Training - How Dogs Learn

How Dogs Learn

By Cherish DeWitt ©2005  

Canine Behavior Center Specialist

Dogs learn by pairing events together. They are associative learners. They learn that the doorbell means someone is at the door.   They learn that the food bag rattling means they’re going to be fed.  So if dogs pair things together, they also pair the good with the bad.  For instance if you put a child in a room with a dog and the dog gets too rough-so you scold the dog, the dog learns that children are bad. Association can work for or against you.  Our endeavor in this class is to help you understand the pairing of associative learning so that you can be successful.

Successfully rewarding behavior we like and want to see again and marking it with a reward, increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.  We give a cue or antecedent, and a behavior repeatedly follows that cue, than the beginning of learning has occurred.  Because of associative learning however, it probably has only been learned in that environment.  To be learned successful it needs to occur 80% of the time in every environment.  This is when behaviorists consider it a learned behavior.  This is why people say “He knew it at home”.  Sure he did, but he only associates it with one environment.  Train as often as you can in as many environments as possible.

Reward marks, (a clicker or a spoken word like yes or good) marks the behavior we want immediately.  Dogs quickly learn that a reward follows the reward mark and they look expectantly for reinforcement.  Using reward correctly and timely increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated. 

Try to see yourself as an opportunist rather than a trainer.  You provide the dog with opportunities to earn rewards.  This helps to take the negative out of “trainer”.   Providing opportunities to earn reward and actually rewarding the things you like and want to see your dog exhibit, will help you communicate most effectively.  When your dog is lying quietly beside you, provide a reward and treat this behavior.  The opposite of this is to wait until the dog is loud and obnoxious and then yell at him.  If bad behavior gets your attention and gets you interacting with him, then he will engage in bad behavior.  Make every effort to reward what you want to see, which is the absence of behavior.

By using the “nothing in life is free” principle you will teach your dog that he has to earn rewards, food, water, playtime and the opportunity to go outside.  For everything your dog wants he must earn.  If he wants to go outside, he must sit at the door.  If he wants to be fed, perhaps he will have to lie down and stay until you release him to eat.  If he wants to play he may have to earn the right by doing a few required tasks first.  If you use this NILIF principle, your dog will look to you for instructions before he does things. 

1. Ask for a sit when he wants to come out of the crate and don’t open the door until he sits. 
2. Ask for a down before you set down the food bowl.
3. Ask for a sit stay before you open the door. 
4. Teach your dog to sit and put his head in the collar to go for a walk.

Make decisions now about the behavior you want and when you want it. 

What do you want your new puppy to do when someone is at the door?

What would you like the dog to do while you eat supper?

Where do you want the dog to sleep?

How do you want the dog to greet other people?

Would you like him to sit and be asked to come in a door or barge in front of you knocking you over?

Does he need to be polite and wait his turn or are you content with rudeness?

Should he jump on everyone or be nice and sit and wait?

Think carefully about what is appropriate with your puppy Now is the time to insist on good behavior.