The Basics of dog training: All about animals

By EDGARS AUZINS

The book consists of two parts. The first part briefly outlines the theory of learning: stimuli, reflexes, learning methods. This is enough to understand animal behaviour. The second part contains 15 puppy training activities that you can do on your own. Basic training, puppy education. These exercises are best done before going to the training ground for group training.

• Language: English
• Publisher: EDGARS AUZINS
• Release date: Mar 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223669654

EDGARS AUZINS

Dzimis 1989. gada 22. decembrī. Absolvējis Rīgas Juridisko koledžu. Profesijā nav strādājis, bet apguvis programmēšanas prasmes un pašlaik ar to nodarbojas. Kopš 2022. gada ir personīgā uzņēmuma vadītājs, kas nodarbojas ar transporta pārvadājumiem, kā arī programmēšanu. Dzīvnieku, īpaši suņu, mīļotājs. Born 22 December 1989. Graduated from Riga College of Law. Has not worked in the profession, but has acquired programming skills and is currently working in it. Since 2022 he has been the CEO of his own company, which deals with transport transport as well as programming. Lover of animals, especially dogs.

Book preview

Table of Contents

The Basics of dog training (All about animals)

Irritants

Conditional reflexes

Conditions for the formation of conditional reflexes

Training methods

Mechanical training method

Training method with taste stimuli

Contrast training method

Opportunistic method of training

Pushing method

Imitative method

Types of higher nervous activity in dogs

FEATURES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM | Nervous system endurance

Mobility of the nervous system

Nervous system balance

PERSONALITY TRAITS OF DOGS

Choleric type GND

Phlegmatic GND type

Melancholic GND type

Basic and dominant behavioral reactions of dogs

BASIC BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

DOMINANT BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.

Skill development

DEVELOPMENT OF A SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR DOG TRAINING

PREPARATORY STAGE OF DOG TRAINING

HOW TO INTRODUCE COMPLICATIONS IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

PHASE I OF TRAINING

STAGE II OF DOG TRAINING

THE FINAL STAGE OF DOG TRAINING

Puppy training course

Puppy training: 15 lessons

What to do next

The Basics of dog training

Training theory

Irritants

When training a dog, we use incentives. This means that we influence him in one way or another: give commands with voice and gestures, work with a leash, use a treat and some significant item. In addition, we create certain conditions for the development of certain reactions: we put on a perfume trail, an assistant (protective work) works, we use perfume bookmarks (for example, when looking for drugs). But in addition to all of the above, every experienced pet owner knows that there are conditions in which his pet will work, and there are conditions in which the dog practically does not respond to the owner and his commands. And it depends on the environment in such cases.

Given all these effects, natural or artificial, we are talking about stimuli. What are incentives? Triggers are everything that affects animals and causes a reaction.

Is everything irritant?

Let's imagine the situation: you have gone out for a walk with your dog in an unfamiliar place. There is a parking lot nearby, and cars periodically enter and exit it. The dog tries to explore the territory and stops and looks at the cars while they are moving. Will the new environment be an incentive for him? Definitely, because they affect the dog and cause a reaction.

Now imagine that you walk with your dog on this playground every day for two months. And your dog not only does not react to passing cars, but also does not try to explore the playground and plays only with some opportunistic object that you have specially brought. Will the circumstances be irritating? Take your time to answer this question. Let's look at the definition again. Environmental conditions undoubtedly affect the dog, after all, he hears the sounds of passing cars, sees them, sees shrubs and trees, but... The dog does not react to all this! Why? You'll say I'm used to it. And you would be absolutely right. Now the same environment for the same dog is not an irritant.

I saw how the service dog, which, by the way, did not have a very strong nervous system, calmly walked around the parking lot of airplanes. At the same time, a passenger plane turned a hundred meters away from us. I couldn't talk to my colleagues, because because of the audible noise, the engines lifted clouds of dust and threw them on top of us with a force comparable to a neat wind. I still remember that this moment made a strong impression on me. And the dog (he worked with drugs) did not react to this environment and played with the subject of distribution.

We see that not everything depends on the environment, and the dog has not changed physically. Only his reactions have changed. And the incentives for him no longer exist.

From this follows the first practical conclusion: the dog gets used to the often used stimulus, and its strength on him decreases.

It would seem that it would be easier - first accustom the dog to the environment on the playground, then training can begin. But it all depends on what goals we are trying to achieve. At the initial stage of obedience training, strong environmental incentives really need to be minimized. But after the basic skills are developed, it is necessary to train the dog to work in all environments. Now it is important to increase the strength of environmental stimuli and do it gradually. There's really a lot to think about when designing a training program!

But the dog gets used not only to situational stimuli. Often we see that a not very competent trainer, developing the skill of moving next to the dog, constantly strains the leash strap (or allows the dog to strain it). Everyone knows that this is wrong. But why? Because the dog gets used to a constantly tight leash. And this tension is no longer significant for the dog, he simply does not react to it. Now imagine that the strap is loose all the time. At the slightest movement of the dog to the side, the trainer does not pull, but strangles the leash (pulling the leash). The next time, the pull is stronger. The third time is very strong. The stimulus is different all the time, depending on how much the dog deviates from the desired position. Will the dog get used to these stimuli? I do not think so.

What are incentives?

First of all, they are divided into external and internal stimuli.

External stimuli are external, while internal stimuli are in the dog's body. In training, we mainly use external stimuli, but internal stimuli must also be taken into account. For example, a hungry dog tends to work better. Especially with food motivation. In order for workouts to be more effective, they should not occur immediately after feeding. The dog must be partially hungry, and after eating it should be from 12 to 24 hours. When it comes to internal stimuli, it should also be remembered that a sick dog will not work effectively, so if the dog's performance level decreases for no apparent reason, you should always check if your pet is healthy.

Secondly, stimuli are categorized according to the senses on which they act. For example, mechanical, taste, hearing, sight, smell, etc. (there are more than a dozen senses, including balance, hunger, etc.). (there are more than a dozen senses, including a sense of balance, a feeling of hunger, etc.). It is believed that contact stimuli are stronger than remote ones. For example, a voice or gesture command is inherently less effective than pulling a leash; feed reinforcement is more effective than the command Okay; A kick is more effective than a scream. We can teach a dog to reliably operate with very weak stimuli, but to do this, we need to clearly know which stimuli are weak and which are strong.

Thirdly, incentives are divided into conditional and unconditional.

What is the difference?

- Unconditional stimuli cause an innate reaction.

- Conditional stimuli trigger a reaction that has developed during life or training.

For example, the command to sit, which we give to an untrained dog, will make the dog turn, listen, etc., but will not make him sit down. This command will cause an innate orienteering reaction and will be unconditional. But the same command given to a trained dog will make it sit down. The developed reaction manifests itself, and the stimulus will be conditional.

Thus, the same stimulus can be conditional and unconditional, depending on what reaction it causes.

Reflexes

The term reflex is often used in special literature, in conversations between specialists - cynologists and amateur trainers, but among cynologists there is no single understanding of the concept of reflexes. Now many are fond of western training systems, new terms are being introduced, but few fully understand the old terminology. We will try to help systematize the concepts of reflexes for those who have already forgotten a lot, and transfer these concepts to those who are just beginning to master the theory and training methods.

This article presents the classic concepts of reflexes adopted in home cynology. Most of the definitions used in this article (in italics) are those taught by the old Soviet school of cynology. The cursive and underlined definitions are those developed by the author of the article.

Reflex is the body's response to a stimulus.

Unconditioned reflexes

An unconditioned reflex is an innate reaction of an organism to a stimulus.

Each unconditioned reflex manifests itself at a certain age and in response to certain stimuli. A puppy in the first hours after birth is able to find its mother's and suck milk. These actions are provided by innate unconditioned reflexes. Later, the puppy begins to react to light and moving objects, as well as chew and swallow solid food. At a later age, your puppy begins to actively explore their territory, play with their litter mates, show an orienteering reaction, an active defensive reaction, a tracking reaction and a game response. All these behaviors are based on innate reflexes, which differ in complexity and manifest themselves in different situations.

Unconditioned reflexes by level of complexity

By the degree of complexity, unconditioned reflexes are divided into:

simple unconditioned reflexes

Reflex acts

behavioral reactions

Instincts

Simple unconditioned reflexes

Simple unconditioned reflexes - elementary innate reactions to stimuli. For example, pulling a limb away from a hot object, blinking the eyelid when a dust particle gets into the eye, etc. Simple unconditioned reflexes to the appropriate stimulus are manifested always, changes and correction are not subject to change.

Reflexes

Reflexes are