DOG OBEDIENCE

DOG OBEDIENCE

Dog obedience essentially consists of training a dog to respond positively to your commands and indications, thus reaching a basic level of education for the dog. Contrary to popular belief, dog obedience is not synonymous with dog training, but obedience is only part of the training and educating of a dog.

Here, we explain what the keys to dog obedience are to achieve good communication between the owner and the dog. We will also share with you tips on how to link good obedience with basic or advanced training.

Continue reading this article and discover why it is so important to devote time and effort to dog obedience. Let's get started:

Dog obedience levels

There are different requirements for obedience training depending on the objective. In other words, dog obedience will be different if you are training a service dog (such as guide dogs), a dog for sporting competition (e.g. agility) or companion dogs, without any special function other than being extremely pampered.

Although some dogs may be smarter than others, the truth is that good obedience will never be complete if the person training the dog does not have some basic knowledge.

1. Ancient obedience: domination

You've probably already seen an episode of The Dog Whisperer. Caesar Millan's techniques impressed half the world, but that's no longer the case. In fact, in Austria, it is forbidden to broadcast the show on public television. Why is that? The reason is simple, he works in the old obedience, based on domination.

Domination means that you are a "leader" for your dog and techniques reminiscent of natural canine communication such as marking are used. However, this technique comes from a study done with wolves from the last century and it is believed that all disobedient dogs want to be the dominant of the pack formed by us and him.

However, even though using some dog-specific systems is positive, it is important to understand that some techniques can cause discomfort for your pet. Especially if you are not a specialist, using domination is a serious mistake. Furthermore, it is an obsolete system that has proven not to be as effective as other techniques.

Recently, professional ethologists who have studied wolf packs in the wild have proven that there is no aggression between wolves and that they live in harmony. They depend on each other to survive, so it does not make sense for them to continually injure each other. Of course, there is a very important sign language (more pronounced than in dogs) to prevent conflicts.

Why had we seen totally different behaviour before? Quite simply because until now the technology to study wolves in the wild did not exist, all observations had been made on artificial packs kept in captivity. These herds lived under constant stress, which created a high degree of aggression between members.

2. Current obedience: positive reinforcement

As is the case with human relationships, maintaining a positive and confident attitude helps the recipient to understand and is more likely to follow your instructions. The same thing happens with dogs, which is why obedience based on positive reinforcement has emerged.

Positive reinforcement has no secret other than to reward a dog immediately after he has carried out an order correctly or behaved as you wish. The reward is not always a snack, it can also be words of encouragement or petting. This type of technique completely rejects punishment (because it causes stress in dogs) and invites you to use other modes of action that don't interfere with your relationship. Remember that removing punishment from a dog's training does not mean letting him do what he wants. You must guide your dog and teach him to do so.

It will also be interesting to note that nonverbal communication is essential for obedience. Not only should you use a "sit", but it will also be very useful to link it to a gesture. Dogs understand a concrete physical signal better.

The use of the clicker is an improved version of positive reinforcement, but requires more consistency and dedication. It is essentially about "capturing" the behaviors you like from the animal. To use a clicker correctly, you must first charge the sound the object makes for 3 or 4 days: Click and reward the animal with a treat. Later, in the street or at home, you will train it by following the same procedure "sit" - click - treat.

The clicker can be used on any occasion, including those that occur spontaneously. The dog understands that you liked it and associates the "click" with your approval and this increases the chances that he will repeat it.

Allowing the animal to make mistakes and change its behaviour by learning on its own is basic. These techniques that we have proposed to you help him feel comfortable during his education and training, while respecting the animal's well-being. They allow him to learn by himself (which improves his mental stimulation), making him feel useful, preventing behavioural problems and avoiding him to be afraid or too stressed.

Behavioral problems or deviation from obedience

When adopting a dog, you should be aware that your pet may at some point in its life need to have its behaviour monitored by a specialist. Consulting a dog trainer or a dog behaviorist if your dog has behavioural problems can help you considerably, especially if you begin to notice that your dog is not listening to you.

It can also happen that you do not correctly interpret some of his physical and verbal cues, and worse, that you do not respond correctly to these signals. For example, scolding a dog when it grunts is completely counterproductive since the animal may start to attack directly without warning. Growling is a way for dogs to say "leave me alone" or "I don't like it".

How and when to work obedience

• Practicing basic obedience commands for about 5 to 10 minutes a day will be enough time for your dog to start working on it. Spending too much time on training is counterproductive for the animal.
• On the other hand, it is ideal to work on the basic commands one by one, spending between 1 and 10 days on understanding and applying them. The moment the dog fully understands an order, you can move on to the next one.
• It is very positive to devote one day a week to recalling all the commands learned.
• The ideal is to start working on an order in a quiet place without distractions, then gradually move on to places with more traffic so that the dog can respond effectively even with constant distractions.
• Practicing every day and being consistent in obedience ensures a good result.
• Prevent other people from rewarding your dog for free, he should only be rewarded if he responds positively to a command.