior without any handling by the trainer.
Once the dog has carried out the commanded behavior, he is rewarded with a positive reinforcement, such as a food treat. Treats are often used in order to reinforce good behaviors, but other positive reinforcements, such as verbal praise, can also be used for reinforcement.
It is important that a reward-trained dog also be a reliable dog. If a dog is trained to do a job, such as police work or drug detection, outside distractions are to be expected. Therefore it is important to train the dog to work and be focused around diversions, as well as to socialize him with other animals and people.
Sometimes dog trainers only train the dog inside the house or back yard, only when the owner is there, free of distractions. It is important to take the dog outside of his comfort zone and introduced to new people and situations.
It is also important that the dog be trained to pay attention to the handler always. When the owner has the complete attention of the dog, he has complete control of the dog. When executed correctly, reward training is a very effective training method that helps to earn the respect and the attention of the dog.
Can an old dog be taught new tricks?
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever seen a well trained dog and thought, “I wish my dog could do tricks like that”?
It is probably the dream of most dog owners to be able to teach their pet to do some of the tricks they see other dogs doing, but there is one thing they must remember above all others before starting down the path of teaching tricks. The dog must have at least some basic obedience. There is not much chance of teaching it to do tricks if it is a badly behaved dog in the first place.
The basic commands such as sit, down, heel etc, should be known by your dog before trick training starts, as this will make life so much easier later on. Once these have been mastered you can begin to build on them and your dog will soon be amazing your friends with the following three simple tricks.
Begging
To start teaching this trick it is best to have your dog sit in a corner of the room with his back to the wall and you standing in front of him. The walls will support your dog and give him the confidence that he won’t fall over if he raises his front legs off the floor.
Take some small pieces of food and hold it above your dog whilst enticing him to reach up for it. Each time he takes the food, praise him and repeat the procedure slowly encouraging him to reach higher each time.
Whilst encouraging the dog to reach up for the food, you must make sure that he is keeping his haunches on the ground. This is achieved by moving the food back over his head slightly making the dog shift his weight back over his haunches and teaching him to keep his balance.
Once the begging trick has bee mastered in the corner of the room you can gradually begin to move away from the wall and practise the trick where the dog has no back support. You must expect at this stage that the dog will seem to go backwards in his learning, but this is to be expected until he can perfect it just using his own body weight.
Shaking hands
There are two parts of this trick for your dog to learn. A verbal part and a non-verbal part which both work together to give the dog a cue that you want him to perform the trick.
Firstly the dog should start off in a sitting position. Give him a single word verbal command such as ‘shake’, whilst at the same time reaching out with your right hand until it is just a few inches from your dogs’ right leg. Your outstretched hand is the non-verbal cue.
Initially your dog will probably just sit motionless unsure of what to do, so with your left hand, gently push or prod his right leg forwards until it rests in your right hand. When he has done this, praise him so that he knows he has done what you wanted him to do.
Practice this trick several times; praising after each successful result and gradually reducing the amount of left hand prompting until only the verbal and non-verbal cues are all that are needed.
Shaking the head: ‘No’
Before you can begin to teach this trick to your dog, you will need to find something which will make him shake his head naturally. Some things which may help are blowing gently on the ear, tickling the ear with a feather or even lightly attaching a paperclip to the ear – remembering that you should not cause the dog any pain.
Once you have found the method which makes him shake his head you will then have to decide on which verbal and non-verbal cue you want to use. A single word such as ‘head’ along with shrugging of your shoulders is just one idea.
Again your dog should start in a sitting position when first teaching him this trick. As in the shaking hands trick, use both cues together, along with the prod (tickling his ear, etc) in an effort to stimulate your dog to shake his head. Once he does, reward him, even if it is just a small movement.
This trick is best learned in short sessions with momentary breaks in between, so don’t try to repeat the exercise more that five times in one session or the dog will become confused and not learn.
Gradually reduce the amount of prodding so that all that are needed are the verbal and non-verbal cues. Once your dog has mastered the trick, he can be progressed to learn it in standing position and laying positions as well.
The main thing with training dogs to perform tricks is for the owner to learn that patience is a virtue and that the dog will learn in his own time. Do not scold the dog if he does not seem to be learning, it is always better to be patient and encourage him more.
Quick Dog Training Tips
Posted by: | CommentsTraining dogs is not a hard. You just need patience, dedication and some simple tactics and you will teach them successfully.
Here are five top tips on how to train your dogs successfully:
1. To avoid your dog getting confused and so that they can learn to recognize commands easily only one person should be responsible for training the dog initially. If too many people are trying to train the dog at the same time this can stop progress in its tracks.
2. You should use positive reinforcements. If the dog does something good, you should reward this behavior so that he will know that what he did was right. If the dog cannot understand or follow your commands, never push him. Dogs are not as intelligent as humans, they make mistakes. What you should understand is that they won’t easily understand your commands in just one teaching, it takes repetition to train a dog successfully. Do not scold your dog as he might develop fear which will hinder his learning and willingness to be trained. You can use treats in order to encourage your dogs, although don’t overdue it.
3. Teach commands one at a time. Try to teach him one command after the other. If he cannot absorb it, try to stay on that command only because adding additional commands will just confuse the dog. Start with the basics.
4. In executing commands, you should keep your voice cheerful so that the dog will happily follow your commands. Dogs will respond to a low and coaxing voice. If you shout out loud, he may become startled and unresponsive.
5. Train your dog in various places. If you keep your dogs in a certain place like your home, he will not be able to adjust with the environment new people. Take him to the park or through the neighborhood. This will help your dog associate with other dogs and people.
Training your dog can sometime be tough, but it will be worth it. In the end, you will be the one to benefit when your dog is trained. You don’t know he might even save your life one day and pay back everything you taught him.
