December 14th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Here is a quick, funny video that will put a smile on your face:
Have a great day!
August 6th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
One comment that I get all the time is:
You always talk about positive reinforcement, but how do you use positive reinforcement when your dog is barking?
My answer is always the same: "You don’t." You see, I teach dog owners to use positive reinforcement methods to train their dogs. I advise that you should be wary of trainers that focus on using harsh or negative methods. I have told people for years to throw away choke chains and stop doing alpha roll-overs.
BUT…
…it does not mean that I never use negative consequences to stop certain behaviors (the Good K9 Manners course is all about stopping behaviors). I’ll boil dog training down for you, in fact I’ll even go as far as saying that this is ALL dog training in nutshell: Follow up good behavior with a positive consequence, follow up bad behavior with a negative consequence.
Or to put it another way – Reward your dog for behaviors that you want your dog to do (sit, down, come, stay, etc.). Apply a negative consequence to behaviors that you want to stop (jumping, barking, begging, etc.). Applying a negative consequence does not mean that you should hurt or harm your dog. You have to get creative with your consequences.
For example, I often use breath spray to stop barking (Binaca works best, but it’s hard to find). When the dog barks, I simply pair the word quiet with the spray. Dog barks, I say, "Quiet," and then give the dog a quick squirt of the spray. The taste, sound and smell is not pleasant for the dog but he is now starting to pair the word "Quiet" with the negative consequence.
After a few times, the dog quickly makes the connection and I don’t have to spray. That’s one example of using a creative negative consequence to stop an annoying behavior without physically harming the dog. If you’re dealing with annoying dog behavior problems that you’d like to stop, check out Good K9 Manners.
All the best,
Eric
July 8th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Can you really train your dog in just a minute?
Let me share a quick story with you…
More than a couple of years ago, when I was a hot shot animal control officer, I responded to a complaint in the south end of the city.
The problem was a barking dog that was disturbing a couple of residents in the neighborhood.
When I approached the owner of the dog, I informed her that she was going to have to stop her dog’s barking.
She said that she tried everything but could not stop her dog’s barking.
I quickly assessed the situation and told her that I could help. With a very skeptical look on her face she said "I don’t think so, but if you can I’ll be very grateful."
My advice was simple. I told her that her dog was going to do…
PUSH UPS!
You see, when I assessed the situation I noticed that the dog was barking for attention.
He was barking to get some type of response from the owner. He barked and she would yell out the window, "Quiet."
Or…
…her dog would bark and she would come outside and scold her dog. Every time he barked she would respond in some way.
I told her that we needed to re-direct his behavior. Every time he barks you are going to walk up to your dog and give the sit command.
Once your dog is sitting I want you to give the down command. Up, down, Up down, over and over every time he barks.
I checked in with her later that day and she was amazed. "OMG, the first time I did it he stopped barking in less than a minute."
I knew he would because there are simple methods that you can use to get fast results with your dog.
In the Good K9 Manners website I have put together a course that covers the most common behavior problems and how to get fast results.
You can still take advantage of the special reduced price and train your dog.
Jump on over to:
All the best,
Eric
December 7th, 2007
By Eric Letendre
In the late 1800s, a German high school mathematics instructor named Wilhelm Von Osten began parading around his horse, "Clever Hans".
You see, Clever Hans was no ordinary horse. Clever Hans could add, subtract, multiply, divide, work with fractions, tell time, keep track of the calendar, differentiate musical tones, read, spell, and understand German.
Clever Hans would be asked a question and he would tap his hoof on the ground until he came to the right anwser.
People came from all over to see Clever Hans give the answers to some very difficult math questions.
But some folks were not impressed with Clever Hans. They thought that it was all some kind of trick.
The German board of education agreed and appointed a commission to investigate Hans.
Did Hans really add, subtract, multiply, divide, work with fractions, tell time, keep track of the calendar, differentiate musical tones, and read, spell, and understand German?
The quick answer…NO.
Hans did not know how to do any of the things that his owner claimed. Hans was not a mathematical genius but…
What they learned was that Hans was an expert at reading body language.
The investigators discovered that when a question was asked of Hans, he would start to tap his hoof until he came to the correct anwser.
He knew the correct anwser by watching for cues given by the person asking the questions.
The questioner’s posture and facial expressions changed in ways that were consistent with an increase in tension, which was released when the horse made the final, "correct" tap.
This provided a cue that Hans could use to know when to stop tapping.
In other words, Clever Hans was an expert at reading body language and knew when to stop tapping by the subtle cues given by the person asking Hans a question.
Pretty interesting. Clever Hans really was clever, but not in the way that we thought.
Anyone that lives with a dog should know about this because…
this has lead to what is now called "The Clever Hans Effect."
Social animals, like horses and dogs, become experts at reading our body language. Thisis important to understand when you live with a dog.
Not too long ago I was working with a very nice couple that was having problems with their dog.
They said that their dog knew the sound of their car, became agitated before they left the house, and would become very withdrawn when either one of them became angry.
I explained the Clever Hans Effect and that it has been found that many animals are sensitive to such cues from the humans that they live with.
Their dog was so "tuned in" to them that he knew when they were getting ready to leave, were happy, upset and a host of other things which in turn affected his behavior.
Today, the term "Clever Hans Effect" is used to describe the influence of a questioner’s subtle and unintentional cues upon their subjects, in both humans and in animals.
For instance, when drug-sniffing dogs undergo training, none of the people present know which containers have drugs in them; otherwise their body language might betray the location and render the exercise useless.
So why am I writing about Clever Hans?
Because your dog is an expert at reading your body language, many times some of the behavior problems you are experiencing are being reinforced though unintentional cues given by you.
JUMPING – How many of you reading this have a jumping problem with your dog? I would wager that a good number of your dogs are jumpers.
How do I know that?
Am I psyhic?
Nope, I just know that after 18+ years of working with dogs, jumping is at the top of the list when it comes to behavior problems and that the main reason it is such a problem is because The Clever Hans Effect is working in full force when it comes to jumping.
In my new Good K9 Manners course, the TTL Method that I outline has to do with this.
It’s important to remember that training is more than a clicker, choke collar, or a pat on the head.
Your dog is constantly watching you for some type of cue that may indicate that it’s time to go for a walk, dinner or to jump on you.
If your dog is doing a behavior that you don’t like, pay attention to your cues and see if you are doing anything to reinforce the behavior.
When it comes to dog training the dog is often blamed for bad behavior but sometimes we have to be careful of what we are unintentionally teaching our dogs.
I look forward to your comments.
All the best,
Eric
P.S. You can still get the FREE Good K9 Manners Video Course. It clearly explains how to teach your dog good manners.
Free video dog training and behavior lessons, articles and tips. Go to www.amazingdogtrainingman.com
November 14th, 2007
By Eric Letendre
Do you ever stop to look around and realize that time is flying by. Just yesterday I found out that Thanksgiving is only a week away. A WEEK AWAY!
How did that happen?
The weather is getting colder here in New England, football season is half over (depressing), and Christmas and New Years are right around the corner.
Before you think that I am some kind of Scrooge I want to let you know that this is one of my favorite times of the year. I LOVE the holiday season. There is nothing better to me than the Christmas songs, the movies, all of the traditions that we take part in every year, and the whole magical feeling of Christmas.
One of the reasons I’m writing about this is because I have been working on a project for you. You see, this is the time that you want to make sure your best friend’s manners are up to snuff.
You don’t want your dog knocking over your guests and stealing the Christmas turkey. So now is the time to give your dog a quick behavioral tune up or the time to teach your pup some good canine manners.
I have have been working on a mini-course on good canine manners. The big problems faced by most owners are:
1. Jumping
2. Stealing
3. Begging
4. Not calming down
5. Barking
6. Not understanding "go to place" command
Here is the link for the FREE Good K9 Manners Mini-Course:
Good K9 Manners
All the best,
Eric
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Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training "hacks" that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
