Understanding the Principles

Dog training principles are important as they are the fundamental truths that create the foundations of behaviour or belief. They consist of a set of rules that guide actions and behaviours. For example, creating a positive association and desire for the dog to learn can bring out the best in the dog. It forms a self-motivated team that wants to learn and develop, enhancing the human-animal bond, building the dog’s trust, and increasing its desire to work for its owner in all situations. So the emphasis is on training the owner to train the dog/s to get the best out of their dog. Also, create a willingness for the dog to please their owner. Coaching and mentoring the team through ups and downs to achieve a goal is important to help stay focused and motivated. Problem solving, action plans and training plans will aid in this process. 

“A ship needs a captain to guide it and manage it. Without one the ship will drift and have no objective to sail too”.

Reward Systems

Firstly, identify your dog’s preferred rewards and list the top 5 items. Some breeds have a high prey drive and like to play and chase a ball. A Labrador may like food more than a ball. Possibly both a ball and food. Physical attention could be the only reward the dog prefers and not so bothered about ball or a treat. A dog who likes balls may have a preference for squeaky balls compared to a non squeaky one. A ball with tug or a tug toy could be of high priority over another toy such as a tennis ball. Same principle with treats. Piece of fresh chicken as appose a dry biscuit. 

Breed Specific behaviour

Consider the breed’s strengths: A whippet would like to chase and hunt for a toy. Very visual and loves to scent. Larger breeds like a Rottweiler have a natural instinct to guard and do well in protection dog sports. 

If there is a dog activity/s you like to do with your dog then research clubs to potentially to join. There could be some short courses you could attend to build up experience in a specific field. For example, learning how to fit a Canicross harness and run with a dog before entering a competition. 

Agility training you would need some expert tuition to help build up skill for you and the dog before competing or pre competition. There is group classes and 1 to 1 dog training. Online training could complement this too in a blended learning method. For example, learning the theoretical side along side guided practical training for a professional trainer. For instance, they could do a personalised training plan for you to follow in between sessions.

Utilising positive reinforcement and negative punishment, following the quadrant cycle is the ideal format. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding desired behaviours, while negative punishment withdraws a reward to correct behaviour. When shaping new behaviours, ensure the dog succeeds at every stage. Using a clicker can aid in rewarding timely and consistent behaviour, in conjunction with marker training to shape new behaviours. Establish approximations as micro-goals to achieve the main goal. Whilst some dog trainers may use positive punishment. Positive punishment is adding an unpleasant experience to deter unwanted behaviour, such as choke chains or slip leads. Whereas, negative punishment is removing a pleasurable experience such as a toy or fuss.

Conducting a training session

Keep each training session simple and organised, break tasks into small steps, have realistic training goals, solidify each stage before progressing, and maintain a positive and self-motivated approach. The primary objective is the following: 

“Educate the owner to effectively train the dog”.

We will demonstrate a short example of the next page outlining a micro training plan for teaching a puppy to roll over.