Installation Guide

Dr. Ivan Petrovic Pavlov taught us a lot about dog behavior. Two of his most
important points, conditioned responses and substitution, will be the cornerstones
of this training program. Conditioned responses to commands are mandatory for
a properly-trained dog. When you explain something one time to a person, he or
she will understand it and quite often give a positive response when questioned on
that topic. Dogs are different in that they trust their instincts implicitly. Instincts
have protected dogs for thousands of years from wild animals and other threats,
and those threats still live in their minds today. In your training program, you
must totally condition the responses to the obedience commands to such a degree
that your dog trusts you more than its own instincts. That is a tall order, and you
must take it seriously or you won’t have success. Simple repetition is the only
way to properly condition a dog. Simple repetition, to the tune of around 1,000
repetitions per command, will do this nicely. It might seem like an undoable task
but if you train consistently, it will take only a short time.
Dr. Pavlov also taught us about substitution. This is where we use a stimulus to
cause a response and then add another stimulus simultaneously until the second
stimulus evokes the same response as the first. You might remember Dr. Pavlov’s
work with ringing the dinner bell as he was feeding his dog. It didn’t take long
before simply ringing the dinner bell caused the dog to salivate. You’ll use this
same practice in training your dog, beginning with a leash, progressing to words,
and then finishing with electrical stimulation. It may sound overwhelming right
now, but you’ll be successful and your dog will accept this without question, if you
follow the steps.
The intent of this program is to help you communicate with your dog. This
communication is a two-way street. Dogs speak to us in their own language and
we must be able to understand what they are saying if training is to be successful.
You don’t need to be a modern-day Dr. Dolittle; a few simple skills will cover your
LEARNING TO TRAIN
needs. We could spend a lot of time discussing how
dogs communicate, and while that would be helpful,
your main focus in listening to your dog will be to
understand when your dog accepts what is offered.
This acceptance could be for reward (doing a good
job) or correction (making repeated mistakes on a
command that has been conditioned).
Your dog will tell you, “I got it boss!” by the simple
action of swallowing. Again, that acceptance behavior
is the same for praise and for correction. When you
praise your dog (by stroking its shoulder) you’ll see
the dog’s swallow response. Your dog has spoken,
saying: “I accept your praise.” Continual stroking
won’t gain you anything. Conversely, it will decrease
the effect of future strokes and lessen the sincerity.
One of the hardest things you will face is knowing
when your dog has received enough correction.
Once again, you will understand this when your
dog gives you the swallow response. No more
correction is needed because the dog has accepted
the correction and openly told the world by sticking
its tongue out and swallowing. You probably are
not sure this is true, so go ahead and stroke your
dog on the shoulder and watch for the tongue to
come out, followed by a swallow. It’s that simple.
While we’re on the subject of rewards - what’s the
best reward for a job well done by your dog? Many
trainers use food treats, and that method will give you
some success. However, what position do you assume
when you give your dog a treat? That you're beta. You
must always strive to maintain an alpha role if you’re
to keep your dog’s mind straight. If your dog thinks
you're always alpha and it gets all the good things it
needs in life while being beta, why not accept this role
and live the good life? This sounds like a great gig and
that’s what you want your dog to think. So, if you’re not
going to use a food treat, how do you reward your dog
when training sessions are going well? There are two
methods that will satisfy your dog’s needs. First, if it’s a retrieving breed, throw an
uninhibited retrieve (fun bumper) for the dog, rewarding its chase instinct. If your
dog has a strong chase instinct, what could be more satisfying? Or, you can simply
stroke your dog on the shoulder and watch for the swallow response.
The latter method helps you maintain more control and will work for almost every
dog. During both of these, you maintain your alpha role while rewarding your dog.
Make sure you don’t overdo the rewards or they will lose their effectiveness. Even
ice cream tastes bad if you eat it all day long. Hand out your praise when your dog
does well and do so only until it tells you, “I got it” with a swallow.
HOW OFTEN
SHOULD I TRAIN
MY DOG?
That depends on how
well you want your dog
to perform. If you desire
a bulletproof, obedient
dog, you will need to do
two 10-minute sessions
of focused work with
your dog each day. Now,
that doesn't sound so
bad, does it? During
those sessions, it'll be all
work and no play time.
You’ll praise your dog
and reward its positive
responses, but always
maintain an alpha role.
Some of the sessions
may be shorter than 10
minutes, and others may
be longer because each
session should be goal
oriented and those goals
must be realistic.
When you accomplish the
desired goal for that day,
stop and celebrate. Avoid
the temptation of trying
to meet tomorrow’s goals
along with today’s goals,
just because you have
some extra time. That
can lead to failure. You
always want to finish a
session on a positive note
so your dog will look
forward to coming “back
to work” tomorrow.
03/04