Science-based training resources - for training & B-Mod

[leashedForLife]

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'Training' is to teach a cued behavior - the cue can be a hand-signal, verbal word or phrase, a sound, any sensory stimulus, an object, or even a context.

'B-Mod' or behavior modification is intended to reduce, redirect, or eliminate an unwanted behavior. ELIMINATE is the toughest criterion, as once any behavior is learned, U cannot cut it out of the dog's memory! - it's there, & can be triggered by a similar context that reminds the dog of what s/he "used to do".  So most of the time, we aim to get the unwanted behavior reduced in frequency, intensity, & / or duration, re-directed so that the dog does something we desire instead, or we put the unwanted behavior under stimulus control - 
for example, the dog has a nuisance barking habit, so teach the dog 'Speak!' & 'hush...', & we can now use 'hush' [said quietly or even literally whispered] to STOP the barking, & reserve 'Speak!' as the stimulus control, the cue to bark.

this website is a terrific source for all things puppy -
http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

Dr Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian who found a calling when he discovered there were no puppy-training classes for dogs under 6-MO, when his Siberian Husky was a wee pup, years ago. Training at the time was harsh & often physically punishing, & young pups "couldn't handle it" - of course, adult dogs didn't handle it much better, but that was the prevailing wisdom. [We know better, now.]  
Dr Dunbar designed & ran classes just for those supposedly-untrainable young pups, & their owners were very successful in teaching their own dogs manners [the 'Don't do that' stuff which must be taught as DO THIS - since U can't teach a list of "don'ts"] & even pretty sophisticated cued behaviors.

It was revelatory - reward the pup for a desired behavior, & s/he will do it again. Add a label once the pup is doing the behavior pretty reliably; make the label into a cue, once the label is firmly attached. // That sequence will work to teach any dog of any age, anything s/he is physically capable of doing - without any punishment applied, & without aversive tools [choke chain or infinite slip collar, no prongs, no shock collars, water-balloons, thrown chains, rattle cans, etc] nor any confrontation, intimidation, or harsh handling.
All that stuff is not needed. Training becomes enjoyable for everyone, including the dog or pup. 

That page is all their free downloads, including
 - a double-book, 'Before U Get Ur Puppy...'  &  'After U Get Ur Puppy...', 

Downloadable articles:





Fight:Bite Ratio
ALL SHELTER DOGS WERE ONCE NORMAL PUPPIES
Basic Instinct
Retreat & Treat
Chewtoy List
The Key to Kibble
Sit List
Puppy Personality Development
Open Paw’s Guide To The First Two Weeks With Your New Dog
Lure Reward Training
Dialogue With Amy Tan
Dialogue With Eddie
Dialogue With Omaha Beagle
Body Language


Behavior blueprints







Walking On Leash
Puppy Training
Puppy Biting
New Adult Dog
HyperDog!
Home Alone
Fighting With Dogs
Fear of People
Excessive Barking
Dogs & Children
Digging Problems
Destructive Chewing
Come-Sit-Down-Stay
Cat Manners
Housetraining
New Puppy

 

[leashedForLife]

As U can see, Dr Dunbar has loads of resources for dogs of all ages -  "treat & retreat" is among my favorites, as that lets me work with aggressive or defensive dogs safely, & teach them that humans are not enemies, but can be trusted partners.

'Treat & retreat' came about by accident, when Ian was asked to help an owner with a highly-aggressive dog. He expected the dog to be on leash or confined, & suddenly found himself in a narrow hallway facing an angry aggro dog, with nowhere to go. // He threw treats to distract the dog, trying to get to the door behind him, & found that the dog WENT AWAY FROM HIM to get the goodies, then turned to face him... & he threw more. Each time, as the dog relaxed, he'd come slightly closer when he turned around, after eating the treats - on his own, with no coercion nor any encouragement.
Ian realized he was onto something, & by the time he was out of treats, the dog was no longer growling, let alone charging over to bite, but stood quietly looking at him, ears up, face relaxed, &  tail wagging slightly. [Ian immediately said, "I meant to do that!", then explained that he'd been caught unprepared with nothing but a bag of treats, & desperation led to a breakthru.   ]

I've used Treat 'n Retreat many times with aggro dogs, sometimes they are too dangerous to handle even long-enuf to get a leash on, & i've worked with them thru a kennel run gate, flinging a high-quality goody to the farthest corner, the dog eats it, resets, i toss, they eat, reset, i toss... All the while, the dog relaxes, & comes slowly closer. // I've yet to have a dog without a bite history that took more than a grand total of 4 hours, spread over 8 to 10 sessions in a week or so, to get my hands on them without fear of being bitten on my part, & fear of being hurt or frightened, on the dog's part.  Dogs who've delivered bites from 3 & up on the Bite-Scale can take longer; defensive or actively aggro dogs who have yet to really puncture someone, make rapid progress. 

A variation of 'Treat 'n Retreat' is used at the Washington Animal Rescue League in Wash., D.C.,  probly best described as 'Treat 'n Go'.
Essentially, the shelter drafts any willing visitor to help them retrain scared dogs - they install a feeder with a bin at the back of the kennel, & one, 2, or 3 kibbles are dispensed at a time.  A series of SIGNS is hung on the dog's front gate, asking 1st, 'I'm scared! - please don't stare, just push the button to give me a treat, & walk away'
Then it's, 'I'm very shy - don't stare or talk to me, but push the button to give me a treat.'  // Then, 'I'm shy - talk softly to me, but please don't stare, & push the button to give me a treat.'
They are cleverly associating 'humans arrive'  & 'food is coming', & that simple association with all sorts of people, gradually changes these spooky dogs so that, far from hiding in the furthest corner, tail tucked under & body contracted, they are up at the gate, tails wagging, & making eye contact. //  It's a low-key, simple, gentle way to change the dog's emotional response to humans - with no need to confront the dog, drag them from their kennel, corner them, handle them, or frighten them in any way.
It's entirely hands-off & the dog does whatever s/he does freely.

If U are a volunteer at any shelter or rescue, please share this simple humane method? - It's wonderful to see the change in a deeply-frightened dog. 
 - terry

Terry Pride, member Truly Dog-Friendly
'dogs R dogs, wolves R wolves, & primates R us.'  (™ 2007)

 

[leashedForLife]

UPDATE -
W.A.R.L., Washington Animal Rescue League of Wash., D.C., has merged with another shelter! - I just discovered this myself, when i looked for WARL to post a link to their 'visitor-done B-Mod' protocol. // It happened last fall -
https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/08/08/two-major-dc-animal-shelters-merged-create-biggest-shelter-country/

in August-2016,  Washington Animal Rescue League  & the Washington Humane Society merged formally, creating the biggest single shelter system in the USA. The W.H.Soc. was founded in 1870, while WARL was a relative latecomer, founded in 1914. // They'd worked together for many years, prior to deciding to join forces as a single organization.

The marriage benefits both:
WHS brings a $3.3-million annual city contract, as designated municipal 'animal care & control', ACC  - their shelter is “open-access", they must take in every animal, including street-strays, ferals, owner-surrendered pets, pets awaiting court rulings [cruelty cases, dog-fighting, illegal wildlife, cock-fighting, custody disputes, property disputes, etc] --- any animal that comes through the door, must be admitted.  (Use of a building as the city-shelter comes with the contract.)
WARL had spare office-space, allowing WHS to exit the lease on their Admin building;  WHS will also sell two Georgia Avenue rowhouses, one of which previously served as their spillover or secondary shelter.

Physically, they have very different facilities, as WHS is the classic city pound - chain-link kennel runs, concrete floors, echoing din of barking dogs. // WARL is state-of-the-art with a cat-colony, negative air-flow to prevent contagion, an in-house hospital, single dog & shared rooms that look like spa boarding-kennels.  WARL is the Ritz Hotel at its peak of comfort, while WHS is the homeless shelter.  However - they share common philosophies & goals, both have very low euthanasia rates, & both want to see every healthy or treatable animal  that's somewhere on the normal range for behavior, find a home.

I'm thrilled - this is great news!   :cheers:
- terry

 

[leashedForLife]

here's a wonderful bunch of theses & articles, all kinds of research on learning & behavior -

http://orgs.unt.edu/orca/publications/

...ORCA is the Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals  under the auspices of University of North Texas  at Denton, TX.

I can especially recommend "accidental behavior chains" & "continuous Vs intermittent food in clicker / marker training".

 

[leashedForLife]

for the training geeks -
This is a "review of the literature" - IOW, an overview of research published - on dog behavior, learning theory, etc;
Pavlov, according to the training dictum, is always on one shoulder, & Skinner is on the other, whenever we train [or modify unwanted behavior].

http://www.auf-den-hund-gekommen.net/-/paper1.html

Leonard Cecil AKA 'Buzz' is not a cognitive psychologist or other academic; he's the gentleman who kindly collected all this info. 
He's a skilled dog-trainer with an inquiring mind, who got into training as a pet-owner when he found himself with an "untrainable" dog that conventional training could not help, in fact made things worse. He started from scratch, learned a tremendous amount, & has competed with his dog at national levels for some years now; he lives in Switzerland.
 - terry

 

[leashedForLife]

in the paper on "Effects of Pos-R & Neg-R during training", the researchers note that Pryor [Karen - largely responsible for popularizing clicker AKA marker training for pet owners]  published a differing opinion & data to support it, in 2002.
At the time, *both* rewards for desired behavior, & an aversive outcome, were recommended while training a dog - not by one, but many sources.





One example of an often-poisoned cue is "Come". We call  the pup away from play with her or his buddies - & when Pup comes, bung them in the car & take them home, then leave them alone for hours.

We call the dog for a bath - which he hates! - then wonder why he recalls sluggishly if at all, with a hangdog expression & dragging feet.
We call the dog for a claw-trim, then accidentally quick a claw - a sharp yelp, styptic powder, & a bootie for a few days follow.

All those bad associations will taint the cue, 'Come' - making recall a very unlikely event, which frustrates the owner, & any display of anger or irritation will also make a dog wary of approaching us.  it's a downward spiral.

What to do, once a cue or an event has a bundle of bad-associations dragging behind? -- re-train the behavior with a new label, that will become a new cue or signal once it's well-attached, & from now on, don't CALL THE DOG for anything unpleasant... Go get the dog for anything s/he won't be thrilled by.

Contexts or events can also be tainted by bad associations or experiences - the vet's examining table, the groomer's salon, etc, anywhere that something scary, uncomfortable, or painful happened, needs to be re-associated with Happy Things. // In the case of the vet's office, we all know the dog will need to go there at least annually, so making multiple happy 'cookie visits' is a great way to prevent any later nasty memories painting the vet as a Bad Guy.
Create many brief, happy memories that will literally outnumber the few times the dog later goes there, in pain or sick, or those times something painful must be done to them. Be proactive, & bank a savings account of Good Experiences to draw on later.

- terry
 

 

[leashedForLife]

the myth that we can "reinforce fear" undermines our impulse to empathy with a frightened animal -
U cannot 'reinforce' an emotion, U can only reinforce a behavior.  Behaviors are volitional - one CHOOSES to do thus-&-so.  Emotions are feelings, & we do not 'will' them, they arise from external or internal causes or events.

For instance:
I've never flown in a plane before, & i'm a bit anxious. Which do U think would be most-likely to help me...
* tell me brusquely to grow a pair, & stop whinging.
* offer me a double-shot of 90-proof alcohol, & tell me to sleep thru the flight after drinking it.
* give me a pep-talk with all the statistics of auto-accidents vs the unlikelihood of airplane accidents.
* offer to hold my hand, & then talk with me about other travel experiences, or our individual childhoods, or favorite movies, or...


#1 will make me feel guilty for having the temerity to feel any anxiety, ever, for any reason. It won't lessen my worry. // Fail.
#2 will make me much-drunker than the same amount of alcohol consumed on the ground, & if we hit any turbulence, i'll need that air-sick bag. // Fail.
#3 is factual, but emotions are not facts - they're feelings. Logic won't dismiss them. // Fail.
#4, whether or not i want my hand held, will give me something else to focus on outside of my anxiety - which is likely to help. // Win!



Trisha McConnell has retired [& is much-missed, not least by the dogs of America], but here is her oeuvre on the subject -



Thunder Phobia - Patricia McConnell




www.patriciamcconnell.com/thunder-phobia-and-sound-sensitivity
If your dog is afraid of thunder, fireworks, or other loud noises, click here to learn more about helping him get over his fears.








Thunder Phobia in Dogs - Patricia McConnell




www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/thunder-phobia-in-dogs
May 8, 2009 - 
I promised I'd write more about treating thunder phobia in dogs, beyond the earlier posting that it won't make things worse if you try to comfort ...








Reinforcing Fear II, Thunder Phobia III - Patricia McConnell




www.patriciamcconnell.com/.../reinforcing-fear-ii-thunder-phobia-iii
May 12, 2009 - 
Earlier I wrote that you “can't reinforce fear” and used a dog who is afraid of thunder as an example. For so long we have been told that we'll ...








Thunder Phobia and Your Dog: Good Sounds ... - Patricia McConnell




www.patriciamcconnell.com/.../thunder-phobia-and-your-dog-good-sounds-bad-soun...
Aug 4, 2008 - 
5 AM. I wake up to Lassie's nails clicking on the floor (wasn't I going to trim them last night?) as a boom of thunder shakes the farmhouse. Damn ...