You’re also learning the ropes at training class
We are struggling with our dog in training class. Our dog would rather sniff the floor instead of focusing on us. When the trainer takes the leash, our dog turns into a model student. We feel like a failure. What are we doing wrong?
Dog trainers should achieve better results than owners do. If they do not, it might be time to hire a new trainer. A successful expert has years of experience working with hundreds of dogs. Their training skills are honed and well-rehearsed.
Intuitively, we understand this if we take other types of classes. Art teachers successfully paint things we cannot. Great math tutors reach children while parents struggle when presenting the same information.
Pet training is unique because owners are both student and teacher. They are a student in relation to the trainer. They are a teacher in relation to the dog. Owners must learn skills and then immediately apply those lessons to the dog. That is quite a learning curve. To be more precise, it is two learning curves — one for the dog and one for the owner.
Dog trainers probably inadvertently feed into a feeling of failure when they demonstrate complex skills with ease. Owners ultimately wind up feeling as if they are missing some magical gift of animal communication or leadership. No such gift exists. Magic animal communication happens in Disney movies when birds and mice dress Cinderella. Remember that in real life, dog training is learned through practice.
Dog owners do not need to be experts. They do need to recognize that the path to success involves learning how to train. It is the job of a dog trainer to coach owners clearly, in small, manageable steps. It is their job to encourage and inspire their students so they master the art of teaching and training.
The culture of a dog-training class should clearly communicate that owners have the capacity to learn and succeed.
Hire a trainer who is better than you are. However, good dog trainers should also be good at teaching people. Try to see the dog trainer’s considerable ability as something to aspire to, not a talent that one is born with. Our cat pesters me, but only when I am working at my desk. He walks across my keyboard and lies down on my papers. At other times, he cuddles next to me. Why does he pester me the one time I need him to be good?
Animals will always do what works to get them what they want. However, they do not just learn one set of rules. They often learn different rules for different scenarios.
It’s similar to us behaving one way at work and another way at a sports bar. Cheering and yelling at work is not likely appropriate. Neither is being a workaholic at a party.
Cats that happily lie next to us on the sofa learn that in those situations, lying next to us might result in a belly rub. It is an effective strategy at that time. When we work, they learn that the most effective strategy is to pester by walking across our keyboard. Pestering is a recipe for instant attention.
Animals may think it better to be praised than punished. Punishment is better than being ignored. Each time we move the cat, we are giving attention. It feeds into the cycle.
Cats are highly trainable. Decide what you want the cat to do and train them much the same way you would train a dog. Prevent them from rehearsing problematic behaviour. Reward behaviour you would prefer to have instead. Yvette Van Veen is an animal behaviour consultant. Write her at advice@awesomedogs.ca