Think of all the different types of products there are currently on the market to “correct” your dogs behaviour.
The various forms of head halters,
Harnesses,
Choke, Slip, Prong collars,
Anti barking collars (Electric, Citronella, etc),
Electric collars of all descriptions,
Even “wacky” sticks (rolled up news paper)
– Almost magically, they stop the undesired behaviour, but have you ever stopped to think what they are actually doing? These products are just a quick fix, they stop the behaviour in a way which is usually uncomfortable to the dog. For this example I will use the head halter:
How does the head halter teach the dog?
- By negative reinforcement.
- They usually break or interrupt behaviour. Not teaching the dog the behaviour that you are wanting (unless used properly*)
- Either by closing the dog's mouth, or turning the dog's head away. This can be very uncomfortable for the dog and make the behaviour worse. You try going on your most much-loved walk around the streets with your mouth closed and not being able to look at things that you want to.
So where is the training in that?
- There is no real training in the use of these products as they seem to fix the problem instantly, but the dog doesn’t actually learn what you want from him.
- The dog learns that his, previous, best time in the day has now turned into something to avoided; he doesn’t want to put his nose into the head halter, so he is forced. He doesn’t like the pressure on his nose, so he tries to rub it off on the ground, then he is pulled up from the ground, he doesn’t like the upward force so he pulls backward or doesn’t move at all.
So remind me where is the training in that?
If you seriously need the use of one of these “aids” think very carefully before you put it onto the dog. As these are TRAINING aids, so please use them as such.
- Have you tried everything you can using positive methods to teach the dog the behaviour you are after?
- Is it a safety issue?
If a head halter has become the only option remember:
- You need to teach the dog to accept the halter before you put any pressure on it, I do this with a clicker, and I get the dog to willingly offer the behaviour of putting his nose into the halter by himself when I am holding it up. (Remember with the clicker you want to reward successful approximations towards the end goal rather than just asking for the end behaviour, therefore I want him to be completely happy with offering me his nose into the halter before I move onto the next stage.)
- Then I let the dog move about the house with it on, always supervised.
- After that I put a light lead with a light clip onto the halter, and reward for him accepting that.
- Next I may ask him to walk forward a pace, with no pressure on his nose. (On his own accord) rewarding him for his offered behaviour.
- Still in the house – I would ask him to walk beside me.
- Then outside, in the yard – I would ask the same thing. If he was not progressing I would go back a couple of stages until he became ok with what I was asking of him.
- Then we would exit the property and go for a walk, but not on the same walk as the previous, undesired behaviour occurred as we want to teach him from fresh rather trying to break two habits in one.
Remember to always reward for successful approximations towards the final goal, but don’t let yourself go backward, unless you have made the decision to. Be an active trainer, work with your dog, no one way will work for all dogs, this is just a rough guide to how I train accepting the head halter.
The availability of these products to the domestic market has just made dog training seem easier without actually having to put the work in. These products should be a specialty item and used under the instruction of a professional, rather than “off the shelf” solutions.
*Don’t get me wrong I understand the use of products on dogs when used in the correct manner for training purposes, but not as an everyday solution.
When I was training my pup I was walking around with a head halter and collar at the same time, with a lead on each.
The various forms of head halters,
Harnesses,
Choke, Slip, Prong collars,
Anti barking collars (Electric, Citronella, etc),
Electric collars of all descriptions,
Even “wacky” sticks (rolled up news paper)
– Almost magically, they stop the undesired behaviour, but have you ever stopped to think what they are actually doing? These products are just a quick fix, they stop the behaviour in a way which is usually uncomfortable to the dog. For this example I will use the head halter:
How does the head halter teach the dog?
- By negative reinforcement.
- They usually break or interrupt behaviour. Not teaching the dog the behaviour that you are wanting (unless used properly*)
- Either by closing the dog's mouth, or turning the dog's head away. This can be very uncomfortable for the dog and make the behaviour worse. You try going on your most much-loved walk around the streets with your mouth closed and not being able to look at things that you want to.
So where is the training in that?
- There is no real training in the use of these products as they seem to fix the problem instantly, but the dog doesn’t actually learn what you want from him.
- The dog learns that his, previous, best time in the day has now turned into something to avoided; he doesn’t want to put his nose into the head halter, so he is forced. He doesn’t like the pressure on his nose, so he tries to rub it off on the ground, then he is pulled up from the ground, he doesn’t like the upward force so he pulls backward or doesn’t move at all.
So remind me where is the training in that?
If you seriously need the use of one of these “aids” think very carefully before you put it onto the dog. As these are TRAINING aids, so please use them as such.
- Have you tried everything you can using positive methods to teach the dog the behaviour you are after?
- Is it a safety issue?
If a head halter has become the only option remember:
- You need to teach the dog to accept the halter before you put any pressure on it, I do this with a clicker, and I get the dog to willingly offer the behaviour of putting his nose into the halter by himself when I am holding it up. (Remember with the clicker you want to reward successful approximations towards the end goal rather than just asking for the end behaviour, therefore I want him to be completely happy with offering me his nose into the halter before I move onto the next stage.)
- Then I let the dog move about the house with it on, always supervised.
- After that I put a light lead with a light clip onto the halter, and reward for him accepting that.
- Next I may ask him to walk forward a pace, with no pressure on his nose. (On his own accord) rewarding him for his offered behaviour.
- Still in the house – I would ask him to walk beside me.
- Then outside, in the yard – I would ask the same thing. If he was not progressing I would go back a couple of stages until he became ok with what I was asking of him.
- Then we would exit the property and go for a walk, but not on the same walk as the previous, undesired behaviour occurred as we want to teach him from fresh rather trying to break two habits in one.
Remember to always reward for successful approximations towards the final goal, but don’t let yourself go backward, unless you have made the decision to. Be an active trainer, work with your dog, no one way will work for all dogs, this is just a rough guide to how I train accepting the head halter.
The availability of these products to the domestic market has just made dog training seem easier without actually having to put the work in. These products should be a specialty item and used under the instruction of a professional, rather than “off the shelf” solutions.
*Don’t get me wrong I understand the use of products on dogs when used in the correct manner for training purposes, but not as an everyday solution.
When I was training my pup I was walking around with a head halter and collar at the same time, with a lead on each.