FurBabies & Friends Positive Reinforcement Dog Training with a Rewards Based Trainer
Kristie Halverson, FurBabies & Friends trainer, abides by LIMA and is a force free dog trainer that believes in positive reinforcement dog training. Meaning, Kristie does not believe in using force or inflicting pain but rather using positive rewards to achieve desired results. Owning several dogs including large bully mixes herself, Kristie learned that using a force-free, fear free, and positive dog training methodology created solid relationships with not only these powerful dogs, but all dogs in general. Coincidentally, she found the same fundamentals that create solid human relationships also translate to dogs. Unfortunately, people tend to lead with love first for their canine companion creating an imbalance of power and leadership. As seen in human relationships, solid canine relationships are built on trust, loyalty and respect thus creating love and not the other way around.
This shocking revelation occurred through the high percentage of Kristie's training and behavior modification clients. In order to bring about positive change, Kristie needed to find a memorable way for clients to live out and achieve a better life with their dog. The song RESPECT by Aretha Franklin came to mind. However, the only difference being the addition of two additional P's. Without further ado, Kristie's positive dog training methodology came to fruition and is detailed below.
Reinforcement from the Humane Society
REWARD
Reward Based Dog Training - It Does Work!
* What influences you to work harder? Money, vacation time, recognition of legacy?
* Figure out what motivates your dog, keep training rewarding and fun.
> Most dogs love to make us happy, we can foster this desire with reward recognition
* Rewards do not always have to be food, although most dogs respond favorably
> Rewards are whatever your dog enjoys like toys or even affection
> Dogs living in primal states of fight or flight are not thinking about food, so if your dog is not food motivated, do some investigation and you'll more than likely find underlying fear that is blocking engagement or desire for rewards
* Taking a positive approach to dog training will help your dog learn faster, retain commands easier, and increase their overall future training engagement.
EXERCISE
"A TIRED dog is the BEST dog!"
* According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise has been scientifically proven to help numerous symptoms in humans such as weight control, health conditions, mood, better sleep, while also increasing energy and socialization
* If exercises is beneficial for humans, it can be the same for dogs, so do it together
* Dogs are social pack animals that are used to traveling miles a day, so consider how much you are fulfilling these innate instincts
> How much time does the dog stay at home alone?
> Have you ever been sick and cooped up for extended periods of time and just need to get out of the house? Could this be happening to your dog?
* Several behaviors that can be directly correlated to having too much pent up energy are as follows: Zoomies, chasing their tail, excessive barking, digging, destructive behavior and chewing
> When left to their own devices, dogs will make decisions and do what is instinctively right for them, regardless of the impact to the human.
SOCIALIZE
* From puppy hood through senior days
* Socializing your dog is critical socialization creates confidence, builds dog language skills thus equipping your dog to handle unknown people, places or things properly
> Proper socialization includes the following:
> Locations – get your dog out to multiple different places
> Surfaces – floors, rocks, pavement, carpet, water etc...
> People – age, gender, ethnicity
> Obstacles – cones, boxes, posts, umbrellas
> Noises – firetrucks, motorcycles, clapping, lawnmowers
> A dog that lives in a bubble will eventually pop
POSITIVE
* Just like rewards, dogs and people will work harder when interactions are positive
> Ask yourself, are you more apt to work harder after positive feedback or constructive feedback?
> Don't you feel better about yourself when you've received positive feedback?
* Positivity comes out to dogs through a tone voice, body language, and most importantly inner energy
> A dog will sniff out fake positivity and see right through you so be true to yourself
* Being genuinely happy and proud of your dog will yield huge returns
PUNCTUAL
* Punctual with Training Timing:
Correct timing on reward and recognition is crucial to training success
Slight delays in timing can end up "marking" a wrong behavior
Pick a key word, hand gesture, or use a clicker along with a value reward to ensure punctual behavior marking
* Punctual with ongoing interactions:
> Dogs have about a 3 second recollection window
> Rewarding or "scolding" outside of this window will produce no results as dogs brain doesn't process the same way a human does
* When at home or out, be sure to continually praise proper behavior as continual reinforcement will solidify training and your bond
PATIENT
* Patience is not everyone's signature strength but necessary for successful training
* Think about the last time you had to learn something new, like a language, computer program, or math equation, now imagine you had to do it in a language you didn't speak....
> How hard would that be???
> In reality, this is exactly what we ask of our dogs when we are training
> Hence, patience is key and as a more evolved species it is our job to be patient and figure out how to best communicate
* While at times training can be frustrating, remember, your body language and tone of voice are main ques for your dog
> When training, check in with yourself on how you are feeling, if you're tired, frustrated, or you mind is elsewhere stop
> Also be sure to be in tune with where the dog at, maybe the dog is tired or having an off day, stop to keep the relationship strong
* Keep training sessions between 30-60 minutes depending on the dog, and for puppies training should be more like 10-20 minutes
ENERGY
* Energy level is critical both for human and for dog:
> Human: if your mind is not ready, focused, and positive desired results maybe hard to achieve
> Dog: if a dog doesn't have enough energy or vice a versa, the dog will not be in the best mental shape to retain training
* Every dogs energy level is different, it is important to find out where the right energy level is in your dog to obtain optimal results
> Being positive is important however if your energy level is too high especially in a high energy dog, this could be counterproductive
# Trick: stay positive, but lower your energy level and voice
> If your doge is mellow, you maybe need to index out of your comfort zone to get your dog engaged and active
CONSISTENT
* Remember trying to learn something hard in another language, consistency is key in ensuring long term training success
* Consistency with a training method is key for all people involved in the dogs life
* Ensure everyone understands hand signals, words, and how to read the dogs energy
* Reinforce the need for punctuality
* Stay positive and only train with your dog when your are both in the right state of mind
TRUST
* Trust is the pinnacle for a happy, healthy and balanced relationship with a dog
* Just as you want to trust they will perform according to their training, they want to know you will watch out for, protect and love them
* As a LIMA trainer, which means Kristie must take the Least Intrusive and Minimal Aversive course of dog training, Kristie understands that a dog who feels threatened or unsafe will never respect the handler
* In the same way humans have their own physical consent boundary, dogs also have this same boundary and when a person invades that space withou the dogs consent, trust is lost.
