It may seem that the answer is so obvious that the topic is not worth discussing at all. Well, what could be simpler: you tell Zinaida that she’s smart, or you give her a portion of chicken hearts and chat behind her ear. The dog understands what exactly led to the reward and begins to repeat this behavior more often.
But quite often it happens that we seem to be doing everything right: we praise the dog and give him food. But there seems to be practically no result. Zinaida didn’t understand or didn’t notice this at all and was distracted by something more interesting. In this case, learning may proceed slowly, and motivation and desire to study will be lost. But in the end, you may not get the desired result at all and abandon the process. Well, this is your positive reinforcement, it doesn’t reinforce anything.
Timing Is Everything: When To Praise Your Dog
to praise your dog so that it understands you exactly and always and immediately follows the command under any conditions and from any position. Your dog will learn: – never pull on the leash – hear you in any situation – always and immediately follow 4 commands: come to me, stand, next to me, and sit with restraint – calmly respond to any irritants Praise must be taught Praise and encouragement are the main training tools on positive reinforcement. But not all dogs perceive words of approval addressed to them as something positive. It turns out that before we even start doing anything with the dog, teaching it anything, we first need to teach it to interpret our praise correctly. After all, how else will she understand that she has now sat down correctly and this is exactly what we wanted? It’s quite simple to do this: – we tell the dog some code words, “well done, smart, sweet ass.” You can also simply use the word “yes” or the sound of a clicker. This will be our praise. — after that, we immediately give out food (our encouragement). Sometimes, instead of food, you should use what Zinaida herself wants: a game, social contact, approaching a bush or a dog. – we repeat many, many times until the dog firmly connects our praise with encouragement. When she begins to react unambiguously and rejoice at the words “Yes, smart girl,” you can begin any further training. The Importance of Verbal Praise The voice is a learning tool that is always with us and we can use it at any second. Of course, when we specifically train a dog to practice a skill or command, we take food with us for reward.
Tone And Choice Of Words
But dogs learn and simply spend their entire lives with us. A situation may arise when Zinulya does something wonderful right here and now, but we don’t have time to run for a bucket of goodies. Then the power of our word will work. We will praise our magnificent dog owner, and then together we will go to the refrigerator for a cutlet to celebrate our success.
In some situations, it may be necessary to show the dog that he is doing everything correctly for a long time, but at the same time do not stop or pause to dispense food. For example, when the hairy daughter follows the command “nearby”. Or we need to reinforce the desired behavior when she is at a distance from us. For example, she stopped at the command “stand” and sat at rest. Here we can first use praise, and then approach the dog and give encouragement.
Our sincere verbal praise, which is perceived by the dog as something significant, performs a very important social function. This is the approval of others, which is no less important for Zinaida than for her folder with her mother. It increases self-esteem, gives a feeling of self-confidence, and allows the dog not to be afraid to take the initiative and learn quickly.
Praise Comes In Different Forms
Depending on the situation, it is important to use the appropriate speech rate and intonation.
When we need to speed up the dog (for example, when calling), we use very cheerful and fast speech. In our courses, we call this “chicken coop” – a recitative consisting of delight, joy, and praise of all dog virtues. Oksimiron is a dog lover of positivity and steroids.
If we need, on the contrary, to slow down the dog, to make it more static (for example, when it sits at a distance from a distance), we use slow and gentle, very calm and relaxed speech.
If we need to encourage the dog in the process, to show that now everything is correct, continue, then we use even intonation, do not speed up, but do not slow down the dog, we speak calmly and confidently as if Ekaterina Mikhailovna Shulman has moved into us and gives us solid ground from there under your feet.
Wrong Praise
What we should make sure that our praise works correctly:
– we use it at the right moment
It is not so important what words we praise the dog with. You can use Tatyana Bulanova’s lyrics or even the most juicy curses, but Zinaida will be happy, reacting to our intonation. The moment when we do this will be important. Ideally, we praise the dog exactly at the moment when it performs the action we need/carries out the command. Otherwise, an incident may arise: for example, Zinaida stopped at the command “stand”, and did not wait for a reaction from us, a second later she moved on, and we woke up and began to praise. As a result, what was reinforced with praise was not what was needed.
– use appropriate intonation for the situation
If the dog finally calmed down and did not begin to eat the guests, and we, in joy, began to emotionally praise it, disperse it, and make noise, we provoke it into agitation and unwanted behavior. It is important to choose your speech rate and intonation consciously.
— use without encouragement
When Zinaida and I first teach a skill, we always use vocal praise first, and then give out food. When the skill is already working stably, you can gradually switch to variable reinforcement. That is, food is no longer given out every time and is always a random amount. The dog’s motivation will only grow at such moments because he never knows when he will hit the jackpot of treats.
Better yet, praise the dog and give it what it wants more than anything in the world at the moment. For example, allowing you to run to your friends’ butts or dive into an extremely tempting bush.
– tactile contact is not always appropriate.
Often we want to praise the dog and pat it behind the ear, stroke it, and make fun of it. We do not recommend using scratches for reward unless you are sure that the dog will respond correctly to them and it will not interfere with it. The training process requires attention and concentration from the dog, and our touch can distract him or even irritate him. It is better to postpone all tenderness and caresses until after classes.
