Keep It S.I.M.P.L.E

Below is an essay I submitted this year for an Association of Pet Dog Trainers scholarship.  Although I didn't win the scholarship, I thought I'd share it here on the blog.  Enjoy!


Keep It S.I.M.P.L.E

Don’t worry.  S.I.M.P.L.E. is not a new acronym to learn. 

It is pretty funny to listen to dog trainer conversations.   Usually there are so many acronyms thrown around, it is really sounds like they are speaking another language. 

Acronyms are great.  The methods that the acronyms stand for are wonderful tools.  But, have we come to a time where everything about dog behavior is defined by an acronym?  Society has shown we like the magic fix.  If something can be solved with the latest, greatest idea, then that is what we need to do.   If a dog owner has some kind of problem, chances are there is an acronym that can help fix it.  I believe we can get the same solution for any problem with one idea- keep it simple. 

I am not a dog trainer because I had a problem dog.  I’m not a dog trainer because clicker training is the only thing that pulled my dog and I together.

I train dogs because I LOVE the process of learning.  I also love the fact that you can use your dog training knowledge in everyday life.   (Please don’t tell my friends I teach them new behaviors like I would teach my dog.  That does not go over very well).  The process is so simple, yet the world likes to overthink it.  If you have the right foundation knowledge, you can teach anything. 

When I run into a problem while teaching a new behavior, my first question is, “Why is my dog not understanding what I’m asking?”  There are three things that usually answer my question.

1    Environment-

If my dog is not responding in a given environment, I take it down a notch.  If we are outside, I move inside.  Is there something that is very distracting?  Is the dog uncomfortable in the environment?  I like to make my initial training sessions as sterile as possible so that the learning can be as pure as possible.  If a dog can truly learn something, that foundation will be there to use when you are ready to introduce distractions.   Try not to be the elephant on a balancing ball while training.  Keeping a sterile environment also means that the trainer needs to be as neutral as possible.  Small talk, fidgeting hands, and sporadic movement can be very distracting in a learning environment.  When you search for the stimulus that is distracting, think of your five senses (touch, sight, hear, smell, taste).   Make sure there is nothing within those senses that might be causing the dog to focus on something else.  

  Rate of Reinforcement-

The beauty of marker training is that we can tell our animal the exact moment that they did something correct.  Why not make more correct moments for them instead of waiting for those moments to happen?  Be proactive and it might just make the learning take that leap that you were searching for.  Imagine you are in a mock training session.  It is held in a completely white room.  Your behavior is being shaped.  Your goal is to find a tiny black spot of dirt on the wall (that you can not see without a microscope) and touch it with your finger.  A bell that someone rings from another room is marking you and your reward is a dollar bill that falls from an opening in the ceiling.  In order for you to find that spec, your behavior will need to be shaped with a high rate of reinforcement or your motivation will decline because it will be impossible for you to find that dirt without the help of shaping.  It is impossible for dogs to know exactly what we are asking without the help of guidance in small, frequent doses of reinforcement.    Also note, quantity is better than size.  If I use training treats for small dogs, I usually break those up into a couple of smaller pieces regardless of the size of the dog.  The more opportunities you have to reinforce, the better the session will be. 

3    Too much, too quickly –

Do I want more than I should?   Am I trying to send telepathic messages to my dog?  Should I click for a head turn or for that front paw to take a step?  The idea of a new behavior should be picture perfect to the trainer before it is taught to the learner.  Know what you want to mark and the steps in which you plan to get to the goal behavior.  Marking the head turn should come before the front paw step.  If the front paw step happens before a head turn, try not to go back a step and mark the head turn.  Training is a forward motion.   Keep it simple.  Simple steps can turn into great behaviors.  Great, simple behaviors can turn into great, complex behaviors.

At the end of the day a behavior is a behavior.  Whether it is target training a gator, shape recognition with autistic children, color discrimination with chickens or loose leash walking with dogs.  Simplify it.  Break it down.   Observe training outside of your comfort zone.  Dogs are such an important part of our lives and emotions sometimes get in the way of having a clear frame of mind while training.  We cannot possibly train a dog like a marine mammal trainer would train a dolphin, right?  Watch a dolphin training session on the Internet.  The steps needed to teach a dolphin to target an object are the same as training a dog; it is just another way to look at it.   Write down each one of the steps that you see and reference them when you teach your dog to target.

Keep it simple.  Don’t focus on what isn’t happening and try to find those positive moments. Take a break when you are frustrated.  Step back, breathe, and write down the issue.  Go to the park.  Turn on an old, favorite movie.  Come back a day later and try to work on the behavior again.  Think about the way of learning you prefer.  Did you enjoy the teachers that gave you stickers for each task you did correctly?  I was working on loose leash walking with one of my dogs about a year ago.  We worked on it everyday outside and something was not clicking correctly (pun intended).  My dog and I were frustrated and we had both gotten to a point of shutting down.  I decided to go to a nature preserve with her to shake it off and explore something new.  After an hour of walking and observing her checking in on me while we continued on the path, I realized what needed to happen with our training.  I was not communicating effectively.  I was not checking in with her.  I had jumped from step 1 to step 7 of loose leash walking.  The next day we loose leash walked for a couple of feet inside of the house, with no distractions.  Then, we walked from one side of the room to the next.  We slowly worked our way to another room and then in the back yard.  A couple of days later, we walked around the block successfully.  I was not aware of the environment, I did not reinforce effectively and I was attempting too much too quickly.  When I broke it down and kept it simple, the foundation was there for learning to happen. 

We are always learning and are capable of using that knowledge and experiences with our dogs (and others).   We just need to open our minds to that way of thinking instead of looking for that quick fix.   Let’s start the “keep it simple” trend.