Let the Dog Decide–A Great Training Method for Shy Dogs

Posted on Jan 10 in Small Dog Book Reviews, Training A Small Dogby Jeff K.Print

“Borscht was ranked number 1 in his obedience classes. He did everything perfectly. That was two months ago. Now, it’s like he never went to class. I don’t understand what happened.”

“Do you know a good trainer? We tried this place, and they seemed pretty good, but now Snickerdoodle acts like he’s deaf. He just won’t respond to me.”

“I’ve tried everything. Everything. I think Silvadius is mentally challenged.”

If I earned one Quetzal for every time I heard statements such as these, I could buy a pretty decent meal in Guatemala. (They make a very good pupusa in that country, by the way.)

There are as many dog training methods as there are dog trainers out there, and while all seem to work to some degree, very few methods transfer well to the dog owner. By that I mean most dogs seem to respond correctly to trainers or to their owner within a training environment, but the lessons learned do not carry over at home. Even in-home training does not always stick. I knew there had to be a common weakness in all the dog training methods used by our customers, but until recently I did not know what that weakness was.

Enter Dale Stavroff, with his book Let the Dog Decide: The Revolutionary 15-Minute-a-Day Program to Train Your Dog – Gently and Reliably. Here is what he has to say about the weakness of most dog training methods:

“Let’s say hypothetically that I’m your boss and I want you to sit down at your desk to work. If every time you get up, I come over and push you back down and then give you a cookie, you may sit and eat the cookie, but eventually you will start to feel resentful. It’s not your idea to sit, perhaps it’s uncomfortable at the moment. If I push hard, you may even be hurt when you slam into your chair.

“In behavioral terms, this scenario subjects you to overt, painful control in return for negligible positive reinforcement. This is exactly what happens in classical conditioning with a choke chain or pinch collar, the mainstream of North American and British dog training.

“Here is a typical example of what is found in many books on dog training for teaching the dog to sit:

‘Put the dog in the heel position. Say, “Sit.” Pull up on the choke chain until the dog sits. When it sits, say “Good dog,” and give it a pet and / or a cookie.’

“Training the dog to sit like this creates a negative association with the word ‘sit’ because the word and the pain [of the choke chain] happen simultaneously. Even worse, it creates a negative association with the human being who inflicted the pain and with training in general.

“Repeat this lesson only a few times and the dog’s response to the word ‘sit’ will forever be associated with pain and the owner. The dog will be reluctant to give the sit and never give it outside the length of the a leash from the owner.”

In Mr. Stavroff’s training system:

“You do not tell the dog what to do and you do not touch the dog except in the early stages of training, because it is essential that the dog decide for itself what to do. The whole notion of giving commands is misguided. A human being can follow a command perfectly without question. A dog can only respond, positively or negatively, to a signal with which it has positive or negative associations.”

He goes on to say, it is likely when learning a brand new behavior, a dog will be unsure of what you want. If you command the dog to sit, for example, the dog is unlikely to sit. He may also be nervous and slightly confused at this stage because he knows you want something from him but he does not innately understand the meaning of “sit.” The command “sit” becomes associated with a stage of training in which the dog, through no fault of his own, is giving his worst performance. That is why there are no verbal commands in the early stages of Stavroff’s training method.

In Dale Stavroff’s training method you let the dog figure for himself what you want him to do. You set up the situation so the dog has an “Aha!” moment. You have probably had your own share of “Aha!” moments. Perhaps you were working on something extremely difficult and puzzling. At first, even though all of the clues were placed in front of you but you could not noodle out the answer. Then, suddenly, everything fell into place and “Aha!” you got it. It was a very powerful learning moment. You basically taught yourself a solution in a way that had a strong emotional component. The discovery of the answer was its own reward. The lesson was learned and it stuck in your brain. The more intense the moment of discovery, the more long lasting the memory of the solution. The same thing can happen with dogs, if we correctly set the circumstances for discovery. This is the crux of Let the Dog Decide.

Mr. Stavroff goes on to say, “There is a schedule for training, but no schedule for results. One dog may take three weeks or even months to learn what another dog learns perfectly in three days. . . A stage of training is complete when it is complete to the dog’s understanding, not a moment before.” How different this attitude is from a formal course of training in which individual dogs are expected to either keep up with the other dogs in the class, or keep up with a scheduled curriculum.

This method of training is particularly effective for shy or fearful dogs. The dog is not forced to do anything. He learns at his own pace and on his own terms. It is a low stress, enjoyable method of teaching not only for the dog, but for you as well. Mr. Stavroff even includes a section on the importance of recognizing your own emotional state before you begin a training session. In the past, we have talked about how your emotional state directly influences your dogs behavior. The author recognizes the importance of this relationship and emphasizes the need to be in a calm and happy state when you approach your dog for training.

The author says, “Another hallmark of my training is the plentiful use of food in the early stages. Some trainers speak dismissively of “bribing” the dog with food. The key is to use the food as a reinforcement for success and then gradually make the food treats less frequent. If this done properly, the dog will give desired behaviors more and more purely on signal, with no more reward than an occasional ‘good dog’ and a kindly look in the eye, because of the positive associations it has formed with those behaviors.”

Finally this: “The trainer who uses my methods becomes the benevolent center of all the dog’s positive experiences.”

I have barely begun to scratch the surface of this book for you. The information presented here is both broad and deep, from how to pick the right dog, to puppy training, both formal and informal, to formal adult dog training. I have never read information of this kind and believe me, I’ve read a lot of dog training books and tried many different training methods. Guess what? This stuff works so well, that we are about to adopt Mr. Stavroff’s methods at Kelsey’s Dog House. We will most likely offer training in the future based on the concepts presented in this book. It is that good.

Even if you are not interested in doing the whole training thing with your small dog by yourself, this book is still worth your while because there is valuable information on building a better relationship with your dog in any circumstance. And, if you are just now considering getting a dog, this book offers solid advice, including some stark warnings about what not to do when selecting a dog. New ideas, new insights, this is the best book I’ve read on training and building a relationship with a dog.

Dear Reader: Referrals, or backlinks, are the internet equivalent of applause. If you enjoyed what you have read here, would you please take a moment to include a backlink to this website at your own website or blog? If you do so, please leave me a comment in the box below along with the address of your website. The link to my homepage is http://www.asmalldog.com. Thank you for your applause.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Related posts

• The Nose Knows, Part 1 (2)
• The Big Controversy: I Want My Dog to Respond to Me, Not Treats (0)
• Specificity (0)
• Leash Aggression (0)
• The Fairness Doctrine (0)

2 Comments

• Mr. Puggle says:

  January 20, 2009 at 8:11 pm

  Puggles answer only to food. muhahaha right otis?

  http://www.mrpuggle.blogspot.com

  http://www.cafepress.com/mrpuggle
• Jeff K. says:

  January 22, 2009 at 3:28 pm

  Huh?

Trackbacks / Pingbacks