Reinforcing unwanted behaviour and micro-shaping
I'm not afraid of allowing the dog to briefly do things I might later want to change. I know how shaping works and how small a start of a behaviour can be. And when I have a starting point I will continue to micro-shape it until I see the behaviour that is acceptable for everyone (including the dog).
The truth about stress-free life and teaching
Is stress-free life about creating a life for dogs or people that will keep them in a bubble without any stress? Or is it about building skills ahead of time so when the stressful situation happens, they are equipped to cope with it?
Dog training in animal shelter - dealing with mistakes (video)
We can have a training plan in mind but it's the dog who will tell us if the plan is good or not. Don’t be afraid to move back a few steps in your training plan and ask for less at any point. Work with whatever you have in front of you. Looking back at the video you've made, you might realise whose mistake that really was.
Have you ever been grateful for fear in your life?
Changing behaviour changes your emotions around it. You can become more resilient with practice.
We are all individuals
Animals just as much as humans are individuals with their own set of preferences and biases. What works for one will have no effect on the other. We can influence a positive change in the behaviour of any individual but the approach needs to take the individuality into consideration.
The best way to create habits
Learning takes time. For us, humans and for the animals that we are teaching alike. While working with owners and their dogs, it’s not just the dog that needs to develop a new habit, it’s also the caregiver. When we expect too much from ourselves we can easily get discouraged. If you never used treats with your dog – it’s going to take time for you to build a habit around it. You might not see the change in your dog immediately but have you made the sustainable change in you first? It’s easy to blame the dog but for him creating a new habit can be equally challenging as it is for you.
Can you shape "asking for help" behaviour in yourself?
You can use behaviour science and shaping in your own life to design learning new skills in the most positive and least intrusive way. It might not be the easiest thing to analyse and some people might not like self-reflection part. But if you are already doing self-reflection on a regular basis, this can be an amazing tool to enhance your self-development significantly and learn new skills effectively.
Many times we don’t even bother trying to learn a new skill. We convince ourselves that it’s not for us. When what we could do is to find the first successive approximation and start learning through a fun and successful process.