RVing and Training Your Dog: Here's Why Timing Is Important

Timing 

The first key is Timing: Timing is your dog's ability to associate either a positive or a negative outcome with any behavior. (Or, as the result of any behavior).  Since dogs have a very limited use of logic and reason, they are unable to associate cause and effect beyond what happens in the immediate present. That is, whatever happens as a result of their behavior (good or bad) must happen pretty much instantly. 

For example: If your dog smells the pan fried steak you're cooking and jumps up and puts his front paws on the hot stove: your dog's association with the hot stove will be: Stove = hot. (A negative association, that happens instantly).

Yet: If your dog gets into a 4 lb bag of peanuts and eats them all in a matter of minutes... and in an hour he has painful stomach cramps and diarrhea; he'll still have no idea that the peanuts were the cause. Because for him: If the result or reaction of his behavior doesn't happen immediately, then his limited logic and reason (or in some cases: his limited language comprehension) prevents him from ever learning that 4 lbs of peanuts will cause gastrointestinal distress.

So, it's our responsibility to attach an immediate negative association to eating anything that isn't in his food bowl. Or for any unwanted behavior, for that matter.

Frequently, RVers who travel with their dogs will ask about behaviors such as "counter surfing" ... where the dog jumps up on the kitchen counter to snag a piece of food. Owners wonder how to correct such a behavior, especially if the dog steals a piece of food and then runs to the other side of the RV (or under a table)? That's where the bridging technique comes in. As soon as s/he does the behavior -- even if you're on the other side of the RV-- you need to firmly say, "No, no, no" as you run to her/him and administer the correction. By saying "No," right at the moment she does it, you're creating a virtual snap shot in her mind, and by continuing to say "no, no, no" as you run to her, you're forcing her to remember what she's being corrected for. Studies I've read suggest you have at least 7 to 9 seconds after the behavior, as long as you're using that bridging technique. So, yes; You should be correcting her after she's jumped back down off the counter, as long as you've said, "No!"

The same goes for timing your praise... which I'll go into more detail in a later article.

About the author:

Learn how to get your dog to listen to you, anywhere you go: Sign up for Adam’s free weekly dog training Tips newsletter at: http://www.dogproblems.com/sl.cfm

Copyright 2011 By Adam G. Katz and DogProblems.com.  All Rights Reserved.

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