Common Reasons Why R+ Training Isn't Working & How to Fix It Part 1
When you're training your dog, have you ever thought “why aren’t they getting this?” You are not alone. Many people get stuck while training their dogs. Whether with clients or seeing a post on social media asking for help, I see dog owners making the same mistakes over and over while training using positive reinforcement (R+). Us professionals frequently make them too! In this multi-part blog, I’ll explain training mistakes I commonly see and how you can fix them.
Training without a plan
Are you using a training plan to train your dog? If not, you need to start! Training plans outline the start and end points when training a skill or behavior. They also clarify what variables are impacting our training. If you have a plan, you can assess what has gone well so far and where exactly you’re getting stuck. This may give you information to add another step to the training plan when you get stuck.
For example, you want to train a dog to wear a muzzle. You have to start with building a positive association with the object, then teach them to stick their head through at their own pace. For most dogs, you’ll need to break down the training into small steps, such as being comfortable with something over the head, then with something being snapped or buckled, then slowly build duration wearing it. You can’t just throw it on them, snap everything together and expect the dog to be okay. Some may habituate and be okay, but most won’t. If you’re starting with a dog who is fearful of the muzzle, they will be even worse if you just force it on them.
Not sure how to write a training plan? That’s a whole other blog! In the meantime, I recommend the book "Train Your Dog Like a Pro" by Jean Donaldson. The training plans in this book will help you get started with your dog. You can also check out KikoPup and Chirag Patel on YouTube for some great instructional videos. And you can always contact a professional to help if you get stuck
Using the wrong training plan
You’re using a training plan, but it’s not working. Your dog may even be regressing. This is a common problem when working on fear behaviors. When this happens I usually see people using a chunky operant conditioning plan instead of a classical conditioning plan. Let me explain.
Operant conditioning is teaching an animal a skill or behavior by cuing them, waiting for them to do the behavior, then rewarding them once they do the behavior. The animal over time learns “if I see or hear x, then do y, I get a cookie!” This is a really great way to train dogs to sit, stay, offer a paw and train for a variety of sports.
Classical conditioning is training through associations. X predicts Y. The goal with classical conditioning is not to train a skill or behavior, it is to create a positive emotion for the animal. We frequently use this when training a dog to wear a harness or muzzle starting with just showing the dog the object. Harness appears, cookie is given. Over time the dog learns that that object appearing isn’t that scary and actually predicts some of their favorite food (or toys). This is especially important when training for veterinary and grooming procedures.
Many caretakers and trainers try to train strictly using operant conditioning. If they use classical conditioning to build a positive association from the start, their training may be more successful. When assessing your training plan, ask if you’re trying to train a behavior or change the animal’s emotional reaction. If behavior, use operant conditioning (cue -> behavior -> treat). If it’s emotions, use classical conditioning (scary thing -> super awesome treat).
The last piece of this is “chunky vs. splitty”. What does that mean? When we assess training plans, we look at how “chunky” the plan is, meaning is the plan fairly short with steps that tend to be pretty big? Or is it “splitty”; lengthy and have lots of tiny steps that make up the plan? Most training plans are somewhere in the middle. If your training isn’t progressing, your plan may be too chunky and you need to add some extra steps. Plans can also be overly-splitty, but the only downside of that is the plan taking a little longer to train.
There are 8 more common training mistakes I frequently see. Check out part 2 in the next few weeks!
