내 반려견은 왜 내가 훈련하는 내용을 배우지 못할까? #125

because we want to catch our dog doing something amazing. Walking in the position they're supposed to be in or sitting in the position they're supposed to be in. So, we're going to observe. Now, our brain has to go scatter through all the data of what the dog is doing, what the dog is doing, what the dog is doing. And the second step is recognize. So, we're going to observe and recognize the thing that we really, really like. Oh, that's good. Then we're going to mark it. We're going to acknowledge to the dog, Hey, I get, I'm picking up what you're putting down. I know what you're doing is good. So, we mark. It's a third element of the reinforcement process. And then we're going to deliver them a reinforcement, something they really like. Because sure, it's good that we marked it, but then we follow it up with some positive reinforcement. Woo-hoo! We're building the foundation of something very, very special here. Now, we're going to place the reinforcement so that the dog can get it. It's no good that we've got it and we're delivering it. We've got to make sure the dog gets that. Now, the sixth and sometimes element of this reinforcement process, and that is something called the release, which we only use if it's a control position. Like you sit and don't move, you lay down, don't move, stand and don't move. So, if it's something that we're asking the dog to don't move, then they have to know when it's over. And that's where the release comes in. So, six elements, sometimes five, most of the time it's five. Right? Observing, recognizing, ding, ding, ding. That's the one I want. Marking so that the dog knows out, I know, and delivering, and then the placement of where the final resting place is of that reinforcement and sometimes the release. Okay. Let's get back to walking down the street. So, here's what's happening. We're walking our cute little golden doodle and the dog suddenly sees a squirrel and lurches over to the left and kind of pulls her shoulder out of the socket, but immediately comes back in. Oh, the squirrel's gone. It's okay. Comes back in beside and our brain goes, Oh, look, they're right in position. They were way out of position, but now they're right back in position. That's good. That's a ding, ding. We recognize it. So, we start to move our hand to get into our pocket to get our cookie. And then as we're doing that, we mark it, good. So, you could use a clicker for some things. Like that's a marker. You could say good dog. You could say good. You could say yes. I like the word good or yes. I'm using the word good more often now.

That's the marker that tells the dog, you know what I know. I'm being good here right beside me. So, now you're getting in your pocket, you get your cookie out and then, oh man, that's a really big cookie. So, you break off a piece of it, put half of it back in, you take that out of your mouth and then you're breaking it up and your dog's going, what do you got in your mouth? And he comes into position and he comes out in front and he starts walking backwards as you're walking. He's out in front of you bouncing up and down. Is that a good cookie? Because I'm a good boy. And then you get out of your mouth and you're breaking it up. And now he's jumping up on your chest and you go, yeah, buddy. Yeah, you were good. And you give him a cookie because like his mouth is right here. The delivery and the placement can happen simultaneously. How good was that? And that's why dogs have a hard time learning what it is that we want. Now that's an exaggerated example. But what you want in a reward process is you want gaps that help build the behavior because the gaps between those five elements or six, the gaps are where behavior is lost. So, let's check this out. Let's look at that whole scenario again. You're walking down the street, your dog exit stage left, gets to the end of your leash, which by the way, is really not a good thing for your dog structurally. Something's going to hurt, I'm sure. And if you listen to episode 16 here on Shaped by Dog, the thing before the thing, you've just created a lovely behavior chain because your dog was so far out of position that your brain went ding, ding, ding. That's a jackpot when he immediately came crashing back beside you. And you're like, the difference between where he was and where he is now was so great. That has to be good. And so, you want to mark it. But before your mouth says anything, your arm starts to move for the cookie. To dogs, they pick up on physical cues so much easier than verbal ones. And so, they don't even hear the word good. They just see the hand moving and they go, oh, I'm in. And they start moving at a position to follow where your hand's going for the goods, isn't it? But you mark and say good. And so, what you did marked now isn't that dog who came crashing back into position. You marked the dog who was starting to move to follow your hand that they saw moving that was digging into your pocket. And so, now the delivery happens. You've got the cookie out and you go, oh yeah, that's too big. And you have to break it up. That is a gap that allows behavior to be morphed. So, now the dog

puts their paws up on you. What do you got there? And you're going, well, I got to reward my dog for being good, being at my side. And so, then you give them a cookie with them, their paws up on you, walking in the wrong direction as you're trying to go for a walk. None of that has anything to do with the dog walking on a loose leash. Again, an exaggerated example, but parts of that happen every single day of the year. So, I'll give you an example. Somebody was in for a lesson and often a big complaint is her dog barks all the time. So, I'm observing her as I do. I'm always working through this process of observing and recognizing and marking both with dogs and with students. And one of her big complaints is her dog just barks way too much. So, she gets a dog out of the crate. Sure enough, on cue, the dog spins and starts barking. So, she starts feeding it to get it to not bark so that she can start working. Reinforcement builds behavior. So, what did you just reward? Write that, you know, that would be a great tattoo. What did that cookie just reward? What did I just reward? A lot of times you aren't even being intentional. So, think about the dog lunge, they came back into position and be intentional. I want to mark that. And dog training is a mechanical skill. My mentor, Bob Bailey used to say that over and over again, dog training is a mechanical skill. And so, what you are doing, you have to mark with your voice and then move. Be really intentional. Video your training. I know it's hard when you're walking down the street, but mark and then move. Now, you're digging into the pocket. Now you've got these tighty tight little jeans on and that's hard to get those cookies out. And so, kangaroo pouches, that's a great place if you don't have a training pouch. But if you don't have a training pouch, I can share with you one that I like. I've got a couple. I'll put some links in the show notes. If you're watching this on YouTube, it'll be in the description. Your cookies are never broken up while you're training. Let me say, let's take an oath. Everyone put your hands up. Well, enough you're driving, keep one on the wheel. My cookies will always be broke up before I train. Something simple I do. I'll get a roast, throw it in the Instapot, cut it up, put it into little Tupperware containers, throw them in the freezer, take one out for a week. Now, of course, I don't just train with roast beef. Those are my high value rewards, but I'll do the same thing with other things so that all of those training treats are cut up long before I need them. Long before I need

them. All right. So, when you dig into your pocket, the more you break that up, the bigger the gap. Remember what happens? The gap between the elements of the reward process are what allows behavior to morph. We don't want behavior to morph. We want behavior to be clean. So, we mark good. We reach into our bait pouch or wherever we have it, kangaroo pouch. And now it's the delivery. If when I reach to get a cookie, my dog comes in front, they're telling me the fundamental element of our dog training program, it's your choice, is now a little blurry. So, I'll just take the cookies and I'll just put them in my hands and put them out in front. Do you really want them? And the dog will then go, Oh yeah, right. I shouldn't be here. Should I? And they'll go back beside me. So, I'll put those cookies back in my pouch, pat the dog on the head and try to rehearse, bringing them out again. Will you stay in position? Yeah, that's good. So, the delivery is about you reaching and moving the cookie to the dog. But the placement, the placement is gold. The placement of the reward, of the reinforcement either builds or tears down the behavior you're trying to create. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people ask their dog to sit. And when their dog sits and they say good, and they go to give them a cookie and the dog brings their paws off the ground and they feed it. My friend Linda Orton Hill was over today. So, I asked her to be my demo of the bad dog trainer. And so, her and her dog, if you're watching this on YouTube, her and her dog are demonstrating some really very bad positioning and bad reinforcement. It's all about the reinforcement process and understanding what did that cookie just reward? What was I rewarding? And so, if you ask your dog to down and you go to give them the cookie and they lift up off their elbows to help facilitate you giving that cookie, the reward process is always in play. The reinforcement process is always in play. You just reinforce for the dog that the down position is with or without the elbows on the ground. All right. So, constantly be aware of the gaps, the gaps between the observation and the recognition. You've got to be observing and recognizing that's the behavior I want. But if the behavior I want just came immediately before a behavior I do not want, I am not going to mark that. I will observe it and see if I can get it for a few more steps. And then I will say, okay, that's good. Coming back after you chase something is great. Holding position is really, really good. All right. And so, the delivery has got to be swift and intentional

at creating a reinforcement for the behavior you would like to see repeated. So, if I say good and my dog flips out in front, is it possible to teach loose leash walking like that? Eventually, sure. But you're also reinforcing your dog for being in front, which is counter to loose leash walking because you can't walk with your dog in front of you. You're going to trip. It's dangerous. It's a hazard. Let's not do that. So, reinforcement needs to be on the side. It's all about what is it we want our dog to learn. The five elements or six sometimes in this reinforcement process, getting those gaps and minimizing them. And how do we minimize them? With really good training mechanics. Being prepared, being intentional, and creating the behaviors that you want your dog to do. Now, it could be something as simple as asking your dog to go in their hot zone or go hop it up somewhere. If they go partway and they come back or they go partway and they spin and then you say, no, no, no, I did say go in your hot zone. You now have built in a gap in that behavior. The behavior isn't go over and hop it up in your bed. The behavior is go partway and see if I really mean it. The behavior is go partway because going in the bed is getting further away from the big human Pez dispenser that holds all the cookies. And I don't really want to be far away from you because you got all the cookies. This bed, no cookies over here. We want to make sure that the placement of the reinforcement in that case isn't with the dog coming off the bed. I would throw cookies to the dog so they land in the bed. So, the dog learns, oh, if you ask me to go on the bed and I get in the bed, I'll get cookies. The Pez dispenser can throw now. You guys, I hope everyone listening to me really knows what a Pez dispenser is. It's, you know, it's a candy dispenser. It would be even more awesome if it was vegan chocolate chip cookie dispenser. But I digress. That's it. Reinforcement process. Be intentional. I promise you that you will be tightening that distance between what you think you are training and what your dog is learning. That will become closer and closer when you become really intentional about that reinforcement process. And in the meantime, remember, it doesn't matter what you think you're teaching. The only thing that's important is what that dog is demonstrating, what they're learning. Because just like me taking that algebra class, I don't care what you taught, this is what I've learned. Dogs reflected even better than I did as an eight-year-old. I'll see you next time here on Shaped by Dog.