Basic dog obedience – Building trust relationship
Building a trust relationship, developing mental abilities, and creating a common language (Basic obedience). This package is aimed at those who want to have a good relationship and communication with their dog and consists of four sections:
First Section
Simple Behaviors
Anything we ask a dog to do, and when it is calm, it should not take more than 1 or 2 seconds to complete it, is considered a simple behavior. “Come” from a short distance and “sit” are some examples of simple behaviors.
When do we want his attention?
A dog must understand when we want and can interact with him and when not. Because, simply put, not all hours are suitable for walks, cuddles, or playtime.
Attention! This does not mean that we leave him to his fate and never interact with him again; it just sets some boundaries that explain to him that not all hours are playtime and frolic. “We won’t play now” but we will play sometime until evening. “We won’t go for a walk now” but soon… or later.
Concentration
Whatever we ask a dog to do, it will have the duration that he can remain focused (at least in the initial stages of each program). If we ask him to come to us and the time he needs to cover the distance between us is longer than the time he can stay focused, no matter how much he wants to, he won’t be able to obey. To succeed, he must practice his ability to stay focused.
Second Section
Calmness exercises
An excited dog runs hysterically around, jumps on us, knocks over anything in his path, and bumps into anything that stands in his way. In addition, excitement can easily turn into irritation and aggression. Through a series of specific exercises, we help the dog gain control over his emotions.
Complex behaviors
Simple Behaviors when the dog is excited. Any behavior that requires concentration for more than 5-10 seconds (“stay,” “next to me,” “wait”).
Patience
A dog’s ability to wait depends on his patience. How long will he stay calm while you drink your coffee at the cafe? How long will he wait quietly next to you if you stop walking? What is the duration of “wait,” “stay,” “next to me”?
Third Section
Generalization
Dogs specialize. Just because they learned to sit and stay when we ask them to at home doesn’t mean they know the same applies outside. To generalize, they need a series of exercises that will explain this to them.
Permanent behaviors and Communication
Understanding what we tell our dog and being able to respond is “okay,” but after a point, it becomes awkward, tiresome, and one-sided. That’s why we teach him
Permanent Behaviors
A permanent behavior is the behavior our dog adopts every time he receives a stimulus from the environment. Permanent behaviors can be desirable (e.g., when I pick up the leash for a walk, you come to me and sit) or undesirable (e.g., when I pick up the leash for a walk, you throw a tantrum and jump on me).
Everything we have learned from the first and second sections aims to teach our dog desirable Permanent Behaviors.
However, Permanent Behaviors are not one-sided; they are a form of communication that, combined with communication words from previous sections, allows us to communicate with our dog.
If every time I pick up the leash for a walk, our dog comes to me and sits to put it on, we should keep in mind that the reverse is also true: every time our dog comes to us and sits, he wants us to take the leash for a walk, in short, he wants to go for a walk.
This, combined with the exercises from the “patience” section and the exercises from the “when we want his attention” section, gives us the ability to explain to him whether we will go for a walk now, in a while, or later. One thing is for sure… at some point, we have to go for a walk.
Other Permanent Behaviors may include: When we walk and you wear your leash, you are in “heel” position. Every time someone approaches us, you sit down. If someone enters the garden, bark twice to let me know.
When the car door opens, you go to it and stay. To play, come in front of me, sit, and bark once. If you want water, go in front of your water bowl, sit, and bark once. If you let me know you want something (water, walk, play…) look at me so I can tell you if it will happen now, in a while, or later.
Fourth Section
Extinction / Reward change
We learn all the above to our dog without the slightest hint of violence. Our driving force is not threat or fear but love and reward. At the beginning, we may use treats, cuddles, play, activities. However, at this stage of training, everything is replaced by mutual communication, trust, and love we have built.
If you encounter a dog that does not listen unless we have a treat or toy, it means he has not completed the Fourth Section.
Maintenance
It is important to understand that Behaviors (Simple, Complex, or Permanent) have the expiration date we will give them (the owners). Our communication with our dog is two-way and will exist for as long as we reinforce it with our actions.
What would you do if suddenly your best friend stopped communicating?
Denial, Anger, Negotiation, Depression, and Acceptance. These are the five stages we all go through until we accept a difficult situation. Our dogs react in a similar way.
In this section, we learn to recognize and manage these stages, either to restore a Permanent Behavior or to lead to acceptance.
