Inside every human, and underneath a relatively thin gloss of civilization, is the ancient genetic code of a social pack predator that is not so very different from that of a wolf.
The very shape of our face informs us of what we are: a predator.
Why does this matter in the world of dogs? Simple: the mind of the dog and the mind of man are no so very different.
Just 20,000 years ago, we were both living wild and close to the bone. A snapped stick could mean either opportunity or danger.
A predator's brain is incredibly fast and robust as it has to judge velocity and distance, angle and size, probability and potential, and do it again and again in order to eat.
Neither dog nor man are well built for this modern world.
The speed of external change has eclipsed that of internal evolution.
What happens to a predator's brain when it is dropped into a world of Happy Meals and all you can eat bagged kibble? Does it stop firing off?
Not hardly.
The predator brain is constantly on the alert for clues and stimulus; the sound of a can opener, the click of a door, the scent of perfume, the rattle of a cup, the swish of a skirt, the greasy smell of a hamburger, the chime of an elevator.
As a consequence, both people and dogs seems to have epic levels of Attention Deficit Disorder.
What happens when the ADD mind of a dog meets the ADD mind of a human?
Often a great deal of misery!
When distracted people interact with distracted dogs, the result is inconsistent and poorly timed feedback. Connections, if made, are poorly reinforced. Frustration grows. Both sides get bored and begin to question the intelligence of the other.
What can be done?
From the beginning, dog training tools have been about conquering ADD both up and down the leash.
Oddly, two modern dog training tools, often set in opposition to each other, work in very similar ways.
One tool is a clicker, the other the e-collar remote.
The clicker's canine focusing mechanism is the promise of food.
The modern e-collar's canine focusing mechanism is an electronic tap on the shoulder.
One signal is saying "give me a little more of this."
The other is saying "give me a little less of that."
In both cases, however, what is being shaped is not just downward to the dog, but also upward to the human.
Look what happens when someone has a clicker or an e-collar remote in their hand.
Suddenly, they are focused. They are no longer flailing with their hands. They are no longer simultaneously talking and drinking while watching TV.
Instead, for at least a few minutes, the human is focused and sending just one signal to the dog rather than half a dozen.
And the signal that is being sent is both calm and assertive. You have the dog's attention, and they have yours, and you are both tuned to one channel without a lot of static.
A predator's brain is not built for too much of this. At least not at first.
Experience has shown that two or three 15-20 minute training sessions a day works better than one one-hour training session.
If asked to focus for too long, the ADD brain of both the dog and the human starts to drift off and edit out. Training both up and down the leash starts to degrade. For every two steps forward, the dog or the human may end up taking one or more steps back if an early training session goes on too long.
So what's the difference between the proper use of a clicker, and a well timed and properly delivered e-collar correction?
Not much, other than the obvious --- one signal is saying "give me a little more of that," and the other is saying "give me a little less of that."
There is place in the bag for both signals of course; something every dog trainer understands in theory, if not in practice.
But when it comes to both tools, too much attention is probably placed on the mechanics down the leash, and not enough on the mechanics up the leash.
It is not just the dog's ADD that is "trained away" with a clicker and an e-collar remote; it's the person holding the device as well.
Calm assertive dog training, with focused attention and consistency, combined with a daily exercise regime, cures quite a lot in the world of dogs. But it's not just the dog that is being trained with the tool, but the human as well. The ADD is on both ends of the leash.
3 comments:
Agreed. Except for the ecollar is not always "give me a little less of that."
Good article. Remember the flip side of ADD is hyperfocus. Also a boon and a burden just as the distractibility is boon and burden as it is correlated with a high degree of sensory awareness, noticing more than neurotypicals.
Training in what to notice, what to ignore, how to respond appropriately, is the key to balance.
Livestock guardians can hang out and be mellow for hours, sniffing the air, listening, watching, for any sign of danger and then kick into high drive if a coyote hunting voles disturbs the sheep and the LGDs go from mellow to 60 in 3/10ths of a second. Coyote may be lucky to survive.
A Border Collie left alone with the flock all day isn't wired that way. They would want to practice moving sheep all day long resulting in skinny sheep that never had a chance to graze. :)
With a terrier in obedience training, not yet having learned how to resist the urges to seek out any possible place prey could be lurking, and focus on the trainer, each rustle of grass, fast movement and more, having some stupid human insist s/he sit still and stare at their face might be the sort of torture I feel when bored. Yet that terrier when it does find a mousehole can wait, staring, listening, focused for long periods of time. And when in action, doing what it is bred and driven to do, that thrill of seeking and finding the prey is much like my ADD mind going on the thrill of seeking and finding new information, how it may tie into other information or working on some project and losing track of time, not noticing my body until an aching bladder reminds me that even if I don't drink or eat, stretch, eventually I will need to make a fluid exchange break.
Nice article. Clicker training is best for training a new skill, and e-collar excels at extinguishing a behavior. Clicker training can have long lasting affects on trainers well beyond a training session. The training itself requires trainer to observe the dog down to micro level. For instance, if the goal is to have a dog place its front paws in a cardboard box, the trainer must watch for each small movement on part of dog that puts the dog closer to the box, and feet in it. Even seemingly aimless movement by dog must be clicked and rewarded. We may think we know how to observe and interpret a dog, but clicker training will open a whole new world of observation to the trainer. You begin to see with an entirely new degree of focus.
Give clicker a try sometime. Watch a good video, then get ready with a bag of small treats and clicker. Find a quiet place away from distractions. Place a piece of paper on the floor and train to place two paws on it. You might be amazed at how smart your dog is. Smart trainer, as well. -- TEC
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