{"id":1760,"date":"2012-11-23T14:20:53","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T03:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/?p=1760"},"modified":"2021-08-02T17:39:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T07:09:39","slug":"general-training-bits-dunbar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/dog-behaviour\/dog-training-dog-behaviour\/general-training-bits-dunbar\/","title":{"rendered":"General Training Bits (Dunbar)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><small><small>This post is part of the series in response to Dunbar&#8217;s 2012 Australian seminars. See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/aboutblog\/the-dunbar-index\/\">index<\/a>.<\/small><\/small><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/0000000000000000000000000000000000.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1814 alignright\" title=\"Blue merle border collie dog jumping through red tyre in agility.\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/0000000000000000000000000000000000-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/0000000000000000000000000000000000-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/0000000000000000000000000000000000.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of little training bits that Dunbar mentioned that don\u2019t really go in any other post\u2026 Here they are for you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the \u2018big wide world\u2019, dog owners should always carry treats for classical conditioning. Always. For the life of the dog. You can perhaps relax a bit after the dog is 3 years old, but it certainly should go beyond 3-4 months of &#8216;puppyhood&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>We should aim to remove food lures (but this is not the same as classical conditioning, where we need food all the time).<\/li>\n<li>A dog that will play fetch or tug are more reliable off lead, as they often seek people to engage in play.<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar stated that he did not support using behaviour-ancedecent-consequence (that is, BAC) in training as he finds it ineffective.\u00a0 That is, as a dog sits, you say \u201csit\u201d, and hope they associate the word with the behaviour.\u00a0 (In my personal experience, I have captured behaviours using this method and put them on cue in very few repetitions\u2026 <em>I<\/em> find it quite effective.)<\/li>\n<li>Sit and lie down are great solutions to almost any problem \u2013 as long as you\u2019re still there.<\/li>\n<li>Fixes for humping:\n<ul>\n<li>Tell the dog to do something else (e.g. sit, drop, fetch).<\/li>\n<li>Cue the dog to \u201coff\u201d and withdraw from the environment if the dog continues to hump.<\/li>\n<li>Along with \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/dog-behaviour\/dog-training-dog-behaviour\/put-your-problem-on-cue-dunbar\/\">put your problem on cue<\/a>\u2019, put humping on cue! (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5jaA4k4SdTg\">Jean Donaldson did just that<\/a>.)<\/li>\n<li>If your dog really likes humping, give your dog a \u2018humpy cushion\u2019 to reward them for good behaviour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>For teaching a dog to \u2018take stuff\u2019, then associate the cue with them taking good treats from your hand. The dog will form a habit, and will automatically take less-good-stuff when presented.<\/li>\n<li>Tugging can be vamped as a secondary reinforcer.<\/li>\n<li>Punishment is insufficient.\u00a0 Punishes inhibits behaviour only.\u00a0 Training is not just stopping undesirable behaviours, but also quickly getting back on track into more appropriate behaviours.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSorry behaviour\u201d exists. Dunbar used the example of young horses who, when kicked out from a herd for a short time, return in an apologetic way.\u00a0 This can be a way to strengthen relationships.<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar described \u2018back chaining\u2019 as \u201cmoving to a position of strength\u201d, and used (people) learning poems as an example. That is, if a person was to learn the last bit of a poem first, and work their way back, they\u2019re likely to learn it quicker.<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar advocated teaching dogs that a gruff or loud tone of voice means \u201cbetter treats\u201d, which helps to protect against dogs running away or acting unfavourably in situations when their owner\u2019s voice becomes tense.<\/li>\n<li>Suggested putting running fast on cue, and using it in recalls and dog sports (like flyball).<\/li>\n<li>As a safety behaviour, teaching dogs \u201cnot my daddy\u201d when people go to open their crate: anti-theft training.<\/li>\n<li>Training is:\n<ul>\n<li>Changing the frequency of behaviours, and<\/li>\n<li>Putting behaviours or absence of behaviours on cue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar advocated using a stern voice (as a punisher) to teach dog boundaries \u2013 particularly, not to go out the front door and not to go out the front gate.<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar suggested that we are \u2018hung up\u2019 on etiology (work out why the dog is doing what it\u2019s doing) instead of actually working to fix the program.\u00a0 In Dunbar\u2019s words, \u201cJust get on with it and train the dog!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Mental exercise tires a dog quicker than physical exercise.\u00a0 Nosework is the ultimate in mental exercise.<\/li>\n<li>For dogs that greet people in a problematic way, they should be <a href=\"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/dog-behaviour\/dog-training-dog-behaviour\/put-your-problem-on-cue-dunbar\/\">taught \u2018shush\u2019 and \u2018sit\u2019<\/a>, and people coming into the house should be schooled to cue these behaviours.\n<ul>\n<li>Furthermore, these dogs can be taught that people arriving is a cue for quiet.<\/li>\n<li>In Dunbar\u2019s opinion, ignoring and back turning doesn\u2019t stop jumping up \u2013 but saying \u201csit\u201d often does.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Dunbar\u2019s summary (para-phrased) of dog training \u2018these days\u2019:\u00a0 There is a lot more food, and a lot more classical conditioning.\u00a0 Dogs are getting friendly and safer around people.\u00a0 But, dog-dog aggression is increasing because of lack of off leash training.\u00a0 Lots of people who begin clicker and luring training keep these tools forever.<\/li>\n<li>Though lure-reward training or clicker training is a good place to start training behaviours, these behaviours need to be phased out.<\/li>\n<li>He said, \u201cIf we phased out our reward tools, we\u2019d blow punishment out of the water.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>As you move away from a dog, their comprehension of the cue decreases.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flooding_(psychology)\">Flooding<\/a> is only okay when the rewards are justifiable. Puppies can be flooded.\u00a0 Dogs that are human aggressive should not be flooded.<\/li>\n<li>Rewards drive behaviour!<\/li>\n<li>He likes the simplistic law of effect from Thorndike\u2019s: Rewards increase frequency of behaviour, punishments decrease frequency.\u00a0 Really, Dunbar argues, this is all there is to training.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Dunbar also included some sneaky tips for competitive obedience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When training the directed retrieve, name each glove differently.\u00a0 For example, \u201cFetch\u201d is the left most glove, \u201cBring\u201d is the middle glove, and \u201cCarry\u201d is the right glove.<\/li>\n<li>When training the directed jump, name each jump differently.\u00a0 For example, use \u201chup\u201d for the solid jump and \u201cover\u201d for the bar.<\/li>\n<li>When performing heel patterns, use a long step to communicate that you\u2019re about to cease heeling.<\/li>\n<li>A puppy class activity: People screaming on the ground. If the dog can approach this is a friendly way, then that bodes well for their future.<\/li>\n<li>A fun activity for those that are interested: make a list of the 10 most rewarding things for your dogs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some tips for luring:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Raise a treat to get the dog to sit.<\/li>\n<li>Place the dog at a height (e.g. on a ledge\/retaining wall) when luring the drop, as a lower treat often makes the dog more inclined to drop.<\/li>\n<li>When luring a dog from the drop position up (into a sit or stand), your lure needs to be enthusiastic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some thoughts from Dunbar on behaviour management tools:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Management tools, like haltis and harnesses, can be used in between training a cue for the desirable behaviour.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want your control to be contingent on the tool, but it can be helpful in the interim.<\/li>\n<li>We should be aiming for \u2018worst case scenarios\u2019 \u2013 if the door was left open or the dog slipped its leash, would you have control?\u00a0 Most management tools don\u2019t allow us to control these situations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re almost at the end of our Dunbar series! One post to go!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some general training tips from Dr Ian Dunbar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[12,164,11,376,375,53],"class_list":["post-1760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dog-training-dog-behaviour","tag-dog","tag-dog-training","tag-dogs","tag-dunbar","tag-ian-dunbar","tag-training"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1760"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1760"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4988,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1760\/revisions\/4988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/leemakennels.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}