How Dog’s Learn:
Dog’s respond to feedback from their humans much like a toddler does. They can tell when you are happy and when you are not. However dogs primarily understand the world through non-verbal body language cues. This is how they communicate with us as well as how they receive information from their environment.
Body language can give a dog a ton of information about a person or dog’s behavior. It involves a series of unique methods used to communicate emotions and intentions. This is their natural way of understanding the world, which is quite different from our human world of primarily verbal communication.
Science tells us that dogs can problem solve like a toddler can, which means they can understand how to make decisions based on what has been reinforced. Dog’s make micro decisions every second, and this can be seen in their body language. We can’t expect a dog to learn the English language (It’s the hardest language in the world to learn anyway!) Therefore we need to learn to speak dog, but we can form a common language that includes both body language and verbal cues.
Marker Words:
It is important to teach your dog that we can communicate with them via body language, but we can also teach them a common language. In order to expect our dog to understand our wishes, it’s helpful to make sure they can understand what we want from them. This is where marker words come in. Much like clicker training, giving your dog feedback based on their decisions is how we learn to shape or modify behavior. Marker words allow us to share a common language and help our dogs understand what we are saying. Dog’s are consistent creatures, and need us to start being consistent with how we communicate with them. This is how we teach dogs to think, instead of react.
“A thinking dog is a thoughtful dog, an impulsive dog is a reactive dog.”
To communicate: we mark what we like, and mark what we do not like, and we follow through with body language.
To mark a behavior or choice that we like, we say “Yes!”.
To mark a behavior or choice that we do not like, we say “Uh Uh!”
To let our dogs know when they can be released from a stay or door boundary, we say “Ok!” or “Free!”
Exercise 1: The “Yes!” Game
To put this into practice, we can start off by playing the “Yes!” Game. This teaches our dog what to listen to so that they are clear on if they made the right choice or not.
Start by breaking up your treats into small but usable pieces. Simply treat your dog while saying “Yes!”, 5-10 times. This should be a super easy low-pressure exercise to build your dog's confidence and teach them a word that they will want to pay attention to.
Exercise 2: The “Name” Game
We may think our dog knows their name, but most likely they are only responding when they want to. If we want to build a healthy relationship with our dog, we need to have a way to get their attention in any situation. This exercise merges the first exercise together.
Break up your treats again, but now (in a calm or low distraction environment), say your dog's name, making sure it is loud and clear enough for them to hear. As soon as your dog responds by looking at you, say “Yes” and treat. Do this 5-10 times, and slowly increase the distractions in the environment. This will build a “tool” in their mental tool box for them to access later.
Sits & Downs
Since dogs do not understand our verbal commands or cues yet, there is no need to say or repeat the words “Sit” and “Down” over and over again. This will only teach your dog that your words are not worth listening to or valuable. Instead, we want to make sure we can first get them into a sit and down via hand signals (body language).
Exercise 3: Sit
Start by letting your dog engage with your treat, then slowly raise the treat above their head while they are still licking it. This should naturally help your dog into the sit position. As soon as their butt hits the floor, we say “Yes!” and treat. Your dog should start to pick up on the fact that they want to follow your hand movements in order to “release the treat”.
Exercise 4: Down
Start by getting your dog into the sit position via the method above. Then let your dog lick the trick in your hand as you slowly guide their head to the ground, making sure to lower the treat between their front legs and towards their chest, rather then in front of their body. As soon as their elbows hit the ground, say “Yes!” and treat. Be patient as this can take longer than the sit.
Homework:
Name Game: 5 minutes per day 1-2 times a day, increasing the distractions in the environment.
Sits and Downs: 5 minutes per day 1-2 times a day, or until your dog can read your hand signal and knows what’s expected.
