How Do Dogs Learn?
Dogs learn by conditioned reinforcement with the association of something pleasant! Positive dog training creates a bond between people and pets! Dogs do not understand English! They learn and communicate through body language (other puppies, adult dogs and human body language), smells, sounds and sight. We can teach them words or phrases and associate it to what they understand with hand signals or noise signals. In other words, the best way to communicate with your dog is to learn his language and his culture.
If you discipline your dog as you would a child, by yelling and carrying on a conversation, he will have no idea what you are saying because English is a foreign language to dogs. All he knows is you are highly stimulated because dogs read our emotions.
When someone uses aversive corrections on dogs, which includes yanking choke chains, prong collars and using shock collars, it causes pain, fear and emotional distress. In turn, your dog will fear you and become suspicious of things around him. You will always have to use these methods the rest of his life because dogs do not learn through pain. Any bond or trust you already developed with your dog would be broken. They do not tell you that at places where they use shock collars and prong collars to train dogs.
POSITIVE DOG TRAINING TERMS
- CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: The process of associating a neutral stimulus with an involuntary response until the stimulus elicits the response.
- CLICKER TRAINING: The system of teaching that uses positive reinforcement in combination with an event marker.
- EVENT MARKER: A noise signal used to mark the desired behavior at the instant it occurs. A clicker is an event marker.
- OPERANT CONDITIONING: The process of changing an animal's response to a certain stimulus by manipulating the consequences that immediately follow the response.
- POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT: Adding something the animal will work for to strengthen a behavior. An example would be giving the dog a treat for sitting in order to increase the probability that the dog will sit again.
ONLINE DOG TRAINING CLASSES
Apply To Work With Rebeccah Here
Puppy/Beginner (Level I)
ALL puppies and adult dogs start here to learn all the basics of puppy training and adult dog training. We use reward-based, positive dog training methods. The commands taught are watch me, sit, down, release, come, stay with distance, stay with duration, leave it, drop it, take it, shake, leash walking (walking without pulling), and more!! We will discuss unwanted behaviors, for instance, jumping, chewing, barking, nipping, biting, digging, etc. We will also discuss safe toys, chew toys, emergency recall (in case of door dashing), and solutions to unwanted behavior issues that are going on at home. If your puppy or adult dog is not learning in the group class environment, we can transfer you to private dog training sessions held at our facility in Carrollton.
Class Cost: $149
Class Duration: 6 weeks
Middle School (Level II)
Middle School dogs learn to add more distance, longer duration and advanced distractions with the basic skills they learned in the Puppy/Beginner classes in order to be calmer, and handle more real-life situations. The new commands taught are heel (walk aligned to my side), wait at the door, wait and come, park it (go lay down on a settle mat until released) and more!!
Class Cost: $149
Class Duration: 6 weeks
Dog Tricks & Indoor Agility Class!
Trick/Agility dogs learn 3-4 tricks a week, including but not limited to, shake, play dead, back up, go around, high five, rollover, spin, take a bow, puppy pushups, touch, paws up, jump thru the hoop, hide, take it on "five", tap, wave, sit pretty. Each week we introduce your dog to indoor agility fun, including different tunnels, low to high jumps, and beginner to intermediate weaves! It's a total blast and nothing but fun!!
Class Cost: $149
Class Duration: 6 weeks
Canine Good Citizen Classes (CGC) Prep (Level III)
CGC Prep dogs learn the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) requirements to pass the exam and receive their CGC title! Your dog is almost guaranteed to pass the CGC certification - that is if you do your homework! It's a great class if you want a calm, obedient dog that you can take to dog-friendly places. However, most people enroll their dogs in this class in order to prepare them to be a Service Dog, Emotional Support Animal, or Therapy Dog.
Class Cost: $149
Class Duration: 6 weeks
WHAT'S A SERVICE DOG? WHAT'S A THERAPY DOG?
- Service Dogs assists you with your mobile disability or tasks you need performed for your disability.
- Examples of Service Dog Tasks: Lean in, block front, block behind, retrieve objects, stand, brace, turn on light, turn off light, pull objects, touch (nose), tap (paw), go get help, park it, open door, close door (see videos above), open drawer, close drawer, take off socks, under the table, alert for alarm, alert for doorbell, alert for phone, and many more. All tasks are performed for client's individual needs for assistance.
- Emotional Support Animal assists you with your emotional needs and provides therapeutic benefits to its owner through companionship and affection. The owner of an Emotional Support Dog receives a sense of well-being, safety, and calmness from their dog's physical presence. Emotional Support Animals are not specifically trained to perform a given task that a person with a disability may have. Instead, the dog only needs as much training as any other dog would need, to live peacefully among people without being of any trouble or danger to its owner or other people. Emotional Support Animals DO NOT have public access with its owner. They can only travel on an airplane with their owner.
- Therapy Dogs go to hospitals and assisted living facilities with you as a team to comfort people who are suffering illnesses and are lonely. Most organized Therapy Dog Groups (i.e, Therapy Dogs International or Pet Partners), do require that the potential therapy dog pass the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Examination. Some organizations have additional testing that is required to join the group. Joining a therapy dog group is becoming extremely popular as it is something that you and your dog can do together!