When training dogs, there are puzzle pieces to the entire behavior I as a Broward county professional dog trainer focus on during a dog training session. In the dog training profession, these puzzle pieces are called parameters. And within parameters are criteria, the standards of behavior the dog is to meet each step of the way on the training plan. Parameter puzzle pieces are comprised of such things as duration of a behavior, the distance the dog works away from the trainer, what distractions the dog can tolerate and still do the behavior, at which locations the dog can perform the behavior, and so on.
When I train and focus on a different piece of the puzzle, I lessen the standards of behavior for each of the other puzzle pieces, then build them back up. For example, the parameter I’m working on for today’s example is location. When changing location, the rest of the parameters are made easier, so the dog succeeds. Accepting and starting at the point the dog is capable of in each piece of the puzzle, at each dog training session, then building from there, is part and parcel to the success of behavior building.
You may have heard that dogs aren’t good at generalizing. That’s true. A dog who knows how to touch your palm with his nose as a target exercise in the house, may not have a clue what to do if you present the same cue and target on a walk. That’s where understanding dog training parameters, those puzzle pieces, is helpful.
When you take a dog to a new location in Broward county to dog train, let him investigate the area first, then start off the training session by asking for less than has been attained prior to this session because the location change can, and most likely will be distracting. Take time to build the behavior back up in the new location. For example, when you take a dog out of the house to practice his new behavior of targeting/touching the palm of your hand with his nose, it may take him longer to respond, you may have to be closer to him or even put your hand right in front of his nose, he may barely tap your palm instead of pressing into it. All of these other pieces of the puzzle will build back up as you work with the dog in the new location, but should be rewarded as they are now. Patience and understanding is the key! Fluctuations in behavior keenness is par for the process dogs undergo when learning.
Adjusting the standards of behavior for each parameter at each dog training session until the behavior is reliable under most any circumstance is a worthy endeavor and one of the challenges of pro dog training in Broward county I love and enjoy. Just remember, there are no guarantees that any behavior will be 100% reliable – ever. One-hundred percent reliable is not a claim we can use for human behavior, let alone the behavior of dogs or other animals. But, we can stack the odds in our favor the more we train our dogs using parameters and criteria.
Below is a skateboarding session I did with my own dog at a new location. Dudley is an Aussie, and he was focused in this video because I walked him around the vicinity before training until his curiosity was mostly saturated. Also, these trials were further into the session, so he had been acclimated to his surroundings and was able to focus on the training session much better by then. I was working closer to him than I had been in previous sessions. The leash was still necessary because we were at a public park, and besides the leash law, there was plenty of wildlife for him to chase, and leashes are about safety. Remember, no behavior is 100% reliable. but thinking ahead to what might happen and taking precautions when parenting a dog is 100% necessary.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Broward County Dog Training Fort Lauderdale
