Reinforcing the Canine Bond Through

TrainingAlasdair Bunyan

Assistant Head of Behaviour and Training

Our Baseline For Care • Health care - veterinary program

• Nutrition - food and vitamins

• Environment – social requirements

• Behaviour management - training and enrichment

The Quality of Care We Provide Ensures Their Quality of Life

Building a Relationship

The Building Blocks to Success

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he

is old he will not depart from it.”

C.M. Stunich, Losing Me, Finding You.

My 4 Essential Parts a Successful Relationship

• Trust

• Respect

• Empathy

• Clear Communication

Without a Relationship

Lack of:

• Trust

• Empathy

• Support

• Feelings, off day.

• Knowledge of needs, preferences

Dogs are hardwired to socially connect and form relationships.

The Relationship• Fun

• Supportive

• Reinforcing

• Comforting

• Understanding

But Why Train?Improves:

• Physical exercise

• Communication

• Mental stimulation - good training program & enrichment

• Cooperative behaviour between handler and dog.

• Specific behavioural problems?

Behavioural ProblemsThe building of the foundation and the training of fundamental behaviours will empower the dog to be able to ignore provoking stimuli and

respond with new default behaviours.

The Concept of Training

• Do dogs understand training?

• How do we teach that concept?

• What knowledge and foundation requirements are needed?

What is Required as a Baseline?

• Concentration • Focus• Understanding of reinforcers• Trust • Supportive relationship• Desire to interact• Leadership• Motivation

Leadership/GuidanceA leader –

• Knows what direction to take.

• Has an overall plan

• Builds confidence, is trustable and supports

• Keeps their partner safe

Motivation• Reinforcers are a priority to the success of

any future training sessions.

• Minimal reinforcers = minimal training success.

Understanding Motivation• All animals seek to control

their environment

• “What’s in it for me?”

• Past consequences create motivation for behaviour.

• Dogs select stimuli that are important to them - not the trainer.

Control Your Training Environment• Social (People, other dogs,

animals)

• Scents

• Tactile

• Toys

• Food

Train to Learn, Learn to Train

Foundations, Concepts and Reinforcement

Many undertake the building of a great tower but spend so little time and effort on the foundation that the foundation would not even support the building of a small hut.

Establishing Operations (What Works & When)

• Motivation

• Deprivation

• Satiation

Building the Foundation• Reinforcer assessment

• Building the bank account

• Response to name

• Attention (stationary and movement)

• Playing together

• Communication system

• Offering of behaviour

What is Reinforcement?• Personal to each individual.

• What an individual dogs enjoys.

• What an individual dog will work for.

• Can be manipulated.

Reinforcer Assessment• Likes & Dislikes

– Tactile

– Food

– Play

– Environmental

Reinforcement Variety

Food Bowls

• Each piece of food could be used as a reinforcer.

• 1/3 of food = bowl

• 1/3 of food = toys

• 1/3 of food = training

How Full is Your Bank Account?

Reinforcement vs. Rewards

• Non emotional

• Strengthens behaviour

• Directly increases behaviour

• Pin points specific behaviour.

• Can be painful (Sidman)

• Reinforcement • Reward• Can be given at anytime

• Emotionally driven

• Targets the dog not the behaviour

Response to Name• Positive association

• Beware of learned irrelevance

Attention and Focus• All learning begins with attention

• Learned skill, built on mutual communication.

• Release cue

• Built on reinforcement

Play, It’s Personal• Empathetic

• Reciprocal

• Fun for both

• Give and take

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/k6hLBlTCSAo

Please click the following link to view the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoVIt2ad7zE

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ToysBreed Related • Tug toys – strength

games• Balls – chase• Squeaky - killing

The Communication System• Do not take it for granted the the dog will be ok with

the event marker.

• Building the association

• Clear and consistent sound

• Has no history, un-poisoned.

Click vs Verbal

“Research in neurophysiology has identified the kinds of stimuli—bright lights, sudden sharp sounds—that reach the amygdala first, before reaching the cortex or thinking part of the brain. The click is that kind of stimulus” K. Pryor.

A decrease of over 1/3 in training time for the clicker as compared to the verbal condition group. (Wood, 2008)

A Clear System

• Consequences drive behaviour, not the animals ability to reason and think.

• Suggests why the clicker is more effective than a voice marker as it is processed not in the cortex but the reptilian part of the brain which controls, breathing, balance and body temperature.

Keep Going Signal

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/FPSOdD35jfw

Sometimes the best training is a cup of tea

(Pryor, 2014)

The Illusion of Choice• Manipulation of environment and

reinforcers to enable the dog to make the choice YOU want.

• The dog should feel that the choice is theirs.

The Question of Jackpots• Affect the overall tendency of the animal to

keep playing the game.

• Dogs may think the click finishes not only the behaviour but when reinforced – the training.

• Giving a big jackpot triggers variability.

Setting Up for SuccessEnvironmental controls

• Where is best for the dog

• Where is best for the handler

Fundamentals to Build Fluencies

• The groundwork to all behaviours required in the future.

• Known behaviours built on reinforcement that can be called upon in the future.

• Default behaviours

Fluency Behaviours• Targeting

• Handling & Grooming

• Retrieving

• Walking on a loose lead

• Settle

• Muzzle and Comfy Cone

The Concept of TargetingPaw, nose, body part to:• Hand, leg, platform• Away from handler

Targeting to Different Points

Targeting Muzzle

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/A6tKOX8lA88

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/cgCNKNhHCr4

Station Training

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/7UjX72eKmls

• Molding (physical manipulation)• Prompting (hint)• Luring• Targeting • Capturing • Shaping

Ways to Get Behaviour

Luring – Be Aware• The dog may grow to expect assistance.

• Frustration due to unfulfilled expectations.

• Luring trained as a behaviour?

“A dog that can follow a food lure is a dog, not a trained dog”

(K. Sdao, 2013)

The Retrieve

• Builds the ability to share and interact.

• Help stops possessive behaviours developing.

• Develops a partnership built on fun.

• Using toys in training will prove difficult if the dog will not bring the toy back.

• Is the foundation of all other training exercises.

The Retrieve

Retrieve Through Targeting

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/WZQhxDtN0Vg

Walking on a Loose Lead

Loose Lead Walking

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/08Uebqaj9FY

Incompatible BehaviourA previously reactive dog that is then taught heeling on a loose lead will enables the reactive dog to pass another dog as its full attention is now on the handler as a replacement behaviour has been taught.

It Is Always a Work In Progress

Please click the following link to view the video https://youtu.be/RRFDQBPY2JI

Thank You