Because people are an empathetic breed, we tend to project the emotions and feelings that we feel onto our pets. We have lived with the canine species as members of our own families for centuries while projecting these images. However, you will get a lot further with all levels of training if you understand how your dog thinks. If your goal is to truly bond with your dog, the only way to really achieve this is to understand him and not expect him to understand you. While we are all inclined to believe that dogs can't speak, the irony is that they speak very loudly and clearly. It is we who have difficulty understanding them.

The Doggy Memory Bank

Dogs do not store cognitive memory the way people do. They remember processes associated with primal needs, such as taste, which is why using treats is such a useful tool when training for positive behaviours. In fact, their cognitive memory is so non-existent that they do not remember something that happened just moments earlier.

This is a very important fact to remember because it is the reason that so many new pet owners experience such frustration when house-breaking. You cannot yell at a dog for making a mess on the carpet, or tearing up a rug if you do not catch him in the act. If Rambo tears up the woodwork and you grab him, and drag him to the scene of the crime, pointing and yelling as you scream at the wall, he will think you've lost your noodle. Rambo no longer remembers that wall, and does not associate your screaming at him with his actions from earlier.

The same is true for piddling or defecating on the floor. You must catch Rambo in the act of doing the duty if you are going to yell at him for it. Although to be honest, yelling at him while he is in the act is only going to serve to scare him and he will learn to associate normal body functions with anger. Instead, of reprimanding him, while he is going, rush him outside, he will begin to associate the action with going outside to do it. However, if you yell at him a minute after he's walked away, he will not realise you're mad at him for the act, and that you want him to do it somewhere else. He'll just think you are unstable, and have a problem with the floor.

You should never rub Rambo's nose in a floor spill; he won't associate the puddle or pile with his own eliminations. He'll just think you have a cruel and erratic personality.

Environmental Stimuli

Dogs react powerfully to environmental stimuli. Their basic instincts are pretty simple. They are to protect their den (your home) and find food and water. They associate good and bad experiences with events and responses. That makes the best type of training methods those that use positive reinforcement, rather than punishment. If your dog learns to associate doing a certain behaviour with getting a positive feeling, he will continue to associate it with something they want to do and eventually learn to do it on command.

The Pleasure Principle

There are two basic positive reinforcements that work well for dogs: food and praise. These two reinforcements feed their need for instinctive pleasure. Treats are great positive reinforcement, but should be used sparingly so the dog does not begin to associate doing the behaviour with the treat itself. Alternate using treats with giving plenty of verbal praise with petting.

The important thing to understand about dogs is that they are instinctual and unlike we who have forgotten these instincts, live and die by them. Training your dog on his terms and what he responds to will work wonders. Using punitive measures will not work and usually get a wholly different effect than you desire.

About the Author

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