How do you move from punishment based or balanced dog training to being a choice based trainer who uses positive reinforcement? That’s a question one of our YouTube viewers asked. If you have the same question, you are not alone. Three keys to help make lasting change in how you train your dog are knowing your why, having a plan, and giving yourself grace.
In the episode you'll hear:
- Why we notice the bad and how that can be evident on social media.
- About the ABC’s of dog training: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence.
- How the ABC relates to counter surfing.
- Why the consequence of punishment can reinforce that dog training choice.
- About starting with your WHY.
- The difference between wishing and dedication.
- How we train our dog changes us and the way we look at life.
- About considering the lessons we are teaching to our children.
- How our why can bring the best in our dogs and in ourselves.
- That staying present will help you be the trainer you want to be.
- How to get brilliant at using reinforcement.
- Why to be aware of your dog’s reinforcement away from training.
- The reason to change how you think and talk about yourself and your dog.
- What grace has to do with dog training.
- The questions to ask yourself to create the changes you want.
Resources:
- Learn How to Play ItsYerChoice
- Episode 16: The Thing Before Your Dog’s Thing
- *Book: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Podcast Episode 100: Dog Training: The Most Important Lesson I Can Share
- Podcast Episode 27: Do Dogs Need Rules?
- Shaped By Dog Podcast: All Episodes
- Podcast Episode 83: The Dog Training You Do When You’re Not Dog Training
- Podcast Episode 11: The Power of Permission in Dog Training
- Podcast Episode 2: Reinforcement
- Podcast Episode 8: Get Your Dog in the Belief Loop of Awesome
- Podcast Episode 21: The 5 Critical Dog Training Layers for Confidence with Anything
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
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Love this. Helps in so many ways
fabulous item. thank you
I have a van with cages fitted. My dogs fit in 2/3 per crate.
I have a few problems and not sure where to start sorting it out.
I have 4 crates but none of my dogs want to go in the top ones.
I’d like some ideas on how to teach them the the top crate are safe, then an I use crate games to teach them nit to fly out as soon as the doors are opened.
5 dogs 2 border collie who are getting on a bit but fit, an aussie border collie cross 6 years, a kelpie 2 1/2 and an 8 month old big baby collie cross.
I’m a positive trainer which is why I’ve come to you for help.
I LOVE this pod cast. It is perfect for me and some of my friends. I love the transition from punishment to rewarding for allowing the dog to find the appropriate answer. I recommend Susan’s positive reinforcement Training for anyone serious about a honest relationship with their dog.
Thankyou! Fab information.
Feel very energised
I actually do believe there is a baseline biological reason for our negative bias. I study evolutionary biology (for fun- though I am a zoology major) and if you think about our way back ancestors- if we walked around just noticing the flowers and not really looking for anything wrong ever in our environment, you would get eaten by a lion. So I think our very early ancestors were looking for the lion- “What’s wrong here?” could be the reason we are here at all! It makes sense. But having said that- I have not studied this extensively as this is not my profession.
But we are NOT living in trees any longer and wandering around looking for berries, while worried about lions and tigers in the bushes. I believe we CAN change our brains- but it is a conscious thing. Once you start looking for the good, then we start seeing good all over.
I “crossed over” from more traditional methods in 2000. I found something about clicker training on the internet way back then and I was hooked. I was in LOVE with this new way of training my dogs. I spent hours looking at information on the web and joined a few Yahoo Groups on clicker training. But something back then changed and I didn’t even realize it until a few years ago.
I have been showing and raising Toy Manchester Terriers for a few years now- and when I place my puppies I offer support for life- and there are often lots of questions early on- I got one from one of my puppy peeps about house breaking. I had given them the usual information (keep them contained when you are not with them, take them out frequently, etc) She asked me ” What do you do when the make a mistake?”
My response “I don’t do anything to the puppy- no punishment, no ‘showing’ the puppy the mistake. I just clean it up and ask myself – how could I have set my puppy up for success instead?” And “What can I do in the future to help my puppy succeed?”
When I answered that question- I had not even realized that the way I handle housebreaking had become just part of me and the way I see my dogs, and my world. I was focusing on the good and ignoring my puppy’s and dog’s mistakes without even being consciously aware of it!
I was super happy about it.
But I also tell people who struggle with this (and I still DO struggle with this too) that our brains are wired a certain way- that can be changed. If you doubt that look up neural plasticity. There are many TED talks and YouTube videos on it. We no longer need to be looking for lions in the bushes. We do need to be aware of dangers as those still exist- but they are not as common as they were when we were living in the trees. 🙂 We don’t need that negative bias as much as we used to- and, in fact, it now causes MORE STRESS and is not working in our favor as it once did- so time to change that! And we *have the power to change it!*
I have severe CPTSD and when I discovered neural plasticity- it was like a door was opened for me. Before that the psychology was “well sucks to be you- you are stuck with this now. Not your fault but oh well. Bummer.” Now I am (and have been) CHANGING my brain.
Just become something HAS BEEN a certain way- DOES NOT mean it has to stay that way, nor that it is the best way!
Power to all who want to change for the better!
Brilliant. Yes it’s not easy to change learned behaviors. However with awareness we begin to modify and in time change.
Thank you for this reinforcement Susan.
Create a wonderful association with all in your
Orbit. I do my best.
I really want this for myself, my dog and those around me. It’s something I’ve worked on for more than a decade. I look forward to the time when becomes my first choice in all situations. Thank you for the further inspiration.
OMG yes it’s difficult 😱! I’ve had dogs since 1982…. figure out how many years of habits I have to change 😵!
But it’s worth the time, reflexion, efforts and I really hope one day it will be my second nature !
Thank you, Super Busy rightnow you are my reminder, to continue to bring out the best in My dogs, so it translates to my students.