Some of the once popular methods for Labrador training (or any other dogs really) were quite frankly abhorrent: physical pain and intimidation (such as grabbing your puppy by the scruff of the neck and holding her down until she goes limp), or other inhumane methods like shock or pronged collars has fortunately fallen out of favor now that we know a bit more about dog psychology.
It’s now widely accepted among the vast majority of dog training experts that the most effective and humane way to train your dog is through positive reinforcement.
This is just a fancy phrase for what is actually a very simple theory: You simply reward good behavior and ignore behavior that you don’t want repeated.
While this is effective with just about any dog, a Labrador’s desire to please and above average intelligence makes this the perfect training method.
Positive reinforcement works with your dog. Rather than forcing your dog into a sit position for example, it is now understood that your dog will not only learn the behavior faster, but is also likely to remember it more reliably when she can understand what you want from her. She also gets to use her own brain while figuring out what you want and is more likely to become better at learning new tricks over time.
Some ways you can facilitate the training process
Use meaningful rewards
Training is hard work for you Labrador puppy, and she’ll get bored pretty quickly with a routine pat on the head and a “good girl”.
Incidentally, most dogs don’t even like being patted on the head – watch their expressions and notice how most will balk or shy away when you move your hand towards their heads).
To keep your puppy interested, you must use tempting incentives. Also mix it up a bit – Don’t always treat the same way or with the same treats.
Use the right timing
When you reward your Labrador puppy, you have to realize that you are rewarding her for the last thing she did. For example, you’re teaching your dog to sit, but you’re slightly slow with giving her the treat, So she get’s the treat as she gets up – Now you’ve just rewarded her for getting up…
When your puppy obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you’re going to reward so that, when she gets that treat in her mouth, she understands exactly what behavior it was that earned her the reward.
You could use a clicker for this (a small metal sound-making device, which emits a distinct “click” when pressed). The clicker is clicked at the exact moment that a dog performs the desired behavior (so, if asking a dog to sit, you’d click the clicker just as the Lab’s bottom hits the ground). Personally I prefer to just say “Yes!” in a happy, excited tone of voice to mark the behavior. Just make sure that you give her the treat after the marker – and remember to use the marker consistently.
If you only mark the behavior sometimes, it won’t have any significance to your dog when you do do it; she needs to learn through repetition what that marker means (i.e. that she’s done something right, and a treat will be forthcoming very shortly). So be consistent with your marker.
Be consistent with your training commands
When you’re teaching a Lab a command, you must decide ahead of time on the verbal cue you’re going to be giving her, and then stick to it. So, when training your dog to not jump up on you, you wouldn’t ask her to “get off”, “get down”, and “stop jumping”, because that would just confuse her; you’d pick one phrase, such as “No jump”, and stick with it.
No matter how smart your puppy is, she doesn’t understand English – she needs to learn, through consistent repetition, the actions associated with a particular phrase. Her rate of obedience will be much better if you choose one particular phrase and use it every time you wish her to enact a certain behavior for you.
How to reward your dog meaningfully
All dogs have their favorite treats and preferred demonstrations of physical affection. Some dogs will do backflips for a dried liver or boiled chicken snippet; other dogs just aren’t ‘chow hounds’ (big eaters) and prefer to be rewarded through a game with a cherished toy, or through some physical affection from you.
You’ll probably already have a fair idea of how much she enjoys being touched and played with – each dog has a distinct level of energy and demonstrativeness, just like humans do.
The best ways to stroke your dog: most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. Just don’t use this one too often, and don’t let the puppy initiate it. Otherwise you’re teaching her that she can control you! You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.
As far as food is concerned, it’s not hard to figure out what your dog likes: just experiment with different food treats until you find one that she really goes nuts for. It’s also interesting to note that you can get the best results by treating intermittently – Don’t always give a treat, and sometimes, give a dog a jackpot (A lot of small treats all at once).
Intermittent treating seems to keep dogs on their toes, and more interested in what might be on offer – it prevents them from growing bored with the food rewards, and from making a conscious decision to forgo a treat (This is rather unlikely when dealing with a Labrador puppy though!).
How to correct your dog meaningfully
The great thing about positive reinforcement training is that it doesn’t require you to do anything that might go against the grain. You won’t be called upon to put any complex, weighty correctional theories into practice, or be required to undertake any harsh punitive measures.
When it comes to positive reinforcement training, all you have to do is ignore the behavior that you don’t wish to see repeated. Not getting any attention (because you’re deliberately ignoring her) is enough to make just about any Lab pretty miserable, and thus is a powerful correctional tool.
Contemporary belief in dog training states that we should simply ignore incorrect responses to a training command – that, with no reinforcement from us (yes, even negative attention – like verbal corrections – counts as reinforcement: to some Labradors, negative attention is better than no attention at all), the dog will stop the behavior of her own accord.
The bigger the fuss you make over her when she does get it right, the clearer the connection will be between a particular behavior(s) eliciting no response at all, but other behaviors (the right response) eliciting massive amounts of positive attention from you.
Recommended Reading
Hopefully this article has given you a good basic insight into the more helpful attitudes and techniques to use when training your Labrador. However, the subject remains pretty complex, and it’s a good idea to learn as much about effective training techniques as possible. I would suggest that you read everything you can related to dog training and make up your mind about how exactly you want to train your Labrador puppy. There is many different methods to achieve the goal of a well trained and obedient Lab.
One excellent resource for Labrador Training is Secrets to dog training: the ultimate training and knowledge database for dog owners. With a focus on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors, as well as obedience work and ‘tricks’, Secrets to dog training covers a vast variety of topics in minute detail – all round, an invaluable manual for dog owners everywhere.
You can check out Secrets to dog training by clicking on the name.
photo credit: Magic Madzik
Labrador training when your puppy is whining
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 11:40 am and is filed under Labrador Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
