When a relatively big group of puppies come together in a dog training facility all of them are at different stages of their training. Some of them have stronger bond with their owners, some others know various simple tasks, and some of them are just goofy little furballs with no screening mechanism in place just yet. No wonder that they will not be able to carry out the exercises with the same speed, enthusiasm and skills. Watching other people’s puppies perform better than ours can trigger some mixed feelings and mostly with no good reason whatsoever. We think our puppies are lagging behind and we wonder why (which is most certainly not the case). We contemplate if we should make time for more training. Maybe we should try another dog training facility or sigh up for individual sessions just like we often do when we prepare for an exam, or we want our children to get prepared for a milestone in their lives, such as a school admission process.
And then, we hear the counter arguments. Too much training will stress out and discourage the puppy. More training means more treats, more food for the puppy which can result in the puppy becoming overweight, and so on. Still, some people do have very well behaved puppies, and they are not overweight. We formulate the question: How do these people do that? Is there an optimal training frequency for best result?
Jazzy Molly is waiting for instructions and Vinnie is waitint to be released
From a new puppy owner’s point of view, it is a very valid demand to know how much training should be considered optimal. And how long a training session should last. In other words: Is there a training frequency that works best?
As a first step, I would recommend trying to establish what the word training means to each of us? Generally speaking, training is the process of teaching and learning something new, gathering information and building upon what we have already learnt. So, a big part of training is practice. There are different approaches, methods and techniques in puppy training and dog training in general. So, the next step would be to figure out which method we should apply. Also, each and every one of us has to decide what training frequency can be squeezed into our daily schedule in the long run without adding stress to our and our puppies’ lives. The emphasis is definitely on “in the long run”.
Also, we are not at the same level of commitment when it comes to puppy training. Some of us just started to get acquainted with dog training. Those people definitely need time to adjust, to learn, to establish their approach and most of all to get to know their puppies.
Jazzy Molly is in training with a joyful smirk on her face
seeThen, and that is a Biggie, we need to differentiate between thematic training and general (house rules) training. Thematic training mostly focuses on some areas of dog sports; it is often a professional activity. Many dog trainers would say that the shorter such training session is the better the result we can get. And that is very true. When we teach a complex task, we keep the training sessions short, and maybe we repeat the activity 2-3 times a day if we have the time to do so. If not, we carry on with the training another day. When it comes to house rules training there are endless opportunities to practice certain tasks. In fact, the more consequent we are the easier it is for the puppies to understand the expectations with regards to house rules and simple things such as “sit” and “down”.
Now, experienced dog trainers would ask the very question: How is it possible to separate thematic training from basic house rules training? I, for one, believe that it is impossible. Thematic training is a risky activity without foundational skills and strong bond between owner and puppy. Basic house rules training, on the other hand, is practically with us all day long. So, house rules trainging comes first, but it should never be put aside, and thematic training should walk hand in hand with house rules training.
Most probably, it is no surprise to You by now that I think of puppy training a bit differently and I consider it more of an attitude than a process. Why? Because a process has a start and a finish, maybe a few timeouts in between. But our attitude is with us all the time, influencing how we react to certain situations, how we respond to requests, how we seek contact with others, how we treat people, animals, plants, and our environment in general.
As far as the choice of training method goes I am a huge fan of applying “shaping” in puppy training. It is a brilliant method to teach the puppy to repeat, and habitualize a behaviour that we consider a good choice. As Karen Pryor explained, shaping is “building behaviour step by step”. It is an amazing process in which we discover what the animal can do, and as Pryor said: “The animal has discovered, in me, a new resource, like a new water hole or berry patch. Thus it takes a new and intense interest in what I do. That opens up huge opportunities for understanding.”
She recalled the heart-warming experience of people’s first reaction when they start to use shaping in puppy training. They are astonished because their puppies start to offer behaviour, they become more enthusiastic and above all, they willingly do things we want them to learn anyway. All that without any harsh and aversive trainer’s response. Here is a short video of shaping Jazzy Molly’s tunnel entry:
Shaping also means that we allow the puppy to lead, we give them some level of control. We stand by and when they make a move resembling the activity we want to teach, we grab the chance and step in, we mark it, and we reward it. The question many puppy owners would ask: “How do I get to see that particular behaviour if I don’t show my puppy what I want?” We should keep in mind that the foundational rule of puppy training is: observation, observation, and again, observation. We watch every move of our puppies, we recognize the right behaviour, and we mark that activity. After a while, we will be able to anticipate what our puppies next step would be and that is when we hit the jackpot. Because we can mark the intention. Obviously, we can’t watch our puppies 24/7. That would be impossible. So, we make steps which help to avoid unwanted behaviour. Preferably, we do that before our puppies’ arrival in their new homes. We have to keep an open mind and recognize that every moment is a training opportunity, even if, we are too busy to spend time with our puppies. Why? Because such busy times would be the perfect opportunities for the puppies to learn how to wait for their turns. We only need to prepare the environment. When we are not in the position to watch them, we make precautions, so they don’t learn silly behaviours.
Jazzy Molly and Vincent the Wizard are having a well deserved kip while I am working
The next issue is to catch the moment, to have the tool to mark the moment, and to have the treat to reward desired behaviour. Probably, the least problematic to mark the moment, but clicker training has a lot more to it than a couple of sentences, so I will devote another blogpost to that subject matter. As to reward. Well, some people like to keep things in their pockets such as change, mini torch, hair clip and so on. I have got doggy treats in my pockets just in case my dogs do something very encouraging, so I can reward them immediately. Obviously, there are many other ways to reward the puppies. Once we learn what they like, apart from food, we are winning.
Back to the treats in my pockets. Actually, I consider myself lucky that I train dogs and not marine mammals beacuse doggy treats don’t have as strong smell as fish. Unless your puppy’s favourite treat is fish. Well, when Karen Pryor took on the project to train dolphins she had to get prepared to catch the moment when she can reinforce the behaviour and reward it without delay. So, this is what shaping looks like if we train marine mammals: „Our biggest training task was the spinners … First, I wanted to capture the spectacular manoeuvre for which these animals are named. As well as just leaping in graceful arcs across the water, like most species of dolphins, spinners are given to exploding into the air and whirling like a top two or three meters above the water surface. They do it at sea …I took to keeping a whistle in my teeth and a small fish in my pocket all day long (replacing the fish with a fresh one from time to time). That way if a spinner tossed itself to heaven, whirling like a top on its long axis, I could mark the behaviour while the animal was still in the air and then get a fish right to that spinner.”
Lets be fair, it is a lot less challenging to apply shaping in puppy training.
Now, we have a few exceptionally good ingredients for effective puppy training. It was mentioned that training should rather be considered an attitude than a process. It is useful to differentiate between basic house rules training and thematic training but we should not handle them separately. It is recommended that we create an environment in which our puppies will not attempt to learn silly behaviour. Also, it can be very useful if we learn to observe our puppies as often as possible. It was mentioned that shaping is an excellent method to be applied in puppy training. But one of the most important things was not mentioned yet: PATIENCE. Our doggies will do everything for us if we enjoy the moment. Take a deep breath or just simply break the training and let them play for a while, if necessary. They are beautiful creatures even if it can sometimes be rather challenging to progress in training.
I do believe that there is no ultimate hypothesis as far as the frequency of puppy training is concerned. We cannot put a time limit on teaching a type of behaviour. They are all unique characters, and they naturally learn things with ease but not at the same pace. Each puppy can learn things easily as long as they can feel at ease, if we let them discover the fun way of doing things, and lots of toys and treats are involved.
Vinnie in deep concentration
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