Puppycast 002 🐶 blog.martin-haehnel.de
@matti Another interesting puppycast. 😀 I've lived with dogs a long time now but am no professional trainer — however, watch out for unintended consequences. You don't want her to learn the 'wrong' lesson: that nipping your heels is a good way to get attention / cuddles. It may be better to give her a minute in timeout in a separate room if nipping continues (a consequence) and give her lots of praise for not nipping (positive reinforcement). I recommend consulting a trainer or some books etc. Avoid the techniques that use aggression or hitting for teaching and find the ones that do it with positive rewards etc.
@Miraz @Matti One thing I've always struggled with for dogs is timing. Dog barks: I say a sharp No! Milliseconds later dog is not barking so I say: Good dog, Quiet (in an affirming tone). I try to associate the word Quiet with 'good dog' so it can become a command as well as a reinforcement. But managing to time the 'good dog' with not barking can be a challenge if barking starts again too soon. 🐶
@Miraz Thanks for listening! And for the tips, too. We are actually trying to mostly use positive reinforcement. In January we’re going to puppy school. My book talked about communicating in binary: say what is good/allowed/praiseworthy and also what is not. The real hard part is to switch quickly enough between red and green light, so to speak and generally to reward good behaviors consistently.