A reality check for owners and foster caregivers. Learning new responses and behaviors can take 100s and 100s of repetitions of the parts of a behavior. The behavior we want, e.g., sit quietly and comfortably when the door bell rings and guests enter the house, or keep walking calmly and close to us when out on a leash and another dog appears, is made up of dozens of smaller behaviors. The term shaping refers to identifying these smaller behaviors, rewarding/reinforcing them when they happen and adding the next one on to it. This is done systematically (the system itself is based on how often reinforcement is provided will change behavior).
Think about teaching a child to write the alphabet. They start with one side of the letter ‘A’, getting just the right slant to it. Then they add the other side, also having to practice getting the right slant so it meets the other cleanly at the top. Both sides need to be mirror images of the other. The horizontal line is added in the right place in the triangle, with no extra marks extending past the side lines. Think about how many times a child will practice this. They may get something right once, and then wrong 10. We provide the support we can. They also have to learn to hold what they are writing with, and we can give them an extra fat pencil or crayon to make this part easier for them. We provide special lined paper to help guide their efforts.
Imagine if this process was complicated by every now and then switching up the size or length of the pencil, or change the distance between the lines on the paper, or remove the lines completely. The child may still eventually learn to print the letter ‘A’ but it may take more repetitions until they get it neat and exact. If they keep getting one part of the letter wrong, e.g., the horizontal line is always slanted, we can provide them some kind of guidance to get it right, we add a couple of dots for them to connect. We don’t want them to keep getting it wrong. When training dogs it’s difficult to keep conditions exactly the same, and that will have an impact on the speed of learning.
This is how professional trainers think about working with challenging behaviors in animals. It’s systematic. We strive for as much consistency as we can provide. We support as needed and thoughtfully withdraw support so the animal can be successful on their own. The reality is that most of us as pet owners or caregivers are not prepared to provide this kind of training. It’s time consuming even if we know what to do. And hiring professional trainers to help costs money. Add to this the reality that there are not enough trainers to go around who know how to do this.
The information I provide on this website is only the first step in the shaping process of new skills for readers. The sharing of knowledge about how behavior and learning work is critical to the translation of that knowledge into the actual practice of training. It’s not about tips, tricks or suggestions for fixing a dog’s skill deficits or unwanted behaviors. Though I understand that some would argue that a tip that happens to work for an individual dog, was worth trying. And this reinforces the use of tips as a training method of owners. But when the tips don’t work, don’t blame the dog.
I will continue to assert that what our dogs need most is someone who knows how to train without needing to rely on force, physical manipulation, intimidation or discomfort. You might be that trainer. If time or interest makes it unlikely (we do have lives outside of our roles as pet owners or foster caregivers) resist the inclination to believe that tips and suggestions are going to be enough. And always question any use of force or corrections if they are advised or suggested.
