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Questions and Answers
Dogs are great manipulators. All it takes is big eyes and a waggy tail to get exactly what a dog wants.
Dogs learn by association between an action and a consequence. Consequences can either be ‘safe’, it
gets rewarded or a punishment, it gets an undesirable result. In dog training we call rewards ‘positive
reinforcement’ and can range from food, toys, freedom and most importantly, attention. You can also use
the withdrawal of a reward as punishment or ‘negative reinforcement’ to stop an inappropriate behaviour.
The principle is that the dog stops whatever he is doing because he is no longer
receiving the desired reward, e.g. attention. Always give Dog a choice between ‘dangerous’ vs.
‘safe’ behaviour. Dog will always go for the one that gets rewarded, you just have to show him which
one it is! For example, jumping gets ignored but sitting gets attention, which one would you choose?
My Daschund pup continuously nips the back of my trousers. If I say no he
gets very excited and bites even harder, what can I do?
Biting is normal puppy behaviour. When the pups start biting too hard, their mum knows they are old
enough to stop suckling. Biting also gets attention! Puppies in a human environment need to learn
how to play without biting/touching human skin and clothes.
Your puppy has learnt that biting the back of your trousers gets your attention. This behaviour is
probably worse when he first sees you after being apart as he is very excited. Saying no can still
be attention to your puppy (even though it is meant to be negative), and this is why your
puppy continues to bite and gets more excited. This has now become a great
game for your puppy and what we call an attention seeking behaviour
Your puppy should learn that his biting gets no reward e.g. no
attention and that calm behaviour and no biting gets your attention. You
need to start by interrupting the behaviour by making a loud noise, e.g.
clapping your hands or using a shake tin (a can with stones inside). When
your puppy stops biting you can now reinforce his good behaviour, by giving
him attention in a calm manner. To learn more about puppy behaviour...
click here for more details.
I have a 7mth old male Cocker Spaniel, he is brilliant inside the home, but
when we go out he pulls on the lead and will not come back when called. A friend
suggested if I had him neutered it would solve my problems is this true?
Castration can help when the behaviour problem is of a sexual nature e.g. not coming back when
called because your dog is roaming after bitches, or he is continuously going around marking
his territory by cocking his leg. Castration can help calm dogs down in some situations as it
removes the hormone that drives such behaviour. However castration alone
will not solve either problem
Pulling on the lead is a very common training problem. The pulling becomes reinforcing to the
dog because when they pull, the owner walks forward, therefore going where the dog wants to go.
Also, if your dog associates walking on the lead with going to the park, he is much more likely
to pull. It is best to do daily training sessions walking in the street to teach your
dog to walk on a loose lead. When your dog pulls the lead tight, stop walking and get your dog
back to your side before walking on. When he is walking by your side, praise him. Your dog may
not come when called for many reasons. For example, he may be distracted by something else or
he has learnt that when he does come, his walk is over! Whatever the reason, you can control
the situation by putting him on a tracking line (a long lead that is left on the ground) so he
cannot ignore you when you do call. When he does come, give him a reward e.g. a treat or
play a game and let him go off again. Using a whistle or squeaky toy can
help to get attention when distracted. To learn more about lead and recall training
click here for more details.
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