Behavior Clips: Evaluating Training Methods

by Gary Wilkes

When I was a young man working in the humane movement, I was offered mounds of information about dogs. It seemed that I was the one person on the planet who was ignorant of the beasts. Every person I talked to seemed to have a great-uncle who was a master dog trainer. The various great nephews and nieces would announce their familial relationship, swell up with pride, and tell me the secret to understanding the canine psyche. I soon learned either to listen politely to these gems of canine lore or to wear protective gear. People who know everything about dogs have very short tempers.

My discovery of this cultural phenomenon came slowly. In my innocence, I mistakenly tried to integrate the information into a logical framework. For instance, I was once told that if a dog is afraid of men, it is an indication that the dog has been beaten by a man. In my ignorance, I attempted to make that bit of wisdom work for me elsewhere. I then proposed that if a dog was afraid of thunder, it must therefore have been beaten by a cloud. I was promptly told, "It doesn't work that way."

Another bit of knowledge that came my way was the startling effect of blood in a dog's diet. I was told that if a dog kills livestock and gets the taste of blood in his mouth, he will forever be a livestock molester. Once again, I decided to try out my new-found data in other fields. If a taste of blood can cause a lifelong change of behavior, why not use a drop of it when teaching Rover to "sit," thereby creating a lifelong devotion to obedient "sitting"? I was promptly told, "It doesn't work that way."

With my limited knowledge of "how it works," I continued to make blunders of reasoning about dogs. I was told, at length, that dogs descended from wolves, and therefore, we should train dogs the way that wolves train each other. One of the ways dogs intimidate each other is to growl and bare their teeth. I thought I had finally discovered "how things work" when I suggested that one need only to buy a used pair of dentures to intimidate a dominant dog. I was promptly told to "get serious."

Another wolf-like maneuver is to force a dog onto its back as a display of dominance. This time, I was sure I had the information correct, so I offered the thought that it would be much less trouble merely to teach the dog to lie on its back rather than wrestling around on the ground. This, it turned out, was also "not the way it works." It isn't the act of lying on the ground that is important but the way the animal is forced into the position. I was instructed to grab the dog by the sides of the neck and roll it to the ground. At this, I was really confused. I could not figure out how wolves grab each other without opposable thumbs.

My learning about the secret ways of dogs was not limited to natural behaviors. I once watched a trainer give a very harsh correction to a dog with a choke chain. When I asked if that was painful or dangerous to the dog, I was told that a choke chain is not painful but merely "gets the dog's attention." When I asked if I could put a choke chain around the trainer's neck if I needed to "get his attention," I was promptly told to mind my own business.

Another training secret that was revealed to me was that you can get a dog to stop barking by banging pans together or shaking a tin can filled with pennies. The loud noise is meant to startle the dog into silence. When I remarked that frightening a dog with a loud noise seemed to have the same effect as "beating a dog with a cloud," I was told that I really didn't understand the process.

While my casual education yielded little of substance, I did learn ways to evaluate training and behavior advice. My lack of understanding of these methods and practices prevented me from experimenting on my dog -- I think he appreciated that even if the advice givers were disappointed by my reluctance to share in their wisdom. Though I somehow never seemed to understand "how it works," I did learn a few important things about how to evaluate training advice. Here are a few simple questions that can help you examine a training method on a fundamental level -- before you experiment on your dog.

Is It Safe?

Techniques that rely on pain can cause damage if used incorrectly but may not if they are used properly. I tend to shy away from things that could cause damage, even if I did it wrong. For instance, stepping on a dog's paws may stop jumping behavior but can easily break bones in the dog's foot. Slingshots and B.B. guns may stop chronic barking, but throwing or shooting things near an animal assumes that you are a cross between Annie Oakley, Sandy Kofax, and the Amazing Kreskin. If you are slightly off target, or if Rover zigs when you zag, you can do serious damage. This does not mean that all aversive control is bad. I taught a very large Chesapeake to stop jumping on guests with a Vick's inhaler. Was it "aversive"? You betcha. Did I learn it from somebody's ex-wife's cousin? Nope. It's the same principle that fuels those citronella spray collars. Does it work all the time? Not any more than they do.

How Does This Method Work?

Dogs possess a few simple motivations. Beware of explanations that do not stick to basics. A statement that a technique "just gets their attention" is not accurate enough. The real question is whether it motivates through pain, fear, comfort, or pleasure and whether it starts, stops, increases, or decreases the behavior.

Does It Actually Work?

Rubbing a dog's nose in feces or urine will not teach it to eliminate outdoors. It does teach the dog to avoid you when eliminating in the house, however. The dog can avoid you in several ways. He will go behind the couch or simply leave the room and do it elsewhere. In case you are wondering, the real secret to housetraining is to use food treats for correct potty behavior while avoiding any type of punishment for accidents.

On the other hand, head halters have been used on big, strong animals for about 5,000 years. These work, because they limit the amount of strength the animal can exert moving forward. If your client has a dog that tugs them unmercifully, get a halter on the dog. If the dog doesn't like it, use treats to teach him to wear it comfortably. Why go to that trouble? Because it works.

The bottom line is that whether the suggestion involves treats or corrections is ultimately irrelevant. It's not about being nice or harsh. It's about getting the behavior fixed. Pet owners won't keep a dog forever if it continues to chew carpet, jump on kids, and dart out the front door. If giving treats for "not eating" the carpet doesn't work, it doesn't matter how nice it is. Likewise, if increasing the dog's exercise levels doesn't stop the carpet chewing, it's not working. The issue is always a matter of teaching a dog to be polite so that, in the future, your clients can tell someone, "I used to own a dog that was perfect, and here's how I did it."

Gary is an internationally acclaimed behaviorist, trainer, author, columnist and lecturer. He has more than 30 years experience working with dogs, including eight years of shelter work. Gary Wilkes is responsible for the innovation and development of clicker training as a practical methodology for dogs and with his former colleague, Karen Pryor, introduced this method to the world in 1992. His knowledge is founded on his experience clicker training thousands of dogs by veterinary referral and includes teaching the first clicker training classes, correcting serious aggression, training animals with physical and neurological disabilities, creating training protocols for search and rescue, assistance and therapy dogs and consulting with MIT on artificial intelligence projects. He currently has a full-time, veterinary referral-based behavior practice in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a columnist and feature writer for Off-Lead & Animal Behavior, and behavior columnist for Groomer to Groomer magazines.