Dog Training is at a Loss for Words
In the past, older puppies and adolescent dogs caught unbelievable grief for jumping-up.
The following suggestions come from books published prior to 2000: shake a can of pennies, throw a training chain; squirt them in the face with water, lemon juice, vinegar, and in one book, ammonia (!!!); hold their front paws; squeeze their front paws; tread on the leash; tread on their hind paws; jerk the leash; 'hang' them by the leash; knee them in the chest; or grab their cheeks, flip them over backwards, and pin them down in an 'alpha roll over'.
One book (published by a Bay Area Humane Society) even suggested, "Hit him under the chin with your fist sufficiently hard that his head snaps back."
(I was so incensed by this last suggestion that I drove some distance and put the book on the Director's desk. The Director was appalled, but to his credit, once he realized that his shelter had published the book, he stood up and personally put every box of books in the trash.)
All this because the dog was happy to greet people in a manner that had been unintentionally reinforced since puppyhood, because people didn't bend down to puppy level for greetings.
The puppy's only 'crimes'? 1. Joy. 2. Enthusiasm. And 3. Growth. The puppy grew!
Even these days, after luring (to teach cued-behaviors, i.e., ESL) fell out of favor over the past two decades, many reward-trainers are at a loss for words for what to do when dogs are non-compliant or misbehave.
To use the above example: When a dog jumps-up on visitors, or on you, do you:
a) Squirt the dog with water or lemon juice, or shake a can of pennies?
b) Turn your back and ignore your dog and wait for the behavior to extinguish?
c) Differentially reinforce a DRO or DRI (?) or,
d) Simply Instruct your dog to "Sit" in a soft, calm, controlled, but insistent and persistent tone.
Think kindergarten teachers and grandparents. Wow! The power of communication — instructing a puppydog specifically how you would like them to greet people, walk by your side, or Sit-Stay-Watch. And if the dog doesn't sit because they are beside themselves with the boundless joy of greeting visitors, or upon your return from taking out the garbage just 17 seconds ago, troubleshoot proofing the response-reliability of Sit in that specific scenario in a single session. So obvious, so easy and so much fun. The magic of our words.
Indeed, unlike aversive feedback, a single word conveys two (and sometimes three) pieces of information: a) Stop what you're doing, b) Do this instead, c) This instruction is reeeeally important right now. Clear precise verbal instruction is infinitely quicker, easier, and more effective that aversive techniques.
Once you've taught your dog a well-rounded vocabulary, you'll discover how easy and effective, how relieving, relaxing, and fulfilling for you, and how blindingly obvious it is to deal with non-compliance and misbehavior by simply using your voice, and without even having to raise it. And there are so many words we can teach our dogs: Outside, Toilet, Go Pee, Find your Chewtoy, Go to your Bed, Sit, Settle, Shush, and of course, Goooood Dog.
Opening interspecific, communication channels, teaching animals English as a Second Language should always be the prime directive of any animal training program. Our words save us considerable time when teaching/training by offering clear instructions prior to task and prevent frustration and sometimes annoyance by providing precise verbal guidance when dogs err. We must bring our voice back to dog training. To learn how to teach dogs English as a Second Language, check out, Barking Up the Right Tree, or the hundreds of hours of training videos and seminars at DunbarAcademy.com