PHASE 2
I'm sure glad you love doing this because...its NOT optional…
In this stage, it is our job to show the dogs that their commands are still FUN and REWARDING, however, they aren't quite as easy as before. We begin a process of "proofing" our dogs, or intentionally setting up scenarios where we think they might goof, in order to make our dogs more reliable in any given situation. During this proofing, we still remind them how fun and rewarding the commands are, but it becomes evident that even if it isn't on top of THEIR To-Do List, the do not get to do what THEY want until they do what WE want.
This is the stage most owners want to jump right into at the very beginning of training. We just want our dog to behave and stop embarrassing us as quickly as possible! So our tendency to dislike spending an entire phase on showing the dog how much fun being trained is and skip right to the "do it because you have to" phase is not surprising.
Unfortunately, not only does this hinder your dog's progress, it actually makes your work more difficult in the second phase of training, the Inevitability stage. The exercise I most often use to begin this second phase is called Recall with Distractions. In this exercise, we place a toy in between you and your dog and you must call your dog past that toy, using your leave it command if necessary. If they do not leave the toy, you must go to them, get them to leave it and continue with the exercise. What I have found is that I can immediately tell during this exercise who has done their Phase 1 homework.
Owners who did a great job of showing the dog how fun, easy and rewarding the command was had to do very little inevitability (going to the dog and getting them to leave it), some dogs were SO overjoyed to go to their owner they didn't even NOTICE the item! While other owners who skipped my phase 1 homework because they were waiting for the phase that would "really" help them had to prove the inevitability MANY more times, which resulted in frustration and physical exhaustion from the owners. So the owners who put in more time to show the dog how great the command was actually had less work in the long run in getting their dog to perform the command reliably than owners who skipped right to this second phase.
PHASE 3
Why is it important to YOUR dog?
The final phase is for dogs who need just a little bit more meaning in order to do what you have asked them to do. I used to call this the aversive stage but that word has become synonymous with choke chains, prong collars, and shock collars.
In reality, "aversive" simply mean introducing something the dog dislikes. In other words, we will teach our dogs that there are consequences for not doing what is asked of them. Most of the time, simply revoking freedom is a very successful consequence for behavior. One more Come When Called example, this one is of my own dog, "Tru". "Tru" is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi who is famous for having her own ideas about how things should go down. She was one of THE most difficult puppies I have ever had to teach a Come When Called. Phase 1 worked for awhile then her willingness to please faded. Phase 2 provided me with another temporary boost but faded just as quickly as a falling star. Finally, I decided I had to answer an important question "Why is it important to "Tru"? So I began a trial and error learning process with her. The more reliable she was on her Come When Called, the more freedom she got (more off-leash time). The flip side was that if she failed to come when I called her, the less freedom she was given (more on-leash time). Now, does she dislike her leash? Not necessarily but if I gave her the option between the two I know she would pick off-leash every time. So why is it important to her? Well, she would prefer being off-leash, and the only way to achieve this by responding reliably to my commands.
Not every dog needs all 3 phases in order to be reliable at a command, this is determined by their personality. There are some dogs who can be taught that a certain behavior is fun and rewarding and they will perform that behavior easily until the day they die (these dogs are rare, but do exist!). There is another group of dogs that, as long as you teach them that it is fun and rewarding, oh AND inevitable, that is enough for them to willingly comply. Finally, there is another group of dogs that must be taken one step further, make it important to them. Incidentally, almost every dog I have ever owned falls into this third category (do I like a challenge? Why, yes I do!). While some dogs may only need 1 or 2 of these 3 phases, the phases should ALWAYS be done in this order. You shouldn't ever use just one of these phases unless it is Phase 1. If you believe your dog ONLY needs Phase 2 or 3, you have either already done Phase 1 or you need to go back and do it even if you don’t think you need it. No matter which category your dog fits in, it's training will need to be refreshed every so often to keep your commands solid. For instance, a dog who only needs phase 1 will still benefit from going back to LOTS of verbal praise and treats every once in awhile to keep the command fun and rewarding. Phase 2 dogs will need to be reminded every once in awhile of the same thing AND that their commands are still inevitable. Phase 3 dogs will need to be reminded every once in awhile that their commands are still fun and rewarding, inevitable, and important to them. However, if you keep up with the maintenance on your dog's training, these "reminder periods" will become fewer and farther between.
Which phases do you need to do with YOUR dog?
I'm sure glad you love doing this because...its NOT optional…
In this stage, it is our job to show the dogs that their commands are still FUN and REWARDING, however, they aren't quite as easy as before. We begin a process of "proofing" our dogs, or intentionally setting up scenarios where we think they might goof, in order to make our dogs more reliable in any given situation. During this proofing, we still remind them how fun and rewarding the commands are, but it becomes evident that even if it isn't on top of THEIR To-Do List, the do not get to do what THEY want until they do what WE want.
This is the stage most owners want to jump right into at the very beginning of training. We just want our dog to behave and stop embarrassing us as quickly as possible! So our tendency to dislike spending an entire phase on showing the dog how much fun being trained is and skip right to the "do it because you have to" phase is not surprising.
Unfortunately, not only does this hinder your dog's progress, it actually makes your work more difficult in the second phase of training, the Inevitability stage. The exercise I most often use to begin this second phase is called Recall with Distractions. In this exercise, we place a toy in between you and your dog and you must call your dog past that toy, using your leave it command if necessary. If they do not leave the toy, you must go to them, get them to leave it and continue with the exercise. What I have found is that I can immediately tell during this exercise who has done their Phase 1 homework.
Owners who did a great job of showing the dog how fun, easy and rewarding the command was had to do very little inevitability (going to the dog and getting them to leave it), some dogs were SO overjoyed to go to their owner they didn't even NOTICE the item! While other owners who skipped my phase 1 homework because they were waiting for the phase that would "really" help them had to prove the inevitability MANY more times, which resulted in frustration and physical exhaustion from the owners. So the owners who put in more time to show the dog how great the command was actually had less work in the long run in getting their dog to perform the command reliably than owners who skipped right to this second phase.
PHASE 3
Why is it important to YOUR dog?
The final phase is for dogs who need just a little bit more meaning in order to do what you have asked them to do. I used to call this the aversive stage but that word has become synonymous with choke chains, prong collars, and shock collars.
In reality, "aversive" simply mean introducing something the dog dislikes. In other words, we will teach our dogs that there are consequences for not doing what is asked of them. Most of the time, simply revoking freedom is a very successful consequence for behavior. One more Come When Called example, this one is of my own dog, "Tru". "Tru" is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi who is famous for having her own ideas about how things should go down. She was one of THE most difficult puppies I have ever had to teach a Come When Called. Phase 1 worked for awhile then her willingness to please faded. Phase 2 provided me with another temporary boost but faded just as quickly as a falling star. Finally, I decided I had to answer an important question "Why is it important to "Tru"? So I began a trial and error learning process with her. The more reliable she was on her Come When Called, the more freedom she got (more off-leash time). The flip side was that if she failed to come when I called her, the less freedom she was given (more on-leash time). Now, does she dislike her leash? Not necessarily but if I gave her the option between the two I know she would pick off-leash every time. So why is it important to her? Well, she would prefer being off-leash, and the only way to achieve this by responding reliably to my commands.
Not every dog needs all 3 phases in order to be reliable at a command, this is determined by their personality. There are some dogs who can be taught that a certain behavior is fun and rewarding and they will perform that behavior easily until the day they die (these dogs are rare, but do exist!). There is another group of dogs that, as long as you teach them that it is fun and rewarding, oh AND inevitable, that is enough for them to willingly comply. Finally, there is another group of dogs that must be taken one step further, make it important to them. Incidentally, almost every dog I have ever owned falls into this third category (do I like a challenge? Why, yes I do!). While some dogs may only need 1 or 2 of these 3 phases, the phases should ALWAYS be done in this order. You shouldn't ever use just one of these phases unless it is Phase 1. If you believe your dog ONLY needs Phase 2 or 3, you have either already done Phase 1 or you need to go back and do it even if you don’t think you need it. No matter which category your dog fits in, it's training will need to be refreshed every so often to keep your commands solid. For instance, a dog who only needs phase 1 will still benefit from going back to LOTS of verbal praise and treats every once in awhile to keep the command fun and rewarding. Phase 2 dogs will need to be reminded every once in awhile of the same thing AND that their commands are still inevitable. Phase 3 dogs will need to be reminded every once in awhile that their commands are still fun and rewarding, inevitable, and important to them. However, if you keep up with the maintenance on your dog's training, these "reminder periods" will become fewer and farther between.
Which phases do you need to do with YOUR dog?
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