TRANSLATING ENGLISH INTO 'BARK'

BY JEFF CAMPBELL, My Best Friend Obedience

The key to a happy and successful relationship is the same  with your dog as your significant other-- communication.  Real communication can be difficult between people, even when they speak the same language.

But when one speaks English (the two-legged one) and the other relies on body language (the four-legged one), it is essential to reach a common ground for mutual understanding.

Starting with communication skills can be the foundation for teaching your dog to learn-- not just to acquire robotic reactions of traditional "training."  

Before you ever say "sit," try teaching you dog some words that will be the foundation for future learning:

• "Good" means "you did it right" or "you are on the right track."

• "Ahht-ahht," that instinctive warning sound you jive a two-year-old approaching a hot stove, means "you are on the wrong track.  You can also use "wrong" to mean the same thing: "you did not do it right."  Remember: these do NOT mean your dog is "bad."

• "No" means "never do that again."

How do you use these to communicate with your dog?

The same way you teach a two-year-old English—with generous amounts of positive reinforcement and repetition.

Positive reinforcements “mark” desired behavior.  They include: “good,” the sound of a training clicker, “yes” at the moment of the desired behavior.  These “markers” are backed up by the rewards.  They include: a treat, a toy, petting, verbal praise, or anything your dog truly enjoys.  Let the dog know its on the right track.  Remember, depending on the amount of distractions in your training environment, in the beginning you may have to up the ante on the reward.  (Give a better reward.)

Negative reinforcements mark undesired behavior.  These are “marked” by “wrong” or “ahht-ahht.”  These “markers” are backed up by reward removal, a squirt from a water bottle, body block, ignoring.  Corrections do NOT need to be physical to be effective.  You are simply letting the dog know he’s on the wrong track. 

Patience and guidance help in teach a dog English.  When you call the dog’s name, simply waiting until he makes eye contact with you.  At first, the seconds may seem long, but after you make a noise (his name) he will eventually look.  Then praise and reward.  Avoid the temptation to chant or repeat the name until he looks.  Remember, "Rover" is different to your dog's ear than "Rover-Rover," just like "yo" is different from "yo-yo."

You can guide the dog to desired behaviors like you would lead a child to a hidden object in the game of “hot and cold.”  Repeated positive praise for being “warm” will get the dog to “hot.”  Verbal warnings will signal the dog away from “cold.”  This game of “hot and cold” will make training sessions more enjoyable and fun for you and your dog.

Mastering the language of “good” and “wrong” is essential to any type of communication.  Once you have established this foundation for a common language with your dog, you can take training and companionship to the next level.  You will then be able to teach your dog virtually anything.

Remember, training should be fun for your dog-- and you.

Jeff Campbell takes a break from training for My Best Friend Obedience with his 'family': Mikuyi, left, a Malmute/Shephard mix, and Yukon, the yellow lab