Training Tips How long should I train at one time? Consider these 3 factors:
1. Your dog's age. Puppies have a short attention span. Frequent, short sessions work best with younger puppies. Training for thirty seconds, a minute, or two minutes is plenty. Then take a break and play together. 2. Your dog's experience. Dogs must learn to concentrate. A dog that's new to training is going to have to work a lot harder mentally to understand what's happening. So train for short periods of perhaps two or three minutes at first. 3. The newness of the behavior you are training. Figuring out a new behavior requires more mental effort than perfecting a better known one. Until a behavior is strongly on cue, keep training sessions short - 3 to 5 minutes, even shorter for puppies. Note: Ater 10 minutes, the learning curve begins to taper off, even in older, more experienced dogs. How often should I train? Your dog needs a break between training sessions, but that break can be as short as a few minutes. Opportunities for Training: During commercial breaks. Train for 2 or 3 minutes before meals. Reinforce Sits and Stays at doors, instead of the dog simply bolting through. Reinforce Sits and Stays while you prepare her food. When I start a training session, my dog "throws" all of the behaviors he knows at me. Am I damaging these behaviors if I ignore them? If a behavior is not reinforced, it will eventually disappear. However, as long as you continue to reinforce the behavior in other training sessions, you won't damage it by ignoring it when you don't want it. When you start a training session, it's up to you to decide exactly what will and what won't earn a treat during that session. If you are working on a Down, ignore all other behaviors, or reinforce them only minimally. After you have been working heavily on one particular behavior, it may take extra effort to get a new and different one. You may have to lure, or lower your criteria - your definition of what earns a treat - to the most basic beginnings of the response you're after. Just stick with it. Your dog will eventually catch on that new behaviors can also earn rewards. My dog gets bored easily. What should I do? A dog that loses interest in the middle of a training session is often labelled "bored." But a loss of interest may stem from several problems, all of which can be easily solved. 1. Low rate of reinforcement. How much time is elapsing between successful repetitions? Set your criteria low enough that your dog is successful often enough to remain interested. 2. The use of a low-quality reinforcer. Does the dog want what you are offering? A reinforcer is something your dog is willing to work for. Your dog may find something else in the environment more interesting. You may need to train in a different place or use something more desirable as a reinforcement. 3. Predictability. Consider mixing a variety of low, medium, and high value reinforcers, so she won't ever be quite sure what she's getting next. 4. Stress. A lack of interest in training may actually be a sign of a stressed dog. Sources of stress include the following: a. Brain Overload. Learning is inherently stressful. Keep training sessions short and enjoyable, and give your dog a chance to process what she has learned. b. Your Attitude. It's easy for us to get very serious during training sessions, even when things are going well. Try to stay relaxed and make training fun for both of you. c. The Environment. Try moving to a different location and trying again. 5. Confusion. If your dog is confused by your poor timing, unclear criteria, or other training errors, she may simply give up. More Tips In terms of TIMING, you must deliver your feedback within one second of the behavior!! For example, if you don't treat the dog at the precise moment she puts her bottom on the floor, you may well be rewarding a head turn rather than the behavior you wanted to reward, which was the dog putting her bottom on the floor. Only give a command/signal once. If you repeat them over and over, you are teaching your dog to sit, for example, on the 4th time you say the word. Vary your body positions. The dog should respond when you are sitting, crouching, or standing, not just when you are standing and facing her. For all commands, start close and then move farther away. Increase the distance between you and your dog. Training should be as much fun as playing. Dogs get bored easily, so you should be energetic and enthusiastic to keep her interested. All sessions should end with plenty of praise. Once a dog has learned a command, don't give her a food treat every time she gets it right. Give a treat every 2nd, 3rd, or 5th time. This makes a dog learn faster because she's never sure when you are going to give her the treat. Never phase out treats completely, and always give plenty of praise. If the dog thinks she is always going to be rewarded, she may refuse to do anything that does not have a reward attached to it. Then it is no longer a reward, but a bribe. How do I know when to "make it harder" - when to increase my criteria for training? If you stay at one criterion too long, it can be difficult to move past it because your dog has such a strong reinforcement history for that response. However, if you increase your criteria too quickly, your dog may become confused, and the behavior may fall apart. Fortunately, if you keep simple records, it's easy to tell when to increase your criteria. The data will tell you!! 1. Set your criterion. Remember to be specific!! 2. Do 10 repetitions of the behavior. This is one training session. Treat if, and only if, your dog achieves your criterion. If she doesn't, count that repetition as an error. 3. At the end of a session, count the number of errors. 4. Keep your eye on your data and adjust it accordingly: - If your dog made 2 or fewer errors in 10 reps, you can increase your criteria. - If your dog made more errors, stay at the same criteria for the next session. - If your dog makes more than 2 errors in a row, stop and reevaluate your criteria. Don't frustrate your dog or yourself. How do I end a training session? You don't have to have a formal ending. Just finish your session, give your dog a pat, and tell her, "That's all." If you want, play a game with her or just relax together. Some trainers like to end with a jackpot - a whole handful of treats. As long as you are not inadvertently reinforcing a substandard performance, a jackpot won't hurt anything. So if it makes you feel good, go for it. If you are timing your training sessions, set the timer to go off a minute or so early. That way the sound of the timer won't become a signal for the immediate end of the session.
