The Wrinkle

The Art & Science of Dog Training--Posting a Question without having a GMail account

2010-04-21T04:02:00.003-11:00

Even tho' I don't update this nearly as often as I'd like, I'd love to get some comments/questions from y'all. My understanding is that in order to post, you have to go through the hoopla of getting a g-mail account. How dare Google get its panties in a twist over China! Sheesh. So, I have a gmail account and you can e-mail your questions to me there, and then I'll post your question (anonymously, if you'd like) and my response. I can't promise responding to every question/comment, but I'll do my best.

E-mail me at houndsnpugs@gmail.com

The Art & Science of Dog Training--4 Components of Behavioral Science (07)

2010-04-21T03:45:00.006-11:00

Reinforcement and Punishment: Four components of Behavioral Science.

I’m going to do something scandalous here and start well past the beginning and then eventually work my way to where I should’ve started and then on towards the end. I’m not going to use a lot of scientific terms because they make my eyes glaze over and unlike most dog people I actually get really excited about this stuff. In truth, before I talk about Behavioral Science as it was sorted out in the mid-1900’s—I should talk about Pavlov and his drooling dogs. But no, let’s plow right into the middle and see what happens.

I owe this approach to one of my most favorite professors in college. Dr. Gene Franks taught Economics at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. I was an economics major (because it seemed like something my parents could live with—and it grabbed my interest at the time). But I’d never been particularly good with math. That seemed to be the case with a number of us econ majors. Gene would come to a point in his lectures where he had to disclose some important mathematical thingammy. He would look at us and say, “I’m not going to explain this formula to you right now. I want you to memorize it and learn where to use it. After a while, it’ll make sense.”

And you know, he was right! Of course, I don’t remember a thing of what he taught me now, but I do remember understanding it before graduating. And, best of all, at the end of the day, Gene taught me that math wasn’t really all that scary.

I hope to do as much for dog training and you.

When I’m looking at teaching a dog something, there are four rather distinct approaches. There are two types of reinforcement and two types of punishment. I will take each one in turn

i) Positive Reinforcement—behavior makes good things happen

What is positive reinforcement? Let me geek-out for just a moment and break the term down. Let’s start with the second half: reinforcement. Reinforcement is ANYTHING that increases the likelihood of a given behavior happening again. It’s not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it’s simply anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior happening again.

As I discussed earlier under Emotional Management-- Building an Atmosphere of Trust--Removal of force-based training tools and techniques: The reason punishers and reinforcers are labeled “positive” is because something is being “added to” the dog in order to influence a certain behavior.

So in the case of Positive Reinforcement, the dog receives something in return for a certain behavior and the something the dog receives is likely to increase the chances of the dog performing that behavior in the future.

This applies to all behaviors whether appropriate or inappropriate. Why does the dog knock over the trash can in the kitchen? Because rifling through the garbage is SO REINFORCING!!! Why is Trooper quiet in the living room when I’m on the computer? Because sleeping on the couch is SO REINFORCING. Why does Scipio the Pug stand and bark at Becky’s feet? Because it’s so reinforcing when, in an effort to shut him up, she picks him up.

Why does Scipio’s mother, Becky, always pick him up when he stands and barks at her feet? Because it’s so reinforcing when he shuts up!

Oh, wait a minute, put that last example on hold. We’ll talk about Becky and Scipio in particular when we get into Negative Reinforcement.

The bottom line is that a reinforcer is any outcome that increases the likelihood of a given behavior happening again. A Positive Reinforcer is an outcome that is gained, is “added to” to the dog (or person).

If this is beginning to get a little complex, don’t worry, we’ll come back to it time and again and after awhile, you’ll pick it up and get pretty good at finding positive reinforcers in your dog’s life. (And in your own, too!)

A good rule of thumb is that anything a dog desires—whether it’s food, play, or a simple behavior such as sleeping on the couch—can be used as a positive reinforcer to train the dog to behave more appropriately.

Another thing to be aware of is that in general, training, as a component of any good relationship, is a two-way street. In the example of Becky and Scipio, they are both using reinforcement to train the other…in fact, at the moment, Scipio is a better trainer than Becky.

Copyright © 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

Send questions/comments to houndsnpugs@gmail.com

The Art & Science of Dog Training--My Training Approach(06)

2010-03-21T07:23:00.004-11:00

v) Reinforcement of all appropriate behavior

Once the other pieces are in place: the dog is getting good nutrition, is being physically managed so she can’t get into trouble, and all forced-based methods of training are out of the way, then training can begin.

I’m not talking about basic obedience training here. Sit, down, stay, and come are all useful in their place, however, the training I’m talking about is the day to day stuff that makes living with another being a pleasant experience. Too often, we only notice our dogs when they’re being bad. This piece of the puzzle is simply noticing our dogs when they’re being good.

Frequently we want to hang out with our dogs and just do nothing. Yet rarely does it occur to a dog owner to reward their dog for simply doing nothing. Yes, I go outside and train my dogs to walk politely on a leash, to come when called, and to politely greet others. But honestly, the best trick I’ve taught any of my dogs is to lie quietly in the room while I’m working on the computer or watching TV. And the way to do that? Reward them for DOING NOTHING.

I will go into this in greater depth later. But start paying attention to your dog when you’re not paying attention to your dog. Because chances are, if you aren’t paying attention to your dog it’s because he’s doing nothing to demand your attention. Spend a few days making a list of all the things your dog is doing when you’re not paying attention. Some of these will be things you don’t want to reward like digging through the garbage. Many of these things will be behaviors you want to reinforce. Even better, many of these behaviors will be self-reinforcing. Once again, Trooper is sleeping on the couch quietly. What’s the reward for sleeping on the couch quietly????

Sleeping on the couch quietly, like virtue, is it’s own reward!

b) How do I perceive Positive Training?

“Positive Training” is a phrase that’s bandied about by a number of trainers whom I do not consider “positive.”

For me, Positive Training draws heavily on the principles of Behavioral Science and the way problems are solved happens along a continuum. At one end of the continuum the methods are based in instilling fear and aversion in the individual being trained and at the other end of the continuum the methods are based on the attainment of rewards. It’s not quite that cut and dried…even as a continuum…because the escape of a feared or aversive outcome instills the reward of relief and that is a VERY POWERFUL reward which should never be underestimated.

You’ll notice that I said “individual being trained,” not “dog.” That’s because the principles of Behavioral Science pretty much apply to us all. Dogs, dolphins, people, even cats and cockroaches. We are all seeking reinforcement. Now, the reinforcers can be highly individualized. Yes, my pugs and I are both reinforced by food. I, however, find that eating cat poop is repulsive. Ludovic will jump tall buildings in a single bound for access to the cat box!

Another thing you might’ve notice about the word Positive is that it can be applied to punishment as well as to reinforcement. As stated earlier, positive punishment is not a happy thing. It is grounded in fear and, frequently, pain. I could say I’m a positive trainer and simply leave out the fine print that I’m a Positive Punishment Trainer and I will beat, choke, and shock your dog into submission.

It’s always important to read the fine print.

So, here’s my personal spiel as a Positive Trainer:

My training methods are predominantly reward-based, I seek to strengthen the bond of trust between the dog and its people. To that end I do not do the following: choke/prong collars, shock collars (of any kind), alpha rolls, spray bottles, shake cans. I believe in teaching dogs (and their people) how to live with boundaries. A situation must first be managed, then a behavior can be trained. Key among my management techniques is an unflagging commitment to proper nutrition.

Copyright (c) 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

The Art & Science of Dog Training--My Training Approach(05)

2010-03-02T14:04:00.005-11:00

iv) Emotional management-- Building an atmosphere of trust. Which means: Removal of force-based training tools and techniques.

In keeping with giving a dog a stable emotional environment and building an atmosphere of trust, it’s important to remove all forced-based training tools and techniques as a matter of course. In other words, these are tools that are to be used only when everything else (including management and prevention) fails. Further, if these tools are used at all, they must be used effectively no more than three times. In fact, if you’re using one of these tools for the fourth time, it’s not a punishment.

I’ll get into what makes a punishment later, but for now let me explain why these tools are methods of last resort and some should not be used at all. Ever.

The tools and methods I have in mind include the following:

§ Shock collars of every kind (including those for Electronic Containment Systems)
§ Alpha rolls (where the owner rolls a dog over on it’s back in order to stop a given behavior)
§ Using the hands to hold the dog’s mouth shut as a punishment for mouthing, biting, or snarking.
§ Prong collars—also known as “training” or “self-correcting” collars
§ Choke chains—also known as “training” collars or slip leads
§ Hitting, kicking, spanking, or “whupping” with a hand, newspaper, or anything else.
§ Shake cans—cans partially filled with coins meant to be thrown near the dog and thereby scare the dog away from something.
§ Spray bottles
§ Leash pops or corrections

This is not a complete list. All of these items in the world of Behavioral Science fall under the label of “Positive Punishment.” There’s nothing happy or emotionally positive about this list. The reason they’re labeled “positive” is because something is being “added to” the dog in order to stop a certain behavior. A collar is being jerked, a can is thrown, or the dog itself is rolled. Forcefully on its back.

Positive punishment is complicated. That’s the problem with it. It has unintended consequences that are not clear at first. Electronic, prong and choke collars can all lead to increased aggression. The Monks of New Skete introduced the alpha roll years ago and then retracted their support of it 20 years later because too many dog owners using the method were getting bit by their own dogs.

Positive punishment is a very powerful tool. . It’s a double-edged sword that can all too easily sever the bond of trust between you and your dog. To be done correctly, it cannot be done in the heat of the moment (when it is most likely to be done) and it must be given at just the right time in the behavioral sequence, in the right amount, and it must be clear to the dog exactly what behavior brought about the punishment. In other words, to use positive punishment well, you need to plan ahead and set up the situation perfectly. Who has time to do that when your 120 lb Great Dane is snarling at the kid in the park?

Honestly, if you can set up a situation in which to do Positive Punishment correctly, why bother? It’s much easier to manage the dog and prevent the unwanted behavior and reward an alternative behavior? To do Positive Punishment right is A LOT OF WORK!!!

The beauty of reward-based training is that you can be a little sloppy in your delivery and timing and your dog will be willing to experiment with different behaviors and see what gets the reward and what doesn’t. This gives you time to practice on your delivery and timing so that eventually both you and your dog get really good at figuring out how to work together.

Think about it. When someone in the past has been particularly rude or abusive to you, do you feel comfortable doing ANYTHING in that person’s presence other than walking away? Have you ever worked for a truly loathsome boss? I have. At first, it inspired me to get really creative about how to avoid criticism…this made me a very productive worker. But at the end of the day, I shopped around my resume’ and moved on. Positive Punishment does not make for a long lasting, healthy, productive relationship.

Very few of us, dogs and people, want to experiment and see exactly what behavior caused that electric shock. In an atmosphere of trust, where rewards are likely to come for appropriate behavior, your dog will be happy to experiment and try out behaviors that make you both happy. (Right now, Trooper is sleeping on the couch, this makes us both happy, and it is a reward for not whining/barking on the couch. I am very glad that he decided to experiment with this behavior.)

Reward-based training allows both you and your dog to be creative in figuring out new ways to solve old problems. The ill-advised use of Positive Punishment can completely undermine the atmosphere of trust and creativity that are the hallmarks of a great relationship.

Copyright (c) 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

The Art & Science of Dog Training--My Training Approach(04)

2010-02-22T10:56:00.007-11:00

iii) Emotional management-- Building an atmosphere of trust

More frequently these days, I stress to clients that they can’t change their dog’s behavior until they change their own. Most dog problems are a product of an environment in which good things and bad are perceived by the dog as either unpredictable or uncontrollable. And that’s because what we do may make sense to us as humans, but won’t make a lick of sense to our furry companions who are canids.

If you want to change your behavior with your dog, the first place to start is with your words. They don’t need to be magic words or sounds. They do need to be words or phrases that predict YOUR behavior. These phrases can be varied but consistent. Which means, every time you say a particular word or phrase, you do a particular behavior. “Do you want a treat?” is followed by…a treat! “go to your crate” is followed by getting up and escorting your dog to the crate, closing and locking the door, and POSSIBLY, tossing in a treat.

We do this—teach our dogs pat phrases or routines--all the time—unconsciously. My dogs know long before I pick up the car keys, that I’m heading out the door. I can’t say “Georgia” in front of my Blue Tick, Jake until I have the car keys in hand, because the sheer excitement of visiting his best friend Georgia is just too much for both of us, unless immediate play is at hand.

Pay attention, make a list of all the funny little things your dog knows that you never deliberately taught. You’ll be surprised. Now start paying attention to all the words you say to your dog. Be sure your words predict your behavior. Again, you’ll be surprised.

Notice that I’m focusing on consistency as something between your words and your actions. I think a big mistake people make with their dogs is that they confuse consistency with some sort of unvarying schedule. As if consistency simply means that walks happen at 7:30 a.m. every day and dinner is fed at 5:00 p.m. every day.

I suspect that dogs that are overly worried about their owner’s schedules have found that these routines are the only source of consistency in their lives. By building consistency between your words and actions, you can teach your dog to be more flexible in life.

Another important part of strengthening the bond of trust between you and your dog is providing clear boundaries. I do this through active use of crates, x-pens, tethers, baby gates, and leashes. In the house, dogs that can hang out, not pick fights, not eat the furniture or pee on it, have free access. Dogs that can’t be trusted to avoid these temptations, don’t get free access. Jake, my blue tick has free access to the house. Ludovic, the pug mix, has access to kitchen and front room, but not beyond that because he’s smart enough to build a platform with his erector set and get into the cat’s litter box. Annabelle, my usually perfect pug is going through a little phase right now where she thinks that she doesn’t want to share me with anyone. She’s tethered to her dog bed and snoring away happily.

I don’t do “pack theory”—and I’ll discuss why later. But dogs are social creatures, and society requires structure. Dogs do well with structures created by consistent behavior on the part of the people in their lives and clear boundaries provided by those same people.

Consistency and boundaries give dogs the freedom to be flexible.

Copyright (c) 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

The Art & Science of Dog Training--My Training Approach(03)

2010-02-16T03:48:00.007-11:00

The next thing I look at in my training approach, is how to simply prevent the dog from doing the thing you don’t want him to do.

Pat Miller, training editor of Whole Dog Journal, and owner of Peaceable Paws Training Academy has a wonderful three-step solution for changing any behavior problem.

§ First, envision what you want your dog to do.
§ Second, prevent your dog from doing what you don’t want your dog to do
§ Third, generously and consistently reward the behavior you do want.

This is such sound advice, I wonder why it isn’t on every dog owners’ lips all the time! But I know the answer to that: The first two steps require creativity and the third means you have to pay attention.

Necessity is the mother of invention and in my life—with 6 rescue dogs and a rescue kitty in a small house—without a fenced-in yard—I’ve had to get creative about preventing trouble. My dogs (and cat) have forced me to pinnacles of genius…and I say that with all modesty, because they frequently have forced me there kicking and screaming all the way.

In my life, tears come before strokes of genius. Generally, I absolutely have to be pushed to the brink of frustration before I come up with a new way to solve an old problem. This is an important lesson for all of us--dogs and people: Frustration can work for ya, or agin’ ya. The trick, the art, is learning how to get it to work in your favor more frequently.

And maybe this is why, creativity is so difficult for us in solving problems with our dogs. We have an idea that a dog is our BEST FRIEND, our unquestioning companion. I think we often get a dog as a friend to ease our frustrations, forgetting she's a separate individual who’s likely to compound them.

I’m here to tell you: adding any individual to your life—-dog or human (or cat, for that matter) is going to add complications. It’s not a blank slate, it’s a dog with a unique personality and way of looking at the world. Frustration happens in any relationship. In the best relationships, creativity happens, too.

So, I’ll leave frustration and creativity for now, and go on to Pat Miller’s third step: generously and frequently rewarding the behavior you do want. This is a two-fold task. First, you have to learn to be generous. And that’s so hard for us. We say “I don’t want to make my dog fat” as if every act of generosity has to be one whole corn-riddled biscuit. You can be cheap and generous all at the same time, if you set your dog’s world up in the right way. You can have lean healthy dogs who work for food and myriad other tangible treats and benefits. Believe me, there are few people on the planet as cheap as I am. People: it’s all in the marketing.

But in order to make generosity work, you have to know when to be generous and when to say “oops, sorry, bank’s closed.” And the only way you will learn how to spend your generosity wisely is by paying attention. It’s important, really important, not to make your acts of generosity random. They have to be clearly linked to behaviors you do want.

Unfortunately, we tend to notice our dogs most when they’re acting inappropriately. A barking dog gets our attention, we’re all too willing to let a sleeping dog lie.

Copyright (c) 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

New Item category added to Wrinkle Shop

2010-02-09T09:21:00.000-11:00

Artist Maureen Hogan of Shack Art Studios will be creating pug art for our new Wrinkle Shop throughout the year. Today we are adding a set of 4 custom pug glasses she has donated. All proceeds from the sale of these glasses go to our rescue. Thank you Maureen!

Maureen can be contacted for any custom work at Shack Art Studios

The Art & Science of Dog Training--My Training Approach(02)

2010-02-08T05:59:00.004-11:00

a) My training approach.

When someone calls me to do a behavior consult, I tell them that my approach to any dog training problem is three-tiered:

i) Nutrition and medical and structural issues

First I look at the dog's own body--for nutritional, medical, and structural issues that may be influencing a dog's behavior. The older I get, the more I have to (and still hate to) agree with my own sainted mother: you are what you eat. This is a separate blog in itself but for now, know that if you have a behavior or training problem of any kind, the easiest place to start to solve the problem is with the dog's food.

Most problems arise out of some response to stress--and poor nutrition is stressful. Shockingly, most of the foods available in grocery stores and big box pet stores are slaughter and grainhouse refuse, all scientifically "enhanced" to be tasty and a holding place for added vitamins and nutrients.

With respect to medical and structural issues, many times a dog acts in ways we don't like, simply because he feels crappy or she simply can't do the behavior we want her to. Recently, I saw a young pup who's owner was upset because the little guy was tugging on his leash as they went on their daily mile and a half walk. Looking at the pup's weak hocks, and sway back--it was clear to me that walking that far on pavement on a daily basis was physically way too much for this little guy. Short play sessions with his owner on grass or carpet would go a long way towards getting the right kind of exercise, building up the right muscles, AND be a lot more interesting than doing a walk.

A much overlooked problem in many dogs with fear and aggression issues is a thyroid that's out of kilter. And, while a top-notch thyroid test is easily available from Dr. Jean Dodds of Hemopet for less than 100 bucks, many veterinarians will use their own less extensive and more expensive tests and then dismiss a "slightly low T4" as nothing.

I like to think of life as a three-legged stool. If one of those legs, is even just a little bit out of whack...the whole thing wobbles.

This is a quick overview--nutritional, medical, and structural issues will be dealt with in greater detail in separate blogs.

Copyright (c) 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

The Art & Science of Dog Training--Introduction (01)

2010-02-01T05:49:00.007-11:00

The Art and Science of Dog Training.

Introduction.

Hello, I'm Peg Dawson Harrington, a positive dog trainer in Nashville, Tennessee and the Behavior Counselor for Music City Pug Rescue--the best darned dog rescue on the planet (well, okay, at least the most fun dog rescue on the planet). Welcome to: The Art and Science of Dog Training.

This is the first post of many, and I'd like to give you a quick and rough outline of who I am and my approach to dog training.

Fair warning: I plan to be provocative. Positive dog training has changed my life and changed my soul. Nothing less. It has shown me a new way to look at dogs AND live with people.

The journey continues, I hope you will join me.

1) Who am I?

Like many of you, I grew up with dogs—our house, or rather, our backyard, was never without one. In my 20's and early 30's I had a number of jobs that required long commutes, and didn't pay so well. There was neither the time during the work week nor the money to give a dog a decent life. So, I went without a dog. Later, the money was much better, but working 60-80
hours a week with a 75 minute one-way commute—still left me a dog-less life.

It wasn't until my 40th year that I had both the time and money—and realized, I no longer wanted to live my life without a dog.

Enter Fred, Dog of Destiny. Basset Hound Extraordinaire. He passed away, 2 years ago, in December of 2007.

For 8 years—that ended way too soon—Fred patiently mentored me and pushed me to learn as much as I could about the world of positive dog training. He was not the dog I had planned to get. But the Universe tends to give me the dog I need.

While Fred was still with me, and continuing to this minute, my life has been blessed with numerous pugs from Music City Pug Rescue. Some have stayed with me only a short while, three have found their forever home right here.

All the following posts from me are based on the foundation put into place by a wise and willful Basset Hound with enormous front feet and an equallyenormous zest for living. Adding to that foundation are one beagle, two bluetick hounds and pugs too numerous to count. These souls continue to shape my life and my approach to dog training. Next time I will begin to discuss my training approach starting with nutrition, medical, and structural issues.

Copyright © 2010 ~ Peg Dawson Harrington ~ All Rights Reserved

2010-01-31T16:39:00.002-11:00

A work in progress

Drug Recall that many vets don't know about.

2010-01-17T12:44:00.000-11:00

Pugs have a hard enough time as it is with going under the knife. Please be aware of two drugs that have been recalled...butorphanol, a fast-acting opioid used to control pain from surgical procedures in dogs and cats, and the anesthetic agent ketamine.

If your pug has been put under anesthsia recently or will be soon, please check with your vet and make sure that they do not use the above drugs.

Read the above link for more information and share with your current vet.

We Are Back!

2010-01-17T12:28:00.000-11:00

We are back and ready to begin blogging through 2010! Stay tuned for our weekly blog postings...

Welcome to the New Wrinkle

2009-08-18T03:56:00.001-11:00

We love our new website but the blog function was not as inviting as we would have liked it to be so we have started this new blog interface and we think you are going to love it!

Please join our blog!

Music City Pug Rescue is out to build a community of pug lovers in Middle Tennessee. Their are so many of us out there. If you have not already joined our new website, please consider becoming a member. Of course it is free and takes just a few minutes to create a login and become a member.

I came across this hilarious parody of a pug! Poor puggy. We love them!