spain Labrador training

Dog symptoms continued

April 11th, 2010

EXAMPLE: As your dog pulls, you pull back. Now you are both pulling. Next, you get frustrated and mad.
Then ALLELOMIMETIC BEHAVIOR COMES INTO THE PICTURE, and your dog copies your actions and attitudes and gets frustrated and mad.
What may have started out as a nice walk could soon become a tense, frustration situation.
This anxiety, with out a vent or release mechanism, continues long afterward.

SOLUTION: Don’t allow pulling. When your dog pulls, just say “no”, relieve the tension on the leash and praise immediately.
Do this consistently. We have just a split second to praise him after telling him “no”, or else the message will not get across.
Pulling on the leash, even as little as one pound of pressure per square inch, for just a second and a half is enough to trigger the opposition reflex. That’s just one small example.

Here’s the real story on POSITIVE THIGMOTAXIS, the OPPOSITION REFLEX.
ANY PULLING OR~EVEN~SLIGHT TENSION on your dogs collar, or PUSHING OR-PULLING ON HIS BODY can SHUT OFF his ability to think and or listen to you, even while praising him.
Like when you might ask him to sit, and then reach back to place him, he may just stop going into position.
Look at it like this: Your’ dogs first obligation is to oppose you.
It’s built in. Once he understands the object of your desire, forget it! He is naturally obligated to do EXACTLY OPPOSITE…. - Physical opposition, say as you reach for his collar while greeting a guest at the door, will cause exactly the behavior you wanted to avoid.

Next, as he becomes familiar with your hand coming out to restrain him, he consciously goes faster to avoid being restrained. Physical opposition, as you try to prevent jumping or bolting, or even vocal opposition as you shout to prevent whining or barking or fighting, can trigger the opposition reflex, compelling the undesirable behavior to begin. In just moments your dog can learn to out-maneuver you.
This physical opposition soon becomes a mental opposition. Learn to control without restraint or confronting. Forced restraint, or forced control will always defeat its own purpose.

It’s like trying to grab a handful of water… Try to grab a fistful of water, and all you will get is a wet hand.
Scoop gently, and you could empty the whole basin.
Vocal opposition, or shouting, needs further mention.
We see this quite often, especially when people try to prevent fighting or aggression.
The first thing they usually do is express panic by screaming. Just think of how your dog might copy this.

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The study of symptoms in your dog

April 6th, 2010

DOGS DON’T DO THINGS WITHOUT REASONS. Those reasons may not be obvious to you, but if you looked at life from dogs’ point of view, it would be evident.
We’ll do that later.
But first, when your dog is disruptive, what gets all your attention is its behavior.
Don’t worry about the malbehavior, find the cause. As we solve one problem, another will surface in its place. As we become focused on the malbehaviors, our attention further compounds the problem. In fact, any attention or reaction to malbehavior can vicariously reward the dog.

EXAMPLE; “My dog barks every time I’m am on the phone.Labrador training does not seem to be working for me”
This always starts a cycle of disruption.
Any time your dog can break your routine, and command 100% OF YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION, HE WINS.
SOLUTION: DON’T FALL VICTIM to these negative attention getting devices. Don’t engage in a shouting match.
Break the cycle subtly, with distraction techniques as interruptions, and, as always, follow up with immediate, non-physical praise.
The most common cause of problems is the need for DIRECTED ATTENTION.
Unstructured love and attention alone won’t suffice.
Just exercising your dog cannot structure his thinking to make him calm and accepting of changes in your family life.

ALLLELOMIMETIC BEHAVIOR:
This comes from the word mimic.
Monkey see; monkey do. Monkey takes right after you!
That’s right.
Use this to your advantage.
Your dog will copy your ACTIONS and ATTITUIDES. If you handle roughly, he’ll respond likewise.
The more concerned or nervous we are about our dogs behavior, the more we MAY ACTUALLY COMPELL SUCH BEHAVIOR TO BEGIN!

EXAMPLE; If your dog is about to growl at a stranger and he sees you become upset, he doesn’t think we are worried about his actions, but those of the stranger.
Now he has a real cause to be wary.

SOLUTION: Use allellomimetic behavior to demonstrate a sense of calm and trust. Don’t take chances, but the more relaxed you must appear. Many times we see people try to calm their pet by patting. As they become more nervous, they pat faster and faster. This quick patting further excites their pet. Try to stroke the full length of the body at about the normal rate of respiration.

POSITIVE THIGMOTAXIS: The opposition reflex. This is the MOST DIFFICULT CAUSE OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, because we AUTOMATICALLY FALL VICTIM TO IT.

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Separation Anxiety Howling, Barking, Whining, Chewing, Messing Stuff Up When You Go Out!

March 21st, 2010

If All of our techniques and advice have been followed correctly, there is no obvious reason your puppy should undergo stress just because he’s home alone.
Although most dogs and people prefer to not be alone, there’s never any excuse why your dog should ever do anything other than what you desire, being his pack leader.
If he gets nervous just because you are away, that implies something is amiss. The techniques articulated in the obedience section under “four step heeling pattern exercise” will instill in him a sense of self-confidence that will override his boogey man.

But, we have another secret to share!
Try this before laughing. Like your dog, we don’t like to the laughed at! Say “good bye” to an article of his, maybe a toy or a bone.
Do this last after saying good by to him. Make a big fuss over this article, explaining that you’ve got to go, and that you expect “it” to behave while your gone.
Put it down, without looking at your dog, and go. Upon your return, search for and find this article prior to speaking to or in a manner addressing your dog, even if he is jumping up and down to say hello.
Just ignore him until this procedure is finished.
Pick “it” up and exuberantly explain how you’ve missed “its” company while you’ve been absent, and how pleased you are that “it” has been so good while you’ve been away.
Then You May Look At And Address Your Dog, Regardless Of Any Damage Or Destruction He’s Imposed, and tell him he’s been good too, and that you’ve missed him.
Ignore any damage he might have caused. This is effective, and will probably “blow his mind.” The next time you need to go out, he’s going to try to emulate the behavior of this inanimate object.

Now you understand this procedure must be done for four consecutive occasions. Do this on a couple of brief absences, and you’ll see the problem disappear.

Of course, we do have a technique using sound to correct any malbehavior that might occur in your absence.
Upon your return, disregard any damage. Leave your attitude outside, don’t gasp, sigh, swear, or show any negative emotion.
Say hello, as you should ordinarily, and before touching any damaged or soiled area, search for one of those cans.
Picking it up very carefully so as to not create any sound, walk past the “bad spot” and casualty point toward it and ask “what’s that?” as you drop the can next to it, as you continue to go about your business not relative to this incident.

Put your dog out of sight while you clean or repair any damage. When your done, and you’ve invited him back in, he’s going to look at that area and look up at you.
Your going to tell him what a good dog he is, even though he wasn’t. This will “blow his mind.”
He’s going to wonder “what can I do to get your attention?”

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