The following is a “pass along” article from Just Labs magazine.
Learning by Success
By Amy Dahl
All effective training methods incorporate the principle of learning through success. Sometimes it’s not obvious because the focus is on a series of exercises. But the progression of training will be designed to foster success, whether it’s explicitly mentioned. Many dog owners complete training programs without being aware of the principle.
Sometimes training breaks down, however, and everything the trainer attempts seems to make things worse. The dog may begin some new behavior that appears to be resistance to the trainer’s efforts, such as looking away or refusing to assume the starting position for an exercise. This occurs when the dog is not experiencing a high enough rate of success. It can happen when a trainer overlooks a detail in the method, such as an intermediate step that seems unimportant, or does not practice learned material before moving on; or the dog may have a “mental block” that makes it difficult to succeed at a particular exercise as taught.
In training, success means the dog is getting the action “right” and winning a favorable consequence. This could be a treat or a toy or a word of approval. Dogs are perceptive, and can often tell from our body language when they get the right answer but it’s a better bet to make sure we tell them with praise or a reward.
Dogs learn from good and bad consequences. A common training mistake is to overemphasize bad consequences, taking for granted that the dog knows what the desired behavior is, and will do it if punished enough for the wrong behavior. Sometimes, people get away with this, especially Lab owners. Labs tend to be eternal optimists, able to absorb a certain amount of misfortune, come back happily, and try again.
“Learning by Success” by Amy Dahl appears in the upcoming November/December issue of Just Labs. If you are a subscriber, stay tuned! That issue will soon mail!
If you are not a subscriber and would like to read the rest of this article, sign up to receive a no-obligation issue or call 1-800-447-7367. Make sure you tell our circulation representatives that you’d like the November/December 2011 issue!
Tags: bird dog training, dog training
October 8, 2011 at 6:51 pm |
Amy Dahl…a Chessie person, (well she has labs too).
But she is right. I think sometimes novice trainers don’t use the “good” word enough in field training. They save it for the big accomplishments, but even the little things the dog does right need “goods” too.