FEATURE
WHO TEACHES WHOM ? AUTHOR Kathryn Vance
On Tuesday Oct . 12 , Dr . Charles Oberst , chair of the Cato Senior Physicians group , introduced Mr . John Imler , owner of Top Dog Training . He attended the National Canine School for Dog Trainers and has done advanced studies in ethology , the study of animal communication and behavior . He has trained all sorts of dogs , including K-9 dogs , and is a veteran and a family man .
He started his presentation with the overarching statement he gives to all his clients : You decide who the trainer is - if you don ’ t decide , by default the dog is the trainer . For example , bell training to let a dog go outside to the bathroom might seem like a good idea . While it might look like the dog has been trained to use the bell to indicate needing to go out , the dog has actually trained you to give it attention !
Why does my dog do that and how can I fix it ? Too often , he said , we treat the symptoms without knowing the underlying cause of behavior . Reasons why a dog “ does that ” can include genetics , environment , drive / motivation , development and consequences .
DEVELOPMENT :
What a dog goes through developmentally in 2-3 years , a human will go through in 20-30 .
Prenatal and neonatal period : 9-10 weeks of pregnancy and 0-2 weeks after birth : the puppy is completely helpless and can ’ t interact with environment .
Transition period : 2-3 weeks old : starting to interact with environment , humans can look at the genetic line and learn what behaviors to expect from the dog .
Critical socialization period : 3-12 weeks old : one of the most important periods for dogs , the puppy is starting to experience things both good and bad . We must look at things from the perspective of the dog . Did you know , that if you get a puppy and have a baby close together , six years later when you walk them both to the school bus , your pup will think , “ That giant yellow monster just ate my sister !!” Try to keep in mind always the way the dog experiences the world .
Testing period : 3-6 months old : where the puppy will start doing things for themselves , such as not coming when called .
Adolescence : 6-18 months old : larger breed dogs will mature more slowly than smaller breed dogs . This is the body becoming physically an adult , but the brain has not caught up . The dog can physically do a number of behaviors well , but will not be consistent
22 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE with that behavior .
Adult : 1-3 years old : smaller dogs will enter adulthood earlier than larger dogs . This is the best version of the dog physically and mentally , from over 2 to about 6 . Dogs start to “ act like they have sense ” after age 2 .
Senior : 6-10 years old , and onward : please take into account the individual capabilities and the health of the dog as they grow older .
DRIVE / MOTIVATION
All types of drives will change over development .
Social ( reproductive ): behaviors associated with interactions of others ( humans or dogs ). For example , a Labrador Retriever is genetically designed to be a social animal . On the flip side , livestock guardian dogs like Great Pyrenees are designed not to see as much value in relationships once they hit adulthood .
Prey ( food and resource acquisition ): the dog has a motivation to find food or resources . They then start the stalking phase followed by the chase , grab-bite and the kill-bite , followed by dissection and consumption . While it might seem like your dog doesn ’ t do this , think about what happens when a dog gets a new chew toy .
Defense ( avoidance / agonistic ): these are behaviors associated with potential or real threats to self , resources or territory . For example , when a dog sees the mailman , they see a stranger drive by slowly , scoping the house out . The mailman leaves once the drop the mail off , but the dog sees their leaving as a result of a successful display of aggression ( barking ).
THE ABCS OF BEHAVIOR
Antecedents - This is what comes before the behavior or the event / environments that trigger behavior . This includes commands , people walking by the house , habit formation and trigger stacking . Mr . Imler tells clients when they ’ re training to constantly reward the dog over and over for sitting , forming a habit without cognitively thinking about it . Multiple triggers happening concurrently can trigger a dog to have bad behavior that they would not ordinarily have .
Behavior - This is what the antecedent brought on . It needs a prompt ( the antecedent ), motivation and ability . For example , consider a dog who doesn ’ t like people with beards . Someone with a beard enters their home ( prompt ), the dog is afraid of individuals like that ( motivation ) and is off-leash ( ability ). If we
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