I've agreed to try to help my older neighbor train her little terrier mutt. I'm pretty confident the dog is trainable, less confident about the neighbor. I'm planning to make a little poster with my top 3 tips for her, basically the three most fundamental things she should know. This is what I'm currently thinking: Be consistent! Reward good behavior (treats, toys, attention). Do not reward bad behavior. (Remember, attention can be a reward!) Be patient! It will take time to learn a behavior and for a behavior to become a habit. What would you put on your Top 3 Things a new dog owner/trainer should keep in mind?
To replace your one! Bake cakes for your nice neighbour! Serious suggestion. Click/mark good behaviour and then treat
Sarah, i immediately read your rule as be a splitter, not a lumper. Did you have something else in mind?
Always mark good behaviour and never loose temper, be patient always. Consistency also matters a lot in training.
Oooh, what's a splitter and a lumper? Sounds like... sports?? I meant, don't rush to try and achieve each stage and move on to the next as quickly as possible. Take time to shape behaviors accurately before you give them a name, proof commands gradually before you try and use them outside surrounded by rabbits, and make sure the dog is confident of each stage before you move on, etc. Or in other words, it's quicker in the long run to do it slowly and right the first time, than to do it fast, and have to go back and and fix your mistakes. I can't take credit for the phrasing (I forget where I read it now, unfortunately) but it struck a chord because I am always very impatient to try and skip to the end!
Sarah, you are going to love the expression because it does come close to parts of your description. Not mine. I believe It comes from horse trainer Alexandra Kurland. It means when shaping (really any training in general) don't group several criteria into one gigantic step. Don't lump. Instead split the criteria into smaller and smaller increments/approximations so that the dog can succeed. See Mary Hunter Are You a Splitter or a Lumper? Stale Cheerios I am hoping this thread can take off. For pedagogical purposes it is really useful to have pithy sayings.
1. timing 2. timing 3. timing The importance of timing is hugely underestimated. People think that they are rewarding the correct behaviour, but they are too slow at marking/praising/treating so the dog has no idea what it was that you liked.
