Hi everyone, Am completely new to all this (and posted about our new English Springer in Dog Training: Principle and Practice forum). I'm trying to understand the science behind obedience. Could someone help me understand how repeated training with Click and Treat eventually translates into an obedient dog (rather than one who's only interested in getting a treat ), or point me to a relevant article that deals with this? Thanks!! David
http://www.thelabradorsite.com/clicker-training-whats-it-all-about/ http://www.thelabradorsite.com/my-dog-wont-obey-me-without-food/
I hate the term "obedience". If you think in terms of obedience, then you must also think in terms of disobedience. It puts the blame on the dog. With a dog, especially a working one, you should be thinking in terms of partnership. Not many years ago, people wanted their wives to be obedient, but now that's abhorrent. Similarly, to me, expecting blind obedience from a dog is abhorrent. You have to consider why your dog should work for you. Out of love? Sorry, that's not how it works. This does not mean you need to - or should - bribe your dog, but you do need to motivate them. People who use punishment motivate their dogs to avoid that punishment. People who use reinforcement motivate them to work for a reward. This is very different to waving a treat in front of their noses to get them to perform - you are training them to perform in the absence of that motivator. Bribery doesn't work because, when the dog is making a decision between the treat and whatever he wants to do, at some point the treat will lose. People who think that positive reinforcement is bribery just don't understand what positive reinforcement is and how it works. Anyway, read the articles posted above and ask away with any more questions!
I don't know - but, in the case of my pups, it simply becomes habit. 'I always sit by doors' 'I always stop at kerbs' Etc
No, it might seem like that. What it becomes is a trained response. That means the dog has sort of internalised 'I get a treat if I do this' to 'this is a great thing to do'.
