 | Rational Dog Training |
| Martin Deeley His voice has been a popular sound at the British Game Fair He is co-founder, President and Executive Director of The International Association of Canine Professionals. IACP In 2002 Martin received the special award from the Dog Writers Association of America for the best training article of 2001. Martin can be found on www.martindeeley.com Article I: Selecting A Trainer
Owning a good well-behaved dog should be and is for many Americans one of life's greatest pleasures. Whether it is as a pet, a service dog, a working dog, a hunting companion or many of the other reasons for owning a dog, the warmth and feeling of completeness a dog can give to a family has little comparison. The love and unselfish devotion of a dog, mans oldest and most loyal of companions is something that many dream of but not everyone achieves. Pictures abound of Rin Tin Tin, Eddie or Lassie, and images in our minds are conjured up of evenings spent in front of the fire with our loyal companion at our feet. A good dog that behaves acceptably can bring so much happiness and togetherness within a home but rarely does this come naturally.
Ask any owner who has had their home chewed by their dog, their carpet destroyed by urine, or even litigation expenses in court. The fact is that dogs are dogs and will do dog things - chewing, barking, chasing, biting, and eliminating wherever they will, unless guided into the 'rules' and recognized acceptable behavior of the humans they now live with. As parents we spend considerable time ensuring that our children not only receive the best education possible but also are brought up in a way that will make them good citizens and liked by people they meet. Their behavior often reflects our way of life. We also owe this responsibility to our dogs. We can lose and gain respect from our friends and others because of our dogs. Life can be hell because of our dogs. Or it can be wonderful though their well-behaved good manners and companionship. It is no shame to admit that we are not all able to train a dog, yet most owners believe at first it is easy. Some owners have a natural talent, some dogs are naturals, but in the majority of cases we all need help. So where do we look to for help. There have always been obedience clubs able to provide group class training to help owners with basic controls but more and more we are seeing independent professional trainers offering wide and varied services. Everything from the group classes to private in-home individual tuition with methods of training that are 'guaranteed' to solve all your problems - and of course the dogs. As a profession there are few requirements to setting up in the dog training business - a name board and a business card. Too often individuals have entered the profession because they 'love' dogs or have a desire to work with dogs but have little experience. Similarly short courses providing 'certification', and experience with one or two dogs using limited methods does not make a complete dog trainer. Only last week I read a flyer offering dog training based on 25 years experience, and then in the flyer it stated 'Franchises available'. I doubt the franchised trainers have had 25 years experience. Another corporation has advertised for dog trainers and stated: No Experience Necessary. They have provided 120 hours of theoretical and practical experience to their trainers and issued them with a Certification. So how do you know who is the best to help you with your 'best friend'. The International Association of Canine Professionals has developed a checklist to help dog owners and potential dog owners with this problem. There are highly experienced trainers to teach, help and support dog owners, to make your lives happier and fulfilled through partnership and companionship with your dog. With hundreds of thousands of dogs abandoned in shelters or euthanized because of bad or unacceptable behavior every year, the importance of a good experienced dog trainer cannot be over-emphasised. You owe yourself, your family and your dog the opportunity of a loving and devoted life together, which a good dog trainer can make very possible. SELECTING A TRAINER: These guidelines have been developed to help in that selection. Shop around until you find a trainer that will work for you. 1. Ask your veterinarian for referrals. Vets see many well-behaved dogs often. Ask owners of well-mannered dogs where they received their training. 2. Good training is flexible and suits the needs of the dog and the owner. Competent trainers modify their methods so that everyone can succeed. 3. Find a trainer who can deliver what you and your dog need. If obedience competition is your dream, find a successful competitor. If you want to train your dog to assist you in your disability, find a trainer with that specialty. 4. If you have a specific problem with your dog, ask trainers what their experience is with this problem. Ask if they have experience with your breed. Ask questions if you don't understand their program or if something doesn't sound right. 5. Where possible observe the trainer with other dogs before enrolling. Are lessons orderly and enjoyable? Are students struggling with their dogs without getting help? Does the instructor use assistants to manage large classes? If an instructor won't allow you to observe them, look elsewhere. 6. How does the instructor interact with the dogs? Is the treatment too rough? Does the instructor genuinely enjoy dogs? Do the dogs enjoy the instructor? How does the instructor's own dog relate to the instructor? Would you be proud to have a dog that behaved like the instructor's dog? 7. Instructors only spend a short time each week with the students' dogs. Is the instructor preparing the student to practice until the next lesson? 8. Interview the instructors you are considering. Ask where they got their experience. How long have they been teaching? Ask about failures as well as successes. 9. Be skeptical of instructors who offer guarantees. Not all dogs and owners can be trained to the same performance standard in the same length of time. Look instead for instructors who offer to make time for students who need extra attention. 10. Refuse to deal with trainers who make you uncomfortable. 11. Is the trainer a member of a Professional Trainers organization such as The International Association of Canine Professionals or the NADOI?
By: Martin Deeley Copyright © 1999 Training With a Whistle (NEW)
Being a Limey in that I often have to pronounce the same word in a different way in order that an American can understand me. Even my name Martin (Mar-tin) I often have to pronounce Mart'n without any emphasis on the "i" so that it is accepted and even understood. As gundog trainers we have to communicate with our dogs to catch their attention and give commands, words come easily to us and as long as we are consistent in their use for specific actions we have few problems. Even if we have strong voice accents our own dogs still understand us. Accents however can create problems and I have heard varying 'accents' from the mouth of the same owner when working with their dog which produces different sounds, even though they are attempting to give the same command . The 'accent' I am thinking about here though involves whistles. We use whistles to communicate with our dog and usually the number of commands is limited to about three. Sit, Recall and Turn while hunting. But I have noticed on a number of occasions both in the field and at workshops I have run, that there are a large number of people who do not realize they are 'speaking' (or whistling) in a way which confuses the dog. One of the biggest problems is the newcomer who does not know how to blow a whistle, how to get pitch, duration, intensity and sharpness. With the whistle we need to be as consistent as we are with our words, and like any other musical instrument a trainer new to whistling must practice blowing the whistle without the dog. I can remember many years ago when I first started, having a whistle hung around my neck on a piece of string and regularly putting it into my mouth and practicing the different sounds I would use on my dogs. Now often this was in the car on the way to work. Many was the surprised face I saw as I stopped at traffic lights and looked across to the other lanes, whistle gripped firmly between my teeth going through my repertoire of 'toots'. I even used to talk to myself with the whistle still firmly gripped or sing songs to the radio so that I would learn to be able to talk to my dog and have my whistle always available.
There is nothing worse than casting your dog off to hunt or for a retrieve, then realizing you need to stop him or get a change of direction and your whistle is tucked down your vest. I was taught always to put my whistle in my mouth before I gave any commands - like fastening your seat belt before even starting the car. Be prepared. Even after practicing, it is important to get the whistle signal right. Again I have heard handlers casting the dog off with two 'toots' and then using the same two 'toots' to try and turn the dog. In the dogs mind two 'toots' could mean go away from me (learned from being cast off with the signal) and I have often seen this happen. The dog then gets into trouble for doing what it has been taught. I have also heard handlers using one short to medium length 'toot' to stop and sit the dog and a long single 'toot' to bring them in. The length of the blow indicating what is required. This can only be confusing to the dog. My own preference is One 'toot' sharp and definite to stop and sit, two 'toots', 'toot-toot' overlapping to turn while hunting, and a series of overlapping 'toot-toots', with a short split second space in between - ('toot-toot', space, 'toot-toot', space 'toot-toot'.) to command the recall. To actually blow the whistle is easy once you know how and have practised. It is not so much a blow but a 'spitting' of air. With the whistle held firmly between your teeth, if you place your tongue over the opening and then 'spit' blow, your tongue will leave the opening automatically and the whistle will activate. Practice blowing at different intensities, so that like a musician you can get the feel of the whistle, which in itself is a musical instrument. It should come as naturally as driving a car or combing your hair. When training up close I try to blow with a low intensity. A dog's hearing is very acute and I find that blowing it at a lower volume firstly gets them listening more intently and secondly when they are away from you, you can increase the volume so that it sound similar to the close up volume at increasing distances. There are many different types of whistle you can use. My own personal preference are plastic with the exception of a silent whistle I like to use for my spaniels. This is metal. But I fit a piece of rubber tubing over the mouth piece so that I can hold it between my teeth. The whistles which often create problems are what I call the decorative ones. Stag horn whistles in particular have a 'dead' sound to them and although they look smart, are not as effective as the higher frequency precision whistles for getting through to the dog. Especially when it is working in top gear. Whistles are a personal thing with trainers and we all have our favorites. The interesting feature of them is that even though you may have three or four handlers working experienced dogs all at the same time using exactly the same model of whistle, each dog will only be reacting to its own handlers whistle. The dog will recognize its own handlers whistle 'accent'. That is why that 'accent' has to be practised to be consistent no matter what the situation or activity level. It then becomes a distinctive individual sound. Your own whistle 'accent'. I am always of the opinion that if I have trained my dog correctly, it is always trying to please me, however if it is not clear what I am asking it to do through confusion on the whistle, it is only me to blame. And I know myself that in moments of panic and stress it is only the years of practice and experience of blowing that makes whistling come as natural as it does - you do it instinctively and correctly without even thinking. So go on - practice and "Give a little whistle!
GIVE THEM A TAP ON THE SHOULDER By: Martin Deeley When I first started using the electronic remote trainer to help me train my dogs I was taught to use continuous stimulation. However after the initial level finding and basic introduction to the collar, more and more I am using momentary stimulation in the training of my dogs. Momentary stimulation has many advantages in the training of dogs. Advantages which owners not only need to be aware of to help them in their training, but will also give them the opportunity to use a form of stimulation to fine tune their dogs while maintaining style and drive. Think of the ‘tap’ as an attention getter – hey listen to me. Like you would touch someone on the shoulder when you want them to listen to what you have to say. Most quality remote trainers now provide both continuous and momentary stimulation to allow the trainer to develop and use the best approach to training a dog. The best way will always bring out the natural abilities and skills of the dog, the desire to please, and maintain style and performance while providing the control and reinforcement of actions in a humane way. Many trainers have limited their use of Momentary stimulation, often due to insufficient experience and knowledge of its application. We are educated into the use of a specific method and we do not take it any further, few of us experiment. Momentary stimulation was developed mainly for pointing dogs. The concept of using momentary was to maintain the point and ‘whoa’ command, and create steadiness while still retaining the style, which is so essential in bird dogs. Low Momentary provides a stimulation for a split second often one, one thousandth of a second, a single pulse - much faster than anyone could ever tap a button on continuous. This pulse has an attention getting affect, a ‘tap’. Touch it yourself and experience the single ‘tap’ from this and you will notice something quite fascinating. It is so quick that at low levels it is almost unnoticeable, maybe even subliminal. At medium range levels, it comes and goes so quickly it is virtually painless. It has a startling effect but because it happens so quickly and for such a short duration it does not overload the nerve endings. Touch an electric fence or other forms of electric stimulation and you will be left rubbing the ‘touched’ spot because the nerve endings have been overloaded. This does not happen with momentary at any setting. There are no residual sensations from the stimulation. For bird dogs this gave trainers the ability to hold the dog on point without creating any aversion to the game it was pointing. It provides the average dog owner the opportunity to correct a dog around game without overdoing it in such a way that the dog could ‘blink’ or even avoid game. When I started using the remote trainer just over five years ago for training retrievers and spaniels, I quickly realized the advantage of momentary, its versatility and more forgiving application. I began to use it more for specific situations in combination with continuous, momentary for a tap - a reminder, and continuous for the introduction to the collar or a major misdemeanor such as chasing. In fact, very quickly I found I could use a number of taps on momentary to stop chasing also. Many models from a number of manufacturers provide the ability to adjust levels from the hand held transmitter as well as change from momentary to continuous. This is a major step forward in the ability of the trainer to select exactly the right level at the moment it is required. Momentary because of its duration often needs a higher-level setting than continuous to be perceived by the dog. Therefore, once the right level of continuous has been found for the dog and the type of training being done, in most cases, it is necessary to step up one level on the switch, for the dog to feel it. Although continuous stimulation is the main ‘vehicle’ for introducing the dog to the collar through the classic escape and avoidance routine; - apply continuous, guide the dog into the action required and then stop applying stimulation as action occurs - momentary can also be used effectively in early training. In the field the classic application of continuous is illustrated when we are teaching our dog to handle while quartering. We apply stimulation, give the command and then remove stimulation as the dog responds. With momentary, give the command, ‘tap’ momentary simultaneous with the command and repeat the tap until the dog complies. On some occasions you may have to give the command again especially if you have waited longer than 2 seconds after a previous command or ‘tap’ of momentary. At this stage your dog must have been taught what these commands are and what is expected when you give them. In this instance the use of the collar is to reinforce, speed up, and polish a command or correct a dog for willful non-compliance. With the momentary correction the speed of the stimulation is such that it is an attention grabber, a diverter of the mind from the wrong intention of the dog. It diverts his focus from what he was doing or wanting to do, and to focus on the trainer and what he wants the dog to do. That is the finesse of momentary and its main advantage. It gets attention without putting your dog’s brain into confusion and even panic. Momentary can also be easily used as a distracter and controller before a strong focus is established which would make it difficult to control the dog. It is an attention grabber, “Hey listen to me” or a warning “Don’t even think of it”. Again so quick and non-invasive to the dogs mind that it does not create problems with their thinking. Take for example a dog that sees a deer ahead. With momentary it is so easy to ‘remind’ the dog before a chase really sets in. By tapping the button and giving the command ‘sit’ you have minimized or even eliminated the chasing and replaced the chase action with the more acceptable one of sitting. Exactly the same as with the bird dog that points game, we can replace the potential chase that can follow with a stand and watch the birds away. Watch a bird dog and just before it breaks, watch its muscles tense up and its foot begin to rise. By timing a low momentary pulse, we can stop the breaking sequence well before the dog is in full chase. This is much more subtle and far better on the dog when done correctly than a harsh correction when the dog is in full flight after a bird. If dog has been properly schooled on whoa, that one ‘tap’ is enough to stop it completely. Just one tap. In this way, when training in the field by reading our dog and anticipating the problems we can short-circuit those behaviors we don’t want. A trainer can finesse things so much more with momentary. However just because momentary is merely a ‘tap’ you should not overuse it. Any dog we are training should feel that it has the right to make a mistake without being over corrected for it. We don’t press a button every time an error occurs because we do not know exactly what is in that dogs mind. We like to see a little trend happening and give the dog the benefit of the doubt. You have to learn from and understand your dog by allowing it to make mistakes. Often it is not their mistake it is a lack of training on your part. If you apply stimulation incorrectly to a confused dog all you get is a more confused dog. If during training we put our dog in a position where it can do right, and avoid situations where it can go wrong we can build the foundations of a well-trained dog and minimize corrections. A solid correction should only be given when you know the dog understands a command. When a problem occurs ask yourself “Is it me, is it the situation, have we progressed the training too quickly or is it the dog?” Get to know why a dog does what it does. Be able to read your dog – its body language often shouts. Once you can really read your dog and you know he is willfully disobeying then you can correct with the collar. Always believe that the dog is trying to do its best for you unless it proves different. Although we want to avoid any errors on the part of the trainer, an error with momentary is a very short error and will not affect the dog to the same degree as an error with continuous. When in doubt - don’t press the button. I have found that Momentary stimulation is similar to a ‘tap’ on the shoulder. It is a, ‘Hey, remember me? Remember what I am asking you?” Try it, get confidence in its application, I have found that it sharpens up a dogs performance without loosing the essential drive and style that makes working a hunting dog such a joy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
