Positive Reinforcement Training

Remember how happy you were if your parents gave you a dollar for every A on your report card? They made you want to do it again, right? That's positive reinforcement.

Dogs don't care about money. They care about praise … and food. Positive reinforcement training uses praise and/or treats to reward your dog for doing something you want him to do. Because the reward makes him more likely to repeat the behavior, positive reinforcement is one of your most powerful tools for shaping or changing your dog's behavior.

Rewarding your dog for good behavior sounds pretty simple, and it is! But to practice the technique effectively, you need to follow some basic guidelines.

Timing is everything
Correct timing is essential when using positive reinforcement.

The reward must occur immediately—within seconds—or your pet may not associate it with the proper action. For example, if you have your dog sit but reward him after he's stood back up, he'll think he's being rewarded for standing up.
Using a clicker to mark the correct behavior can improve your timing and also help your dog understand the connection between the correct behavior and the treat.

Keep it short
Dogs don't understand sentences. "Daisy, I want you to be a good girl and sit for me now" will likely earn you a blank stare.
Keep commands short and uncomplicated. The most commonly used dog commands are:

watch me
sit
stay
down (which means "lie down")
off (which means "get off of me" or "get off the furniture")
stand
come
heel (which means "walk close to my side")
leave it

Consistency is key
Everyone in the family should use the same commands; otherwise, your dog may be confused. It might help to post a list of commands where everyone can become familiar with them.
Consistency also means always rewarding the desired behavior and never rewarding undesired behavior.

When to use positive reinforcement

The good: Positive reinforcement is great for teaching your dog commands, and it's also a good way of reinforcing good behavior. You may have your dog sit

before letting him out the door (which helps prevent door-darting)
before petting him (which helps prevent jumping on people)
before feeding him (which helps teach him good meal-time manners).
Give him a pat or a "Good dog" for lying quietly by your feet, or slip a treat into a Kong®-type toy when he's chewing it instead of your shoe.

The bad: Be careful that you don't inadvertently use positive reinforcement to reward unwanted behaviors. For example, if you let your dog outside every time he barks at a noise in the neighborhood, you're giving him a reward (access to the yard) for behavior you want to discourage.

Shaping behavior
It can take time for your dog to learn certain behaviors. You may need to use a technique called "shaping," which means reinforcing something close to the desired response and then gradually requiring more from your dog before he gets the treat.

For example, if you're teaching your dog to "shake hands," you may initially reward him for lifting his paw off the ground, then for lifting it higher, then for touching your hand, then for letting you hold his paw, and finally, for actually "shaking hands" with you.

Types of rewards
Positive reinforcement can include food treats, praise, petting, or a favorite toy or game. Since most dogs are highly food-motivated, food treats work especially well for training.

A treat should be enticing and irresistible to your pet. Experiment a bit to see which treats work best for your pet. It should be a very small (pea-size or even smaller for little dogs), soft piece of food, so that he will immediately gulp it down and look to you for more. Don't give your dog something he has to chew or that breaks into bits and falls on the floor. Keep a variety of treats handy so your dog won't become bored getting the same treat every time. You can carry the treats in a pocket or fanny pack. Each time you use a food reward, you should couple it with a verbal reward (praise). Say something like, "Yes!" or "Good dog," in a positive, happy tone of voice. Then give your dog a treat. If your dog isn't as motivated by food treats, a toy, petting, or brief play can be very effective rewards.

When to give treats
When your pet is learning a new behavior, reward him every time he does the behavior. This is called continuous reinforcement.

Once your pet has reliably learned the behavior, you want to switch to intermittent reinforcement, in which you continue with praise, but gradually reduce the number of times he receives a treat for doing the desired behavior.

At first, reward him with the treat four out of every five times he does the behavior. Over time, reward him three out of five times, then two out of five times, and so on, until you're only rewarding him occasionally.
Continue to praise him every time—although once your dog has learned the behavior, your praise can be less effusive, such as a quiet but positive, "Good dog."
Use a variable schedule of reinforcement so that he doesn't catch on that he only has to respond every other time. Your pet will soon learn that if he keeps responding, eventually he'll get what he wants—your praise and an occasional treat.
Caution! Don't decrease the rewards too quickly. You don't want your dog to become frustrated.

By understanding positive reinforcement, you'll see that you're not forever bound to carry a pocketful of goodies. Your dog will soon be working for your verbal praise, because he wants to please you and knows that, occasionally, he'll get a treat, too.

Article originally posted October 30, 2009 on the Humane Society of the United States web site.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/dog_training_positive_reinforcement.html

Housetraining Adult and Senior Dogs

Any dog, even a fully housetrained adult dog, may have house-soiling accidents when he first moves to your home. The stress of new surroundings and a new schedule can disrupt his routine. Usually, once he gets accustomed to your household schedule, the accidents stop.

It's also possible he's never been housetrained. Give him a few weeks to settle in to his new home and follow the procedures for housetraining puppies.

Here are some reasons why adult and senior dogs might have accidents in the house:

Senior dogs
As your dog ages, he may need to eliminate more often than in the past. Just as people can have difficulties as they age, so can dogs. They may not be able to "hold it" as long as they used to. They also may become incontinent. This is not a housetraining issue.

If your senior dog has accidents frequently, your vet should examine him for possible medical problems. If the vet says it's not a medical issue, you will have to manage the situation instead of trying to housetrain the dog.

If you are at work all day, you may need to:

- Hire a pet sitter to visit your dog to let him outside.
- Confine him to a room of the house where accidents will be easy to clean up.
- Try sanitary products on your dog, such as doggie diapers. They fit like little
pants and hold a disposable absorbent pad to catch the urine. These work best on female dogs.
- Belly bands—fabric bands that wrap around the dog's waist and contain an absorbent pad—are available for male dogs. They're available at most pet stores and online.

Small dogs
Because of their short legs and small size, you may need to make some special accommodations for your small dog:

Provide a sheltered spot near the house or under a porch or deck for your dog to eliminate in bad weather.
Provide a bathroom spot covered with mulch or gravel so your little dog won't have tall and/or wet grass pressing against his tummy when he eliminates.
Clear a path or other area for your dog to eliminate when it snows.

Other types of house-soiling problems
If you've consistently followed the housetraining procedures and your dog continues to eliminate in the house, there may be another reason for his behavior, such as:

Medical problems: House-soiling can often be caused by physical problems such as a urinary tract infection, a parasite infection, or even a seizure. Check with your veterinarian to rule out any possibility of disease or illness.

Submissive or excitement urination: Some dogs, especially young ones, temporarily lose control of their bladders when they become excited or feel threatened. Submissive or excitement urination usually occurs during greetings or periods of intense play, or when they're about to be punished.

Territorial urine marking: Dogs sometimes deposit small amounts of urine or feces to scent-mark their territory. Both male and female dogs do this, and it most often occurs when they believe their territory has been invaded.

Separation anxiety: Dogs who become anxious when they're left alone may house-soil as a result. Usually, there are other symptoms as well, such as destructive behavior or vocalization.

Fears or phobias: When animals become frightened, they may lose control of their bladder and/or bowels. If your puppy is afraid of loud noises, such as thunderstorms or fireworks, he may house soil when he's exposed to these sounds

Article originally posted October 30, 2009 on the Humane Society of the United States web site.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/housetraining_adult_dogs.html

Housetraining Your Puppy

House training your puppy requires much more than a stack of old newspapers. It calls for vigilance, patience, commitment and, above all, consistency.

By following these procedures, you can minimize house soiling incidents. Virtually every dog, including puppies, will have an accident in the house. Expect this - it's part of living with a puppy.

The more consistent you are in following basic house training procedures, the faster your puppy will learn acceptable behavior. It may take several weeks to housetrain your puppy, and with some of the smaller breeds, it may take even longer.

Establish a Routine

Like babies, puppies do best on a regular schedule. The schedule teaches him that there are times to eat, times to play, and times to potty.

Generally speaking, a puppy can control his bladder one hour for every month of age. So if your puppy is two months old, he can hold it for about two hours. Don't go longer than this between bathroom breaks or he's guaranteed to have an accident. If you work outside the home, this usually means you'll have to hire a dog walker to to give your puppy his breaks.

Take your puppy outside frequently

Take your puppy outside at least every two hours - and immediately after he wakes up, during and after playing, and after eating or drinking.

Pick a bathroom spot outside

Always take your puppy to that spot using a leash. While your puppy is going potty, use a word or phrase like "go potty," that you can eventually use before to remind him what to do. Take him out for a longer walk or playtime, only after he has gone.

Reward your puppy every time he potties outside

Praise him or give him a treat - but remember to do so immediately after he's finished and not after he's come back into the house. This step is vital, because rewarding your dog is the only way he'll know what's expected of him. Before rewardingh him, be sure he's finished. Puppies are easily distracted. If you praise him too soon, he may forget to finish until he's back in the house.

Put your puppy on a regular feeding schedule

What goes into a puppy on a schedule comes out of a puppy on a schedule. Depending on their age, puppies usually need to be fed three or four times a day. Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he'll eliminate at consistent times as well, and that makes house training easier for both of you.

Pick up your puppy's water dish

This should be done about two and a half hours before bedtime to reduce the likelyhood that he'll need to potty during the night. Most puppies can sleep for seven hours without having to go potty. If your puppy does wake you up in the middle of the night, don't make a big deal of it; otherwise, he'll think it's time to play and won't want to go back to sleep. Turn on as few lights as possible, don't talk to or play with your puppy, take him out to do his business and return him to his bed.

Supervise

Don't give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house; keep an eye on him whenever he's indoors. Watch for signs your puppy need to go potty. Some signs are obvious, such as barking or scratching at the door, squatting, restlessness, sniffing around or circling. When you see these signs, immediately grab the leash and take your puppy outside to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.

Keep your puppy on a leash in the back yard

During the housetraining process your yard should be treated like any other room in your house. Give your puppy some freedom in the yard and house only after he is reliably trained.

Confinement

When you're unable to watch your puppy at all times, he should be confined to an area small enough that he won't want to eliminate there. The space should be just big enough for him to comfortably stand, lie down, and turn around. You can use a portion of a bathroom or laundry room blocked off with baby gates.

Or you may want to crate train your puppy and use the crate to confine him (be sure to learn how to use a crate humanely as a method of confinement). If your puppy has spent several hours in confinement, you'll need to take him directly to his bathroom spot as soon as you take him out, and praise him when he eliminates.

Oops!

Expect your puppy to have a few accidents in the house - it's a normal part of housetraining.

Here's what to do when that happens:

- Interrupt your puppy when you catch him in the act of elminiating

- Make a startling noise (be careful not to scare him) or say "OUTSIDE!" Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give him a treat if he finishes eliminating there.

- Don't punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you find a soiled area, it's too late to administer a correction. Just clean it up. Rubbing your puppies nose in it, taking him to the spot and scolding him, or any other punishment will only make him afraid of you or afraid to eliminate in your presence. In fact, punishment will usually do more harm than good.

- Clean the soild area thoroughly. Puppies are highly motivated to continue soiling in areas that smell like urine or feces. Check with you veterinarian or pet store for products designed specifically to clean areas soiled by pets.

It's extremely important that you use the supervision and confinement procedures to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to eliminate frequently in the house, he'll get confused about where he's suppose to eliminate, which will prolong the housetraining process.

When you're away

A puppy under six months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder for more than a few hours at a time. If you have to be away from home for more than four or five hours a day, this may not be the best time for you to get a puppy; instead, you may want to consider an older dog, who can wait for your return.

If you already have a puppy and need to be away for long periods of time, you'll need to:
- Arrange for someone, such as a responsible neighbor or a professional pet sitter, to take him outside to potty.
- Train him to eliminate in a specific place indoors. Be aware, however, that doing so can prolong the housetraining process. Teaching your puppy to eliminate on newspaper may create a life-long surface preference, meaning that even as an adult he may eliminate on any newspaper lying around the living room.

Paper training
When your puppy must be left alone for long periods of time, confine him to an area with enough room for a sleeping space, a playing space and a seperate space to eliminate.
- In the designated elimination area, use either newspaper or (cover the area with several layers of newspaper) or a sod box. To make a sod box, place sod in a container such as a child's small, plastic swimming pool. You can also find dog litter products at a pet supply store.
- If you clean up an accident in the house, put the soiled rags or paper towels in the designated elimination area. The smell will help your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is suppose to eliminate.





article originally posted October 30, 2009 on the Humane Society of the United States web site.
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/housetraining_puppies.html