Canine Behavior and Training Flashcards
Domestication of foxes: changes
40-50 years, tameness
Associated Changes:
* colors
* ears - started drooping like a dogs
* tails
* skull measurements
* development behaviors
Requirements for Successful Training
Dogs are a pack species
* Patience (like training a little kid)
* Knowledge of what to correct
* Timing - correct and direct to behavior
Should not use a great deal of force/dominance over the animal
More important - good timing
Starting with a Pup: Socialization & Dominance
Socialization
* accustom dog to variety - when young, they are very malleable
* adults, babies, animals, other dogs, environment
* car rides (other than to vet)
Establish your dominance (social position)
* don’t allow dog to assume “pack leader” position
“Pack Leader’s Bill of Rights”
Pack leader will have these rights
* eat first, own leftovers
* have best seats, lie wherever they like
* control entry to or from any room
* proceed through narrow openings first
* initiate the hunt, dictate where to hunt
* demand attention from subordinate pack members
* actively discouraging unwanted attention
How to become a “pack leader”
- eat before you feed dog
- restrict access to bedroom and furniture
- proceed first through doorways
- take your dog’s “kills”
- call your dog to you to give attention
- ignore pawing, nudging, whining for attention
- initiate games and make sure you win - end up with the toy
- reward dog for completing an exercise well
Starting with Pup: Toys
Use proper toys for play
* don’t use shoes or socks - pups chew, cutting teeth
* use toys that are good for them to play with
* balls, squeaky toys, Frisbees
* Retrieving - try to instill good choice
Starting with Pup: Crate Training
Crate train
* facilitates housebreaking
* prevents destructive behavior
* accusom to being in crate while you are gone
Starting with Pup: Make natural tendencies constructive
Type of dog - put to use
ex. fetching is good for retrieving dogs
Rewarding good vs. Punishment
Food and praise are good rewards
Be careful with punishment
* timing is difficult - better be right after behavior you are punishing for
* risk: can instill fear
* may have different response than expected
Examples of Unintentional Training
- Poor timing of praise or punishment
- Calling a dog and then punishing - comes back then you yell at it (confusing)
- Yelling to stop barking - may encourage barking because dog barks to get attention and you are giving it attention
- Allowing begging at the table
- Playing inappropriate games - tug-of-war, keep away, wrestling (dominance issues)
Appropriate methods of “punishment” - getting attention
For times when you must get attention - stop a behavior
* Voice of disapproval
* One quick snap on a collar
* Rattling a can filled with pennies
* “Time-out” in a bare room (?)
Factors that Influence Learning
Breed Characteristics
* “Reason” for breed - can make training much easier for these reasons, can make training for other characteristics more difficult
* May have to combat this
General temperament
* Often good for most dogs
* Innate desire to please
Age
* Pups: short attention span, lack coordination, depth perception - easier to train because they haven’t learned many behaviors yet
* “Old dogs and new tricks” - can learn, but may have to unlearn some behaviors
Health
* sick dogs behave differently - more difficult to train behavior
Environment
* Remove distractions (2 dogs together actually makes it harder)
* Remove stresses (temperature, atmosphere, etc)
Handler/Trainer
* Dominant attitude
* Consistency: insist on obedience, command only if you can enforce it, command must always mean the same thing
Housebreaking (elimination training)
- dogs are usually sanitary
- use a crate to control when they eliminate - typically won’t spoil their sleeping/feeding areas
- place newspapers 180 degrees from feeding and sleeping area
- adjust time of day you feed and water (pups will usually need to eliminate after a meal or nap)
- PRAISE after going in the right place
- may need to build up slowly (intestinal training)
- punishment won’t work for this
Training to go outside
* take outside often
* show it area you want it to use
* PRAISE!
Put food and water in place where you don’t want them to go
Barking
wild dogs rarely bark - learned behavior of domesticated dogs
may be natural or learned response
may be desirable as alarm
How to stop barking
- don’t have it start
- remove rewarding factor
- don’t yell or throw things
- reward non-barking: leave, then return; praise and treat if no barking
- sound-activated shock collars
