Puppy Training 101: Be Responsive!

Loki waiting attentively for good things to happen to dogs

Source: Nancy Darling

Do good things happen for dogs?

One of my favorite writers on dog training — Jean Donaldson — says that dogs' behavior is guided by just one question: Do good things happen for dogs?

Yes? Go for it! Snatch that sausage off the plate. Snuggle up on that lap and look adorable. Snap to attention in a perfect "sit."

No? Don't bother.

Her research demonstrates that the key thing that differentiates effective from less effective trainers is:

• How frequently they give feedback
• How consistently they give feedback
• The timeliness of their feedback

If this sounds like behaviorism, that's because it is. Donaldson is both a psychologist and a professional trainer.

Parenting style researches call this quality demandingness. Although frequently confused with strictness, demandingness refers to the extent to which parents differentially respond to good and bad behavior.

Puppy comes over and wiggles adorably? Smile and pet. They nibble on your hand? Remove the hand and say "no." Walk by another dog without barking? Praise them and drop some kibble.

Physicists have gravity (it's not just a good idea, it's the law). Psychologists have behaviorism.

• A reward is anything that increases the likelihood an action will be repeated (good things happen for dogs).
• A punishment is anything that decreases the likelihood an action will be repeated (bad things happen for dogs).
• Negative reinforcement is a type of reward caused by removing something aversive. If my housetrained puppy has to pee, taking him outside to relieve himself is rewarding because it removes the stress caused by controlling his bladder.

Good trainers (and effective parents) are generous with rewards and punishments. ("Punishment" is not a bad word. Saying "eh-eh" or "no" or a frown is a punishment. Effective punishment provides information that what they are doing will not be rewarded. Donaldson argues that physical punishment and the use of tools like choke collars are ineffective as well as cruel because they effectively teach the puppy that being around you can be painful — bad things happen to dogs.)

Think about these scenarios from the dog's perspective: Do good things happen to dogs?

Effective Trainer:

- Run up and look at owner.

• Hi dog!

- Put head on knee.

• Smile and pat.

- Drop ball on floor in front of owner.

• Fun chasey thing moves across the floor.

- Playfully chew on hand.

• No and hand removed.

Good things happen when the dog spends time near the owner and acts pleasing. Good things don't happen when they show behavior that will get annoying or dangerous as they get older. If they are given alternative ways to get out chewing needs (toys), that non-reinforced behavior will become less and less frequent over time. Extinction will occur even faster here because the behavior was pointed out (no). Removing the hand as well as marking it is very important because chewing is inherently rewarding. We don't have to reward it to make it happen again because it just feels good.

Ineffective Trainer

- Run up and look at owner.

• Nothing.

- Put head on knee.

• Vague grunt.

- Drop ball on floor in front of them.

• Nothing.

- Playfully chew on hand.

• Yummy chew toy until nip too hard. Hand jerks away and annoyed yip.

Ineffective trainers — like parents who are not demanding — don't respond. For a dog, it's like being tethered to a rock. There was a person in my basic obedience class like that. Nice woman. Cute dog. But if the dog did what she asked or ignored her, he got the same response. If he goes off and sniffs — a very rewarding dog activity — she makes quiet, frustrated sounds, but he still gets to sniff. If he did what she asked, she often didn't notice or just smiled quietly. The owner is very affectionate — but she is equally affectionate when he's sweet, adorable, and doing what she wants or if he ignores her. What's a dog to do? Exactly what he wants.

As has been very well documented in parenting and children, lack of differential responsiveness to good and bad behavior (low demandingness) causes two problems:

• It fails to teach good behavior. You don't get more quiet, cuddly, cheerful, playful behavior that makes dogs great to be around.
• It fails to squelch bad behavior. Most "bad" behavior — chewing, barking, clawing, soiling in the house — is inherently good for dogs.
• It can actively teach bad or annoying behavior. If the owner only pays attention to the dog when it barks or paws, it will bark and paw more and more often.

Demangdiness, Parenting, and Shaping Behavior

If you visit a dog park, you will see many dogs joyfully watching their owners fetch. The owner throws the ball. The dog chases it and then goes off to play or sits and chews the ball. The owner sighs, walks 50 yards, plays a fun game of tug to wrestle the ball back, and throws again. So many good things happening for dogs.

Punishment Essential Reads

A Curious Question About Physical Punishment of Children

Why Do Children Punish Unfairness?

Dogs, children, adults, and pigeons — we are all shaped by the contingencies in our environments. By being demanding — responding differently to behavior we like and behavior we don't, we increase the likelihood that good things will happen in our local environments. It's how dogs and kids shape our behavior and it's how we shape theirs.