Just to keep the OP from following Cesar's way, he has had NO education in animal behavior. He is a self proclaimed "dog psychologist." He relies on punishment and flooding (exposing fearful or reactive dogs to the anxiety producing stimuli) in huge quantities, up close... which causes the dog to shut down because he has no choice. He cannot escape, so he lies down, shuts down and accepts it which produces a learned helplessness, a comfort zone of familiarity no matter if it is unpleasant. He stays in that place. He stops that targetted behavior but he also stops other behaviors which are happening too. So in gereral, the dog just stops behaving. In other words, people who "train" like that want a toned down version or skeletan of a dog....a sad statement about the human race.
All the yanks cause the dog to "behave" to avoid more pain, discomfort or fear...unpleasantness. That only supresses behavior. Behavior is only a sign of a deeper issue going on inside. Cesar stops behavior but he does not stop the catalyst to the behavior. (in most cases, not all) Many of these dogs on his show are said to have reverted to their old ways.
Modern behaviorists train by conditioning and desensatizing a dog to things they are afraid of or have some kind of problem with because it solves the problem from the inside out, not covered with a bandaid. There is less chance of regression that way and it's much easier, less stressful to the dog. Dogs trained this way show more confidence, they're happier, they learn HOW to learn better because they get to think and choose more...only we set them up to "choose" the way we want. (don't tell them that though.) lol. Punishment is also just not fair to a dog who has not been trained to do the "right" thing. He doesn't know. It's not his fault that he's more interested in something else. That's just the way they are, they way they're wired. We can't expect them to think like we do and care about the things we care about. They do what works for them. They do what they do best.....be a dog.
That said, about attention: Of course, if a dog has not been trained to give attention, he is more apt to give his attention on the competing environmental motivator. (squirrels, cats, dogs, leaves blowing etc) Their instincts are so strong to be attracted to moving things that even well trained dogs sometimes can't resist. However, training a dog to give his owner attention requires, like everything else to start where there are no distractions...inside the house, then introducing a mild distraction and gradually moving up the hierarchy of distractions as the dog is able to cope with the previous, more mild ones. The motivator that the owner or trainer needs is one which will be more interesting to the dog than most, if not all environmental motivators.
So, you teach, "watch me" at home in your living room and you try it out at random times when the dog is least expecting it...different rooms, different contexts. You get it solid. Then you try it out in your yard, hopefully away from squirrels. You practice and practice. Then you add a human walking across the lawn and you practice, then maybe another dog that he knows well.
It's all about reinforcing a correct response over and over and beating out the competition with your slightly hungry dog if need be, your high value treats, a favorite squeeky toy.
There are also things you can do to re-direct his prey drive. What's just about as good as chasing a squirrel? How about chasing a squirrel? LOL. If you have two people there, one holding the leash, the other holding a stuffed animal on a rope...hidden behind her back. Dog sees squirrel in the yard. Owner says, "leave it." (already taught) For low level reaction, he gets reinforced with the stuffed animal on a rope which is going to "run." He's going to have some fun doing what he likes. He learns that by leaving the real squirrel alone, he gets what he wants...to run after a moving object. It becomes habit for him to "leave it" because only good things have happened for leaving it...(a strong history of reinforcement) But, ya gotta reinforce him quickly.....before he decides to lunge at the squirrel. The problem with most people is they wait for the rotten behavior to start and then it's light years too late to do anything about it. He must be reinforced for the correct resonse numerous times and NOT get reinforced for lunging at the squirrel. That's invigorating probably, even if he can't get the squirrel. That needs to be interrupted, prevented and the "good" behavior reinforced.
Lyric, my Doberman has stopped mid chase many times after deer, squirrels, dogs and most things. One time he didn't obey and ran after a bear with Jose, my Chihuahua. But over all, he's close to what I want.
Anyhow...the point of all this rambling is that there ARE alternatives which are absolutely effective, which are used by most trainers today who have advanced degrees in behavior, who have been training for decades. There are studies, science which supports this as well. These other ways do not include aversives such as jerking on a collar or other punishment.
Sometimes people say, "it doesn't work." Well, it does work if all or even most of the available information is learned by the trainer. You don't have to have a PhD to learn enough of this to mold a happy and well mannered dog. It does take some study, just like anything else. It works because it is behavioral law. An apple falls from a tree because gravity, a law of physics. Scientific learning behavior happens because it is a law of behavior. Dogs are not obedient to cues. They're obedient to reinforcement and behavioral laws. Overly dominated dogs are complying out of avoidance and/or fear. That is not training. That is coercion. There's a big difference.
All the yanks cause the dog to "behave" to avoid more pain, discomfort or fear...unpleasantness. That only supresses behavior. Behavior is only a sign of a deeper issue going on inside. Cesar stops behavior but he does not stop the catalyst to the behavior. (in most cases, not all) Many of these dogs on his show are said to have reverted to their old ways.
Modern behaviorists train by conditioning and desensatizing a dog to things they are afraid of or have some kind of problem with because it solves the problem from the inside out, not covered with a bandaid. There is less chance of regression that way and it's much easier, less stressful to the dog. Dogs trained this way show more confidence, they're happier, they learn HOW to learn better because they get to think and choose more...only we set them up to "choose" the way we want. (don't tell them that though.) lol. Punishment is also just not fair to a dog who has not been trained to do the "right" thing. He doesn't know. It's not his fault that he's more interested in something else. That's just the way they are, they way they're wired. We can't expect them to think like we do and care about the things we care about. They do what works for them. They do what they do best.....be a dog.
That said, about attention: Of course, if a dog has not been trained to give attention, he is more apt to give his attention on the competing environmental motivator. (squirrels, cats, dogs, leaves blowing etc) Their instincts are so strong to be attracted to moving things that even well trained dogs sometimes can't resist. However, training a dog to give his owner attention requires, like everything else to start where there are no distractions...inside the house, then introducing a mild distraction and gradually moving up the hierarchy of distractions as the dog is able to cope with the previous, more mild ones. The motivator that the owner or trainer needs is one which will be more interesting to the dog than most, if not all environmental motivators.
So, you teach, "watch me" at home in your living room and you try it out at random times when the dog is least expecting it...different rooms, different contexts. You get it solid. Then you try it out in your yard, hopefully away from squirrels. You practice and practice. Then you add a human walking across the lawn and you practice, then maybe another dog that he knows well.
It's all about reinforcing a correct response over and over and beating out the competition with your slightly hungry dog if need be, your high value treats, a favorite squeeky toy.
There are also things you can do to re-direct his prey drive. What's just about as good as chasing a squirrel? How about chasing a squirrel? LOL. If you have two people there, one holding the leash, the other holding a stuffed animal on a rope...hidden behind her back. Dog sees squirrel in the yard. Owner says, "leave it." (already taught) For low level reaction, he gets reinforced with the stuffed animal on a rope which is going to "run." He's going to have some fun doing what he likes. He learns that by leaving the real squirrel alone, he gets what he wants...to run after a moving object. It becomes habit for him to "leave it" because only good things have happened for leaving it...(a strong history of reinforcement) But, ya gotta reinforce him quickly.....before he decides to lunge at the squirrel. The problem with most people is they wait for the rotten behavior to start and then it's light years too late to do anything about it. He must be reinforced for the correct resonse numerous times and NOT get reinforced for lunging at the squirrel. That's invigorating probably, even if he can't get the squirrel. That needs to be interrupted, prevented and the "good" behavior reinforced.
Lyric, my Doberman has stopped mid chase many times after deer, squirrels, dogs and most things. One time he didn't obey and ran after a bear with Jose, my Chihuahua. But over all, he's close to what I want.
Anyhow...the point of all this rambling is that there ARE alternatives which are absolutely effective, which are used by most trainers today who have advanced degrees in behavior, who have been training for decades. There are studies, science which supports this as well. These other ways do not include aversives such as jerking on a collar or other punishment.
Sometimes people say, "it doesn't work." Well, it does work if all or even most of the available information is learned by the trainer. You don't have to have a PhD to learn enough of this to mold a happy and well mannered dog. It does take some study, just like anything else. It works because it is behavioral law. An apple falls from a tree because gravity, a law of physics. Scientific learning behavior happens because it is a law of behavior. Dogs are not obedient to cues. They're obedient to reinforcement and behavioral laws. Overly dominated dogs are complying out of avoidance and/or fear. That is not training. That is coercion. There's a big difference.
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Just remember your dog isn't a human, so his biting you doesn't mean he doesn't love you. You just have to teach him it's not acceptable behavior.
