Line Training for Dogs: How it's Done - Softcover

Monika Gutmann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3861279614 ISBN 13: 9783861279617

Publisher: Cadmos Equestrian, 2009

Synopsis

Unless they're on a lead, many dogs refuse to come back to their owners, and simply do as they please. Dogs like these commonly spend their lives on leads that are much too short, so are unable to enjoy the privilege of running free in meadows and fields, because they haven't learned to take notice of their owners and come back on call or whistle. The advice that's often given to anyone who owns a dog like this is to give line training a try, but not many people know how it's done. This is the first book published on this subject and provides step-by-step guidance on how to perform successful line training with your dog.

About this title

About the Author

Monika Gutmann runs the Modern Dogs School together with her husband in the Allgau region of Germany, where she focuses on training puppies and young dogs, clicker training, recall and discouraging hunting behaviour. She has successfully trained all kinds of dogs on tracking leads over many years and has developed a step by step dog-training programme that dog-owners everywhere can follow

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Line Training for Dogs

How It's Done

By Monika Gutmann, Alexandra Cox

Cadmos Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009 Cadmos Books, Great Britain
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-3-86127-961-7

CHAPTER 1

The most important thing first: how do dogs learn?

We need to spend a little time tackling the theory before we can start with meaningful training. It's like getting your driver's licence: in addition to practical skills, you also need to learn the road traffic rules. The thing to remember in the process is that the basic laws of learning are the same for all vertebrates with brains.

Classical conditioning: the bell rings, the dog salivates

Let's start with classical conditioning. Russian doctor Ivan P. Pavlov discovered this by accident: he noticed that the sight of food alone triggers the flow of saliva (reflex). If the trigger of the reflex (flow of saliva) is combined with another stimulus – bell-ringing, in this case – the stimulus alone will trigger the salivation, if it is repeated often enough. The dog salivates when the bell rings, even though there's no food nearby.

In simple terms, this means that a stimulus that was neutral before receives another meaning – but no new behaviour is learned. We're all familiar with this from everyday situations: anyone who has had unpleasant experiences at the dentist's only needs to hear the sound of a dental drill to start trembling and getting goosebumps. Anyone who works on a computer a lot knows that a certain acoustic signal announces a new e-mail. There are so many things that we learn unconsciously and associate with feelings without being able to do anything about it. This is precisely the problem with classical conditioning: we do not have it under our control, so it's hard to change it. One example of classical conditioning in dogs is quite simply the doorbell. We never consciously taught our dogs that they have to bark when the doorbell rings, and definitely not that they're supposed to race to the door when they hear it. At first, when the dog hasn't yet learned what happens after the bell, he may just come to the door with you (and this is where he learns that you go to the door after the noise). Once at the door, you attempt to gain some sort of dominance over him. Many visitors also think it's cute when a puppy scampers up to them. So, for the dog this means: ringing = fun at the door is on the cards. With enough repetition – barking is added as the situation develops – we have unconsciously taught the dog that ringing = barking. It works exactly the same way with the lead that we take off the hook when we're about to go for a walk and the dog starts jumping about. You're sure to know many more examples for your dog.

Operant conditioning: dogs that can run backwards

So, no new behaviour is learned with classical conditioning. Then how come dogs can do tricks – even run backwards – or simply learn how to walk on a lead? This can be explained by operant conditioning. Operant conditioning involves learning by trial and error. It has no recognisable direct triggers, but it does bring about a reaction in the environment. There's a phrase that you should note here: behaviour is determined by its consequence. We've been talking about behaviour all this time: so, what is it? Roughly speaking, behaviour is everything that we do. Sitting, lying, standing and walking are forms of behaviour. Our dogs can do this, too, of course, and lots more – but they only have control over forms of behaviour that belong to their natural behaviour repertoire and are physically possible. These were the findings of Burrhus Frederic Skinner, who performed research on pigeons, rats and other animals back in the 1920s. He coined the term 'operant conditioning'.

So, what happens with operant conditioning? If you want to teach a dog a new behaviour on command, you have two options: reinforcement or punishment. Reinforcements are things (stimuli) that increase the frequency of the shown behaviour after the behaviour: the dog sits down and gets a treat. Correspondingly, punishment is the opposite: the dog barks and gets a clip on the nose. There are two types of reinforcements and two types of punishment: positive and negative; but please view the terms 'positive' and 'negative' in the mathematical sense: positive = add something, negative = take something away. They're not meant to be regarded as 'good' and 'bad'.

Positive reinforcement means that something pleasant is added after the behaviour. The frequency of the behaviour rises if there is a positive consequence. If the dog comes to me and gets a treat or strokes, he'll come to me more often.

Negative reinforcement means that something unpleasant is removed in the process. For example, there are people who teach a dog how to sit using strangulation by lead. They tug on the lead that's attached to the collar until the dog sits down. The lead is slackened immediately – being able to breathe is reward enough for the dog. This is a method that is neither dog-friendly nor useful: negative reinforcement encourages avoidance learning. Learning is no fun this way. It makes working with the dog off the lead virtually impossible.

With positive punishment, again, something is added – something unpleasant. If my dog barks, I can interrupt him by giving him a clip on the muzzle. I have added something unpleasant.

Negative punishment is punishment by removing pleasant things: what can I take away from my dog that's pleasant for him? His ball, my company, social contact. If my dog jumps about around me, I turn away and wait until he behaves properly. Once he's got all four paws on the ground, he'll get his strokes. With this example, I have also explained to you how operant learning works: one form of behaviour gets the dog nowhere because he's getting no feedback from the human. However, once he's got all four paws on the ground he gets what he's been after (positive reinforcement) – my affection.

What are reinforcements? There are two types: primary and secondary. Primary reinforcements satisfy biological needs: food or social contact, for example. Secondary reinforcements come about through combining them (by means of classical conditioning, for example) with primary reinforcements – the 'click' in clicker training (see chapter, 'Clicker training') = food for the dog. Money is a secondary reinforcement for us humans. Secondary reinforcements can be put to use considerably more easily and accurately than primary reinforcements.

Our training method in this book will be based only on positive reinforcement and negative punishment/ignoring.

Swiftness is the name of the game

Now, if you want to reward your dog for good work – when practising the 'sit', for example – you need to be pretty quick for one thing, and for another thing the reward needs to be right for the dog.

Quick means really quick: 0.5 seconds is the ideal time, so that the dog can associate the food with what he's done. This is why working with a secondary reinforcement (the clicker, for example) makes communication between human and dog so much easier. I've explained the topic of rewarding specifically in the chapter, 'Rewards – your dog's wages'.

So, for you this means that you need to feed the treat, throw the ball or lavish the praise extremely swiftly. Five seconds later, once your dog has stood up again, praise for the sitting will get you nowhere: this way you're praising your dog for standing up and not for sitting. People often give their dogs the treat very late. When I ask why the dog has received something for standing around, I often hear replies like this one: 'But Fido waited so lovely and patiently just now. That's what it was for.' If I don't know why the dog has received the treat and I'm the trainer/observer, how is the dog supposed to know?

Dogs learn in a specific context and are bad at generalising

When getting in touch with me for the first time, puppy owners very often tell me about all the things their dog can already do: 'He can already sit perfectly, he also comes and lie down is no problem at all. The only thing I want, really, is for my dog to play with other dogs.' However, the reality then proves to be something else. Superpuppy turns out to be average and isn't quite able to strike the required pose in all places. Whose fault is this? Certainly not the stubborn dog's or the disobedient puppy's.

Dogs learn in a specific context. Whatever they're able to do in the living room, they won't be able to do it outside against different backgrounds and with different levels of distraction. The conclusion for you is this: train at all times of day and night, in all locations, against all backgrounds, with many different levels of distraction. The easiest thing to do is to start with not much distraction, increasing it continuously. You will find out how to do this in the chapter 'Building up a command, using the "sit" as an example'.

Act variably

To make sure that a behaviour really takes hold, you need to start rewarding the dog unpredictably. Imagine that, to your dog, you're a bit like a one-armed bandit at the casino. You never know when and how much you're going to win, or whether you mightn't even be able crack the jackpot. If your dog has learned to do something – sit, for example – and so far you've always rewarded him with a treat, then start only affirming every other sit with a treat. Ultimately, your dog mustn't know whether he's going to be rewarded or what he's going to get. In matters of rewarding you need to be unpredictable to your pet and, as such, ever fascinating. You will find out how to put rewards to use in the chapter, 'Rewards – your dog's wages'.

Thoughts about punishment

If we take a look at punishment among dogs, this form of upbringing only finds application in the social environment: for example, when a mother dog nips her puppies after multiple warnings when personal space or resources are at stake. A dog that is bitten by a snake is 'punished' for his brazenness – in future, he'll know that certain animals have a tendency towards aggression: learning for life, in order to survive. However, dogs do not teach themselves to sit or come back on command.

Therefore, in my view, there is no justification for handling a dog aggressively or by inflicting pain for the purpose of learning, consolidating or triggering a behaviour that is required for cohabitation with humans.

With 'positive' punishment, I do something unpleasant to my dog – a jerk on the lead, for example.

I'd like to spend a few more explanatory words on the above method of punishment, so that you'll understand why we say no to it.

1. Punishment needs to take place at the first attempt. For you this means, exactly as is the case with rewarding, that you must punish your dog for misbehaviour straight away. If you do not do this, your dog will not recognise what he's being punished for. Once he has got away with whatever he's doing, he'll quickly learn to tell when a punishment is to be expected and when it's not. As the person giving out the punishment, you're usually around; your dog will learn that the undesired deed (lying on the couch, for example) is not allowed in your presence. If, on the other hand, you're not around, your dog is allowed to jump on to the couch with impunity again. The punishment therefore made no sense.

2. Punishment must achieve maximum intensity straight away. Are you able to punish your dog a) immediately and b) so harshly that he'll never do something again? People have been known to start off with 'gentle' punishments, which the dog quickly gets used to. The dog is then accused of naughtiness or having a thick skull because he continues to do forbidden things. The punishment is doled out in gradually increasing doses, but the behaviour doesn't change. The spiral of violence continues, and the dog is written off as untrainable. Maybe the dog ends up biting because he doesn't understand the point of the training. If you need to punish a misbehaviour more than twice, your dog will not perceive the punishment as being a punishment.

3. Punishment must always take place for the same misbehaviour. You must therefore be able to guarantee 100 per cent that you are able to punish the same situation at all times. Can you guarantee that? If you paid attention to point 2, you only needed to punish once or twice at the very most anyway.

4. Punishment needs to be recognisable to the dog as punishment. Physical beating is not really perceived as a punishment by many dogs. Punishment is meant to bring about an unpleasant internal status, so that next time the dog will avoid the situation or the unwanted behaviour. Whether you're inflicting it on your dog physically or using a water pistol, rattler or similar, you need to know whether the dog actually experiences it as a punishment. Many dogs end up getting used to a punishment like this, so the point of this method would also be awry. I know plenty of dogs whose owners tried to discourage them from doing something by using a spray collar. Unfortunately it was in vain, because these dogs didn't mind the squirting at all. In these cases, a lot of money was spent for a useless object. The money would probably have been more usefully invested in a good dog training school.

5. Punishment breaks up actions, but it does not generate new forms of behaviour. It only teaches your dog to avoid certain situations. It's up to you to decide, though, what he's meant to do instead.

6. Punishment should take place anonymously. This becomes problematic, as well, if we consider points 1 and 2. You would need to think up and install devices even before your dog committed a misdeed so that he couldn't get to the table or worktop to take food in the first place. This way you would be able to make sure that he didn't associate the punishment with you, and you would be able to give out the punishment the first time. However, whether the anonymous punishment was harsh enough to have a lasting impact on your dog is a question that remains open.

Punishment has an effect on the person giving out the punishment, though: they get all worked up in the punishing, not noticing that they are 'classically conditioning' themselves in the process and are themselves unable to do otherwise. The person doing the punishing loses sight of the things that need rewarding, and the object of the punishment becomes incapable of responding to positive attention. You see how difficult it is to punish properly. This is why you should refrain from any application of violence towards your dog (even a jerk on the lead is an application of violence). Give some thought to what your dog is actually allowed to do. Instead of taking on the risk of misjudged positive punishment as a result of poor timing and application, reward your dog for the things he does right.

No dog that I know of so far has been harmed by a misjudged treat, but by a misjudged punishment – yes.

CHAPTER 2

Rewards – your dog's wages

There are people who believe that dogs only need to carry out 'orders' out of fondness or even gratitude. In their view, this should be enough. I find this idea highly presumptuous. Dogs, just like humans, seek their success and advantage in what they do.

So, how is the term 'reward' defined in general? 'Reward: a return or recompense for service or merit.' (Oxford English Dictionary)

'A reward is a major motivation in encouraging readiness to perform.' (Wikipedia, 2007)

Why reward?

Through rewards, the dog learns that there is an advantage for him in being near his human.

Why should a dog come back to you when, after all, he's having much more fun doing what he's doing right now (digging in the mouse hole)? If you're boring and irritable and, what's more, sending out these signals to your dog from 100 metres away, what's going to persuade your dog to run to a killjoy in a bad mood? Think this is exaggerated? Not at all! I know plenty of dogs that ignore their owners out of doors and simply stop taking notice of them. This is precisely because these owners are bipeds who, a bit like lighthouses, constantly indicate their position and current mood by calling and who are lost in their own thoughts.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Line Training for Dogs by Monika Gutmann, Alexandra Cox. Copyright © 2009 Cadmos Books, Great Britain. Excerpted by permission of Cadmos Publishing Limited.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Cadmos Equestrian
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3861279614
• ISBN 13: 9783861279617
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96