Formulate and send your question
Question:
Does Schutzhund training for sporting purposes result in dangerous dogs and should it therefore be banned for privately owned dogs?
No. Schutzhund training for sporting purposes does not necessarily result in dangerous dogs. There is no study that would show that Schutzhund dogs are involved in biting accidents more often than other dogs, let alone that the training itself would produce aggressive dogs. This is also consistent with my experience in my ethological practice. Why is this the case?
I would like to cite two reasons.
Modern Schutzhund training based on the findings of behavioral research and learning psychology can be seen as an object-related game between the protection helper and the dog. Depending on the dog's level of training and physical development, the object may be a bite sausage, a sleeve or a suit. When training the central elements of a Schutzhund - grasping, holding and releasing the object - good helpers in Schutzhund training proceed in such a way that they gradually integrate the threatening actions required in the competition, such as striking movements with a stick, into the game and mix them with other friendly actions, such as petting. This gives the dog confidence in the whole situation and especially in the actions of the protection helper. This security of a well-trained protection dog in dealing with the helper is one reason for the rare occurrence of aggressive behavior towards humans.
Another reason is that during training, the control of commands is not only gained and increased through the behaviors "attack", "chase", "grab" and "hold on", but also through the dog's opposing actions, such as "heel", "here" and "out". This allows the owner of a Schutzhund to better control his dog in tricky everyday situations, e.g. the sudden appearance of a jogger, and thus avoid accidents.
It is clear from these explanations that it makes no sense to prohibit the Schutzhund training for sporting purposes.
Question:
My trainer has advised me not to teach my dog the commands at the same time but one after the other so as not to confuse him. What is your opinion on this?
Successive training of commands carries the great risk of creating an imbalance in the dog's behavior. Two examples: Intensive and exclusive practice of the "down" command leads to an imbalance towards lying down. This makes it more difficult to train the "stand" command later on, when the dog is supposed to stand up from a lying position.
Practicing mainly the "here" command leads to difficulties in the subsequent training of the "forward" command, which requires the dog to move in the opposite direction.
Behavioral imbalance can also arise with regard to the intensity of movement. Frequent training of the commands "Here" and "Bring" leads to an imbalance towards movement-intensive behaviors. Executing commands that require little movement, such as "sit", "down" or "stay", becomes difficult for the dog.
Imbalances in behavior can be avoided through a balanced training system with a variety of different commands that are practiced in parallel.
Conclusion: From the first training steps with the 10-week-old puppy to the end of training, the dog is offered all commands in random order in every training session.
Question:
I have a boxer who is a nice, harmless dog, but at 45 kg he causes problems when he sees a cat. He is then so caught up in his hunting fever that I can no longer get hold of him, even when he is within reach. My question is, is it possible to break a dog of this hunting instinct, because I am now afraid of every walk.
First the positive. It is definitely possible to get your Boxer's hunting behavior under control.
On the negative side, with a dog with a great passion for hunting, this can only be achieved with a lot of effort and probably not without professional help. The way to success is not by punishing the dog, but by solidly training a variety of commands that can then be recalled and rewarded in the hunting situation.
A central element of this counter-conditioning is the "no" command, which is taught to the dog in the form of 13 tasks with gradually increasing levels of difficulty. To illustrate this, I will describe the first, fourth and last task.
Task 1, Triggered No: On the command "No", the dog briefly interrupts a relatively low motivated behavior, such as approaching a piece of food that you are holding in your hand. If the dog reacts correctly, it is rewarded with the treat.
Task 4, Cancelling: The dog interrupts the execution of a commanded action that has just begun on the command "No".
Example: You give the dog the command "Here". Shortly after he starts to run towards you, you tell him "No", whereupon the dog stops and refrains from approaching you further.
You do this starting and stopping of a commanded behavior with all commands that the dog knows. This leads to a generalization of the "no" command. The dog learns to interrupt any action on command.
Task 13, Independent no: The dog does not approach a cat, a deer or a hare even if you are not present and do not give a command.
The description of the other tasks that lead to this "self-correction" of the dog and thus to the elimination of your hunting problem can be found in my book "Activation training - A powerful way to control behavior".
Question:
I have observed that trainers often reward their dogs every time they obey a command. Is so much reward necessary?
Yes and no. The frequency with which a dog should be rewarded depends on its level of training. When learning a new command, the dog is rewarded after every correct response. Through this constant reinforcement, the dog quickly forms an association between command, behavior and reward. The reward can be food, playing with the trainer or another pleasant event.
Inflation then sets in. The dog has to "pay" by executing more and more commands in order to receive a treat or to play with the trainer. At the end of the training, he is only rewarded when he has correctly obeyed an average of 5 commands. This irregular way of rewarding makes him more willing to carry out commanded behaviors than if he had continued to receive his reward according to the pattern of constant reinforcement.
By the way. This also applies to humans. Web surfers who are rewarded by clicking on a page with irregular website updates visit this page more often than those who never or regularly receive updates.
Question:
My dog sits very quickly in the heel position when we stopp, but does this very slowly and inhibitedly in the "sit in motion" exercise. How can I get my dog to sit faster?
The main training variable in the "sit in motion" exercise is the speed of the trainer's forward movement. Since your dog will sit quickly when you stop, he will probably do the same if you take very short steps while walking and then give the "sit" command and move away from the dog with the same speed as before the command. As the exercises progress, gradually increase the speed (stride length) of the forward movement up to the desired speed.
This procedure is also valid for the commands "stand" and "down".
Short video for illustration
Question:
In the activation training described in your book, you use electrical stimuli that are painless for the dog. Wouldn't it therefore be appropriate and in the interests of animal welfare if the manufacturers offered devices that only allowed low-intensity electrical stimuli?
No, it does not make sense to technically reduce the devices to a certain stimulation level.
Let me go into a little more detail about the way electrical stimuli are used in my activation training so that even readers who are unfamiliar or only slightly familiar with it can follow my reasoning.
The first phase of the activation training is called "play training". In this phase, I teach the dog the meaning of the commands and reward him for responding correctly with exuberant play. This develops the dog's positive attitude towards training and increases his motivation to play. Both are of central importance for successful work with electrical stimulation. As the training progresses, it is introduced at the lowest intensity permitted by the electrifying device used. With a "Dogtra" brand device, for example, this is level 1 of a total of 127 intensity levels. The electrical stimulus is then rapidly increased in stages until I recognize from the dog's behaviour that he is just perceiving the stimulus. Indicators for this sensitive stimulus threshold are movements of the ear above the side of the neck to which the receiver is attached, movements of the head in the direction of the stimulus source or slight shaking of the head. In most dogs, one of these reactions occurs between intensity levels 13 and 20 of a Dogtra device.
This electrical stimulus, which I describe as "low", is now superimposed over the dog's correct play-motivated reaction. I operate the transmitter so that the stimulus starts immediately after the command and stops when the commanded action is completed. As the dog gains more experience with the electrical stimulus, I gradually increase its intensity and look for the intensity at which the dog reacts quickly to my commands without any signs in its behavior that would indicate unpleasant sensations. At this stimulus intensity, which I call "optimal", there are usually more or less clearly visible muscle contractions on the dog's neck. To an attentive observer, it looks as if the dog is being "pushed" into the correct reaction by the electrical stimulation. However, the motivation underlying the action remains play.
Unfortunately, this optimal intensity is not a fixed or constant value. As with the "low" intensity that can just be perceived, it also varies from dog to dog. Influencing factors include the breed, sex and individual sensitivity of the dog. However, the "optimal" intensity also changes over time for the same dog. It is not possible to say that dog "Rex" is a "level 30 dog". One time the intensity level 30 is optimal, another time it is too high and then again too low. The optimum intensity varies mainly depending on the dog's level of excitement. The more excited the dog is, the higher the optimum intensity and it is lower when the dog's excitement decreases. Stimuli in the dog's environment also play a role. At the sight of a cat, our "Rex" barely perceives the electrical stimulus at level 30 and only level 52 "pushes" him into the commanded reaction. Or when a jogger runs provocatively close to the dog, level 38 has the desired effect: "Rex" reacts quickly and without any expression of discomfort to the command "Here".
You can see from these examples that a Dogtra device whose electrical stimulus would be reduced to a maximum stimulus intensity of level 20, for example, would not be suitable for activation training. A highly effective and at the same time animal-friendly method would be taken out of the hands of the experienced specialist. Would that be in the interests of animal welfare?
Question:
The term pressure always has negative connotations for me. But you differentiate between positive and negative pressure when training dogs. Can you explain this in more detail?
The concept of "positive/negative pressure" I learned from Daniel Tortora, the most important person in the history of electronic dog training. It is based on the following observation:
Dogs that have had positive experiences with the training situation and have learned that correct behavior in response to commands leads to play do not show any changes in expressive behavior which would indicate unpleasant sensations in response to a mild electrical stimulus that is superimposed over the commanded, already correct response.
By gradually increasing the intensity of the electrical stimulus, an optimal stimulus strength can be found, which leads to a faster reaction of the dog to commands. The stimulus leads neither to submissive behavior nor to inhibition, but merely "pushes" the dog into the correct action. This is what is meant by "positive pressure". Since the electrical stimulus does not lead to unpleasant sensations in the dog, it does not act as a negative reinforcer.
The intensity of this optimal stimulus varies also with the dog's level of excitement. The more motivated the dog is to play, the higher the optimal intensity of the electrical stimulation, and vice versa. Similar to titration, where the chemist creates a balance between acid and base, I try to balance the dog's excitement and the pressure during training by changing the intensity/frequency of play and the intensity of the electrical stimulation.
When it comes to gaining maximum behavioral control in dog sports, for hunting purposes or for everyday life, it is sufficient to work with "positive pressure".
The situation is different in the therapy of aggressive dogs. In the case of dogs that attack strangers, the owner, members of the owner's family or other dogs, I increase the electrical stimulation to an intensity that the dog perceives as slightly unpleasant. The pressure becomes "negative pressure" and there is a change in the motivation underlying the commanded actions. The dog's reactions to commands are no longer exclusively play-motivated but play-avoidance motivated. This mixed motivation is recognizable in the dog through more or less inhibition and slightly submissive expressive behaviour.
The electrical stimulus now also functionally becomes a negative reinforcer and the situation corresponds to escape-avoidance learning.
The dog learns to cope with an unpleasant stimulus with non-aggressive behaviors (e.g. approaching, lying down, sitting down, retrieving, releasing, etc.) and to win against it.
This new coping strategy leads to fundamental changes in the dog. He stops to show aggressive behavior to other unpleasant events (e.g. humans approaching a resting or eating dog). This was impressively demonstrated by Tortora in 1983 in his experimental work on safety training.
The concept of "positive/negative pressure" is far beyond the comprehension of most dog trainers. This is one of the reasons why it is so rarely practiced and why critics cannot be convinced of the animal-friendly use of electricity.
Question:
There are trainers who believe that making mistakes is part of learning. What do you say to them?
If the statement refers to animals in the wild, it is true. Young animals often learn through trial and error, i.e. by making mistakes and gradually discovering successful behavior.
Squirrels, for example, recognize a hazelnut immediately. They try to open the nut by gnawing furrows in it. However, as the furrows are made quite randomly on the nutshell, they do not succeed. Experienced squirrels, on the other hand, make a single nail groove in the right place and crack the nut. As the unsuccessful behavior is also part of the squirrel's repertoire, it remains more flexible. The squirrel can react better to possible changes in the food supply. In this respect, making mistakes is an important part of the adaptation process. However, dog training is about something else. Here I strive for maximum control of the dog's behavior. The dog is the reactor and the trainer is the signal giver.
And the fewer mistakes there are when learning these signals, the more reliably the dog will respond to the commands later on. Flexible behavior is not necessary for the dog to be successful, as a good trainer will help him to do so.
So: Mistakes are part of the adaptation process under natural environmental conditions. Maximizing behavior control in the human-dog relationship should not include mistakes.
If you want to delve deeper into the concept of errorless learning, you can read chapter 5 of my book "Activation training - A powerful way to control behavior" .