Does training method matter?
Most studies on dog behavior and punishment training have been performed on police and military dogs. Researchers from the University of Porto in Portugal designed a study to look at the impact of different training styles on companion dogs.
Does training method matter?: Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare – is a preprint research paper by Ana Catarina Vieira de Castro, Danielle Fuchs, Stefania Pastur, Liliana de Sousa, and Anna S Olsson.
In order to accurately measure dogs stress levels, each dog had their saliva tested for the stress hormone cortisol before and after training. They also had their training sessions recorded.
The short-term results of more “fear-based” training left the dogs with higher levels of cortisol in their saliva during training, as well as at home in the following hours after their training sessions. They also displayed physical examples of stress such as licking their lips and yawning. Dogs with positive reinforcement training did not experience any spikes in their cortisol levels or stress-related body language.
How to train your dog to come back when called
Coming when called is the most important lesson you can teach your dog. Seems simple enough and often it is. Except when it isn’t! Some dogs seem to learn really quickly and others take a long time. It is essential that you persist. This article from Dogs Trust UK is a straightforward and clear post about how to start recall training. The main thing to remember is dogs personalities are all different so the time taken to teach recall will vary from dog to dog. One good thing to remember is that is if recall is bad at home, it will be worse out so perfect at home first before considering off lead in open spaces.
Stella the dog learned to ‘talk’ – Good Morning America
The book ‘How Stella Learned to Talk’ is part memoir and part how-to guide. It chronicles the journey Christina and Stella have taken together from the day they met to the day Stella ‘spoke’ her first word, and the other breakthroughs they’ve had since. It also reveals the techniques Christina used to teach Stella, broken down into simple stages and actionable steps any dog owner can use to start communicating with their pets.
Nosework
Sounds like plastic surgery; but for dogs, it is a fun activity, using their amazing noses. One of our dogs Scout, is a quirky fellow. He is pretty sensitive and shy, although he does love to play. He is a handy farm sheep dog, but he gets a bit distracted. He came into his own doing nosework. He loves searching for a scent, or food treats and will methodically work a room or outside space until he finds what he is looking for. When scout enters a room with his nosework harness on he means business.
Nosework is different to tracking, and is easier to setup. You can just do it at home, or as a competitive sport which is growing rapidly in popularity.
A few random links. It is not intended to be a definitive list, but an opportunity to read a bit more about nosework.
K9NWSource – Nosework supplies
Bringing training to heel
Whilst I am certainly not into harsh handling of dogs, or any animals for that matter, I am not convinced that 100% rewards based training is the idea either. I have never seen so many ill behaved dogs, dragging their owners around whilst only stopping occasionally to look up fondly into their owners face demanding yet more food. The following article from UNDARK is quite comprehensive and presents some different perspectives. I did find it interesting that the recall research cited, involved dogs on leads. This is usually a good starting point for recall, but true recall should be off lead to test a dog properly.
Punishment, Puppies, and Science: Bringing Dog Training to Heel