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The myth of the untrainable dog
By Mikkel Becker
May 15, 2010
Exactly how many excuses can people come up with to “explain” their dogs’ behavior? Sometimes I think they’re uncountable.
From “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” to “You can’t teach a terrier (or fill in your breed or mix of choice)” and a hundred reasons people have offered me as to why they haven’t even tried to train their dogs, none of them is true.
This is true: Every dog can learn, regardless of age, breed, or personal character.
It’s true of senior dogs, it’s true of “stubborn” dogs, and it’s true of spoiled dogs of any age or breed. For most people, the reason their dog seems untrainable is that they haven’t used the right approach to training.
A dog is not being “stubborn” or “defiant” when he doesn’t perform a command. Either the dog doesn’t know the command, is being asked to perform the command in a situation more overwhelming than he’s been trained in (for example, when there are other dogs around and he’s only been trained in the family backyard), or the dog doesn’t have the proper motivation to do what’s being asked.
That last is important. Just as we wouldn’t perform a task at work without pay, dogs also seek payment for their work. And imagine how differently you’d feel about being asked to do a task for one dollar than for a hundred dollars.
When it comes to canine pay scale, most dogs won’t do a trick just out of the “desire to please.” They need a reward, be it food, toys, praise, petting or other life rewards like a play session — most search and rescue dogs work solely for the reward of play.
When visiting extended family in southern Idaho, I met their Boston Terrier, Jack. The breeder told them not to bother teaching Jack any tricks, because Boston Terriers are an “untrainable breed.”
After convincing my family to give Jack a chance, I conducted a 45 minute training session with Jack, the family eagerly watching. By the end of our session not only was Jack doing basic sits and downs on command, but he was rolling over, crawling on the ground, and playing dead.
The family gasped, “We always knew our dog was a genius!” They excitedly called the breeder to share their revelation that Boston Terriers could actually learn.
The truth was their dog wasn’t any smarter or dumber than any other dog; he had just never been given the direction or motivation he needed to guide his learning.
So don’t forget: old dogs, fat dogs, skinny dogs, hyper dogs, lazy dogs, every type of dog, all can learn new tricks and get rid of old behavioral problems if given the proper training and motivation.
No matter what anyone tells you.
Photo: One of the dogs I trained while I was studying at the Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco.
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Speaking of training a dog…check this out. This is a Very Well Trained pup, and only a year old.
http://landofpuregold.wordpres.....ncredible/
Comment by Sharyn — May 15, 2010 @ 6:53 am
I am currently aiding in the rehab of a colony of abused and neglected dogs who do not find praise, petting, play, or FOOD rewarding.
Yes, quite a challenge for all the techniques one would normally break out to train fearful dogs. Once again, we are back into the realm of gentle compulsion.
(Oh, and please don’t tell us all about “really good treats” or about depriving the dog of food to enhance motivation. Their original owner conducted a very sustained experiment with the latter technique, and it oddly did not create a pack of OTCH’s.)
The “food training” that adopters and foster parents have done has been on the order of “My goal for this week is for Dante to eat while I’m visible in the next room” or “After three weeks, Dakota is willing to take roast chicken from my hand if I don’t look at her.”
Much of their initial work has involved pressure on / pressure off exercises in which the human shows the dog that something with two legs will respond appropriately to dog calming signals. A behaviorist vocabulary dumbs this down to “negative reinforcement,” but there is much more going on there.
What most of them do seem to find worthwhile is success. Access to self-respect. Mastery of fear. For these things, they will overcome the Berlin wall that imprisons their learning potential.
And thank doG, their working-dog genetics primes them to want human companionship, even if their life experiences do not. We knew it was there, that these were not genetically wild or indifferent dogs for the most part. The behavior of their puppies, born while in custody and raised at the kennel by loving volunteers, ratifies that conviction.
Comment by H. Houlahan — May 15, 2010 @ 7:15 am
I can’t believe a breeder would say that his or her breed was untrainable.
Comment by retrieverman — May 15, 2010 @ 9:53 am
I’ve been fostering fearful and seriously undersocialized dogs for a year or so. I don’t have the same level of experience of H. Houlahan, but I would definitely second “mastery of fear” as a real motivator. Those little steps she mentions are much of the “training” I do—and it is just as joyful a process (for me, and I hope for the dog) as teaching the fun parlor tricks!
Comment by Arlene — May 15, 2010 @ 10:23 am
Scottie - A lot of the toy and non-sporting breed breeders seem to revel in it. :P (“Oh yeah, you can train a collie/BC/golden/lab to do anything, but can you LIVE WITH A SHIBA WITHOUT MURDERING THEM?” is apparently some sort of doggie street-cred that I do not really get.) I think a lot of it is if their breed is considered difficult by laymen, a lack of manners on the part of their own dogs is considered excusable. *eyeroll*
Comment by Cait — May 15, 2010 @ 12:12 pm
Mikkel, thanks for writing this! There are too many people out there who think, or think they think, that their dogs (or a certain breed) simply are too bad/old/whatever to be trained, and that really is ridiculous. Some dogs take more effort and time than others, but I’ve never known of a dog that really couldn’t be trained. And I second Retrieverman, what the hell was that breeder thinking to say that about Boston Terriers?! Sheesh.
People who have never worked or lived with hounds have often told me how “difficult” they can be. I’ve had plenty tell me they “can’t” be housetrained. Nah.
Coincidentally, we’re highlighting some hound training right now at Full Cry: A Hound Blog that proves even young, athletic, full-of-themselves working male foxhounds are trainable!
And a note to those of you working with those fearful, abused, and/or unsocialized animals of any kind: big props to you. The steps might appear small to people who don’t get it, but the rewards are so, so big!
Comment by Glenye Oakford — May 15, 2010 @ 3:45 pm
I just love Glenye’s blog. It’s a glimpse into a word almost none of us have any experience with: The lives of dogs who joyously live as a working pack of hounds, looked after by people who care about them so much that those who can no longer work are provided for all their lives — adopted out or kept with their canine family.
What she’s writing about now — judging hounds on looks — is what dog shows should be about. Dogs who actually work for a living, and serious discussion of how they’re put together makes the work they do possible. The ribbons are an afterthought, not a goal.
And cannot get enough of her video of all those big, powerful “untrainable” hounds paying such close attention to the Master while running off-leash. Plus all those wagging howl tails and those beautiful hound voices.
There’s just nothing else like this blog. Read, watch and … hey, why not throw in a small donation for the maintenance of the retired hounds?
Full Cry. Click the link in the left rail and ENJOY!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 16, 2010 @ 9:23 am
Nicely put… thanks M -
Comment by Karen Schumacher — May 16, 2010 @ 9:34 am
Hey, thanks, Gina! If anyone is interested in donating to the Hound Welfare Fund, you can do so by visiting http://www.houndwelfarefund.org or clicking the Hound Welfare Fund link under “Hound Resources” on the right side of the Full Cry blog.
As for “untrainable” hounds, our Bad Beagle, Harry, is sitting beside me right now and letting me scratch his chest—something he would never have allowed without a growl when he first arrived here seven years ago. He was a bad dog, but even he proved trainable! I’d love it if some of the people here would post some of their success stories with similar dogs people might have branded beyond hope for training.
Comment by Glenye Oakford — May 16, 2010 @ 12:35 pm
While I agree with much of what you’ve posted here, I disagree with the statement that: “A dog is not being “stubborn” or “defiant” when he doesn’t perform a command.”
While most times dogs fail to perform up to our expectations it is a case of a lack of training, attention, preparation etc. on the part of the human - there are times when they really and truly do flip us the middle paw.
Treats, toys, redirection, cheer-leading and other kinds of help are the right answer when an ill-prepared dog blows a command. But when it happens, stubborn or defiant behavior on the part of a dog requires a firm, no-nonsense, non-treat response from his handler.
A group of dogs from the colony that Heather mentioned gathered at my house today (along with a couple of other dogs adopted through our group). One young male was being openly defiant with his admittedly overly permissive owner. Showing the owner how to use pressure in the form of body language made a huge difference with this dog in a matter of minutes. More progress than they’d seen in several months of “use better cheese.”
Comment by Janeen — May 16, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
I believe body language can do a lot. Certainly Harry could be openly defiant and even overtly challenging. Body language—not threatening and no physical punishment, but turning away or other “un-reponses” or unpleasant ones he didn’t like, such as making a screechy noise—actually helped us end that defiance with him. It wasn’t the only strategy, of course. For example, we also found he is a great respecter of routine, and so we maintained a very predictable routine with him, which seemed to help him keep to specific ground rules. We found he liked company, and he seemed to stop taking things too personally, for lack of a better description, when we got Mr. Box, who is a happy-go-lucky, unflappable sort. Harry also learned that the rules benefitted him, too. If he growled, he got the screech or put outside when other dogs got biscuits or something else undesirable. I guess that might seem quirky to professional dog trainers, but it has worked very well for Harry, and I’m happy to say he’s a good dog to live with, excellent company both for us and for our two other dogs. Funnily enough, if one of the other dogs breaks some rule or custom (like sitting before getting a biscuit) that Harry knows, Harry will whip his head around and look at me as if to say, “Hey! Hey! That’s not allowed!” We love him immensely, and I have learned a lot from him.
Comment by Glenye Oakford — May 16, 2010 @ 7:39 pm