TRAINING STYLES
There are two distinct training strategies that are normally used with your PACDOG Remote Trainer:
1) ENFORCEMENT OF OBEDIENCE
Where dogs are wilfully hard-of-hearing or just plain headstrong – running away, refusing to respond to recall or running in on birds and other game, or animals
If for example, you were trying to correct a recall problem, call him using your normal voice command or whistle. If he does not respond, call him again while pressing the Tone or Vibration pre-warning button, if he does not respond, call him again in a manner that suggests your displeasure and working from the minimum correction level on the handset upwards press the correction button initially for about ½ second until the dog reacts, thus enforcing your command. If he then comes, praise him, your dog should return to you, encouraged by your praise. If appropriate, you may also wish to use a reward such as a titbit. More often than not, the one correction should cause your dog to obey your command to -come-, to -sit·, to “lie or whatever. Check that you have achieved your obedience objectives over several more training sessions before gradually reducing the number of times he has to wear the collar.
2) AVERSION THERAPY
To create an aversion to his anti-social behaviour or activity – such as
- Chasing or worrying sheep and other stock
- Chasing other animals
- Chasing cars, joggers, walkers, cyclists, postmen etc.
- Jumping up on people or stealing food
- Eating unpleasant deposits, such as other dogs’ faeces, or eating stones.
- Escaping through a particular gap in the hedge or fence.
- Dogs pulling on the lead
Where dogs exhibit anti-social behaviour such as eating their own-, or other animals’-faeces, swallowing stones, chasing bikes or cars etc. and often in the case of animal worrying, the technique known as “aversion therapy” is used. For this therapy it is even more important that the dog has been properly trained to the “dummy effect” so that there is absolutely no association with the equipment.
In this strategy it will be your objective to encourage the perception that there is some sort of magic ring· around his quarry. You must appear not to notice what he is doing … and to appear to take no part in the correction. You give no commands. In this way, he will be conditioned to believe that his action alone is the cause for his discomfort. In other
Words, he must believe that the act of picking up faeces or stones, or chasing bikes or cars actually causes the unpleasant sensation. He must not be given any indication that you have had anything to do with it, although, having just been corrected, he is very likely to come back to you for comfort. At this stage, of course, you should be prepared to make a fuss and to praise him.
This technique is also very successfully applied to dogs that are worrying other animals such as sheep, deer, cattle, cats, chickens etc., where the dog is led to believe that his quarry has teeth In Its backside. But, it should not normally be applied in cases of aggression towards humans or other dogs unless specifically advised by a qualified trainer or behaviourist.
We would point out at this stage that while your dog might have responded well to the line during conventional, obedience training … when teaching him to leave sheep, for example – his desire level will almost certainly increase dramatically when in full flight. You should this. Therefore be prepared quickly to increase the stimulation level to counterbalance. Just one correction at high level should be sufficient to stop him in this adrenaline-assisted rush. After one or two further attempts, he should have got the message ••• and sheep should be off the menu, once and for all.
Many of dogs’ most damning faults that normally require aversion therapy for their long-term cure should only be tackled whilst the dog is in the process of committing the offence. But faults like the chasing of other animals often only occur quite unexpectedly, when on, for example, a walk in the countryside. This is at a time when perhaps you could be
Taken by surprise, quite unprepared for the occasion, and possibly miss the opportunity to correct the problem before It is too late. Remember the correct timing of a correction is extremely important. Clearly, it would be far better to avoid this, by planning and setting up the situation in advance, such that you can anticipate your dog’s reaction, without suddenly having to grope for the handset in a panic. The initiative should therefore remain with you when he encounters the sheep or deer, since you will know what is going to happen…and when …. You will be prepared to correct the fault at the most appropriate moment.
For a dog with a history, for Instance. Of persistent sheep chasing/Worrying, some trainers would prefer to take him into a field with sheep and to give him a significant correction whenever he turns his head to “eye” the sheep. Others prefer to let the dog chase and get near to the quarry before administering a correction. Both approaches are extremely effective, but remember – no command is given in these cases. You should appear neither to have taken part … nor even to have noticed the sheep or your dog’s reaction to them. The use of a long flexi-line can be useful here.