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Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

I am nothing if not fastidious. About mid-month I prepare the following month’s Michael’s Dogs Newsletter. I write two new blog pieces. Sometimes I write one and pull an old one from the archive. Regardless, some time around the 15th to the 20th every month I sit down and put it together. That’s my routine. It’s been that way for more than a decade.

I’ve never missed an issue, not until this past month. We were well into April before I noticed. It’s funny how grief and mourning work.

For more than a decade I’ve written quite literally under the watchful eyes of “Michael’s Dogs.” Stella and Stewie (we used to say their names like it was one long name) were the constant thread in the narrative. They featured in almost every issue, their pictures and their stories.

Stella (13) died last Summer. Stewie (15) died March 16th of this year, right about the time I’d be doing the April newsletter. It wasn’t that I couldn’t write. There was no block, no burden weighing me down. I simply forgot. They were gone. The bowls were picked up. The beds were put away. And, oddly, the newsletter got swept up and put away as well. I’m familiar with mourning – dogs, parents, a sibling. It’s a quirky visitor. You’re okay. You’re not. You forget and of course you can’t. Not ever.

If you’ve worked with me you know I approach cases as if your dog were mine. How would I handle this case if this were my dog? I ask the question every day, not at all lightly. I really am thinking of my dogs. What if Stella had bitten a relative? What if Stewie and she fought? What if this and what if that. They never had those issue. But, they were my inspiration. This is, in fact, how I named the company. Michael’s Dogs, my dogs. My personal relationship with them has always been tied to your personal relationship with your dog. Corny? Yeah. Effective? I think so.

So. Now what? As I write this (mid month, back on schedule) I do not have an answer. Mourning is a healing process and a process I implicitly trust. It visits fond memories on us and unexpected tears. The research is fairly clear. For uncomplicated mourning the hardest part is the first two months. It softens predictably beyond that. For this and other reasons we have decided on a year without a dog. A full year.

Michael’s Dogs, the actual ones, are legend now. Their legacy is our name, but also the questions I will continue to ask. What if this dog, your dog, was mine? Our lives with dogs are intimate things, deeply personal. Their emotions get hooked in with ours. Their struggles become our struggles. When you need help you should expect no less than my asking these essential questions. What if this was my dog? Stella and Stewie, what if this was you? How would we handle this? How would we help set things right?

 

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Houston, TX. He publishes an email news letter every month (except that one time).

 

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Using food in training is not the same as bribing your dog.

First of all, a bribe is primarily a human transaction. It’s a promise of a future renumeration for something the bribed will do now or very soon. Bribes are nefarious dirty deeds. You bribe politicians, not dogs. Dogs don’t think that far ahead and politicians … well, I’ll leave that alone.

Semantics aside, I get it. Some folks seem to be very concerned that their dog is “doing it for the food.” Of course all of us work for money and I’m not above doing a bit of work for sushi or an iced latte. That seems to be okay. Work for free? Anyone? Anyone? I doubt it. But, a lot of us get downright  insulted if our dog won’t work for free. We want her to do it “just because it’s me.” Why? I don’t know. That question might be better left to an expert in human behavior.

In dog training our main concern is when the treat shows up.

• Before the behavior. We show the food ahead of the thing we are asking our dog to do. Think: calling our dog to us as we crinkle the treat bag. Or, cueing our dog to sit with food in our hand. Okay. If we are speaking in the vernacular we could call that a bribe. We are showing the food out front. Generally this is not the way to go. Though there is a notable exception I’ll explain below.
• After the behavior. The dog does the thing, whatever the thing is, and we follow up by giving her a bit of food. The food lets the dog know the behavior pays. Do more of it. That’s called reinforcement. Sit – treat – more sitting. It’s how nature works.

The notable exception. Our dogs rarely know what we want at first. One reliable way to teach a new behavior is to lure the dog into the action or position. This does involve showing her the food ahead of the behavior. Good trainers (and you’re a good trainer) plan to get the food lure out of the mix as soon as possible and focus only on reinforcing the behavior after it occurs.

All that said, is our dog just doing it for the food? Probably. Some behavior goes away very quickly if we drop the food altogether, especially if there are competing motivators.

Is our dog always just doing it for the food? No, not always. The world is full of reinforcers, some stronger than others. It’s up to us as trainers to stay creative and see what our dog will work for. What motivates her? Food? Play? Access to other dogs? Keep exploring the possibilities. Keep the conversation with your dog going. It’s how we build trusting relationships. It’s how we end up with dogs who are eager to learn new things with us just because it’s us.

 

Michael Baugh is a dog trainer in Houston, TX. He specializes in aggressive dog training.

 

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Language is important. The words we choose help us express ourselves clearly. They also help us better understand our own mindset and intentions. This is certainly true in dog training when we compare the words cue and command.

A command is compulsory and insists. A cue is an opportunity and invites. Commands often come with the threat of do-it-or-else. A cue is an open door to earn reinforcement. Let’s take a closer look.

In dog training, commands are quickly becoming outdated. They were words, usually issued in a harsh or “commanding” tone. The dog’s failure to choose the right behavior often resulted in a physical punishment. If a dog continued to stand when commanded to sit, he would get an upward jerk on the leash until he sat. A dog who dawdled when commanded to come would suffer a shock until he ran toward the trainer (alternatively he’d get a jerk to the neck from a long leash). Dogs had to do what they were commanded or they would suffer the consequence.

Modern dog trainers use positive reinforcement and cues. A cue is a word, phrase, or visual signal that indicates reinforcement is available if the dog chooses the behavior associated with that cue. We can teach a dog that when we say “come,” if he walks or runs to us, he gets a bit of the food we are carrying in our treat pouch. In fact, we can teach him that he only gets the food if we’ve said that word. He can wander over on his own, but the behavior is only reinforced when we cue it. Trainers call this stimulus control.

Maybe some human examples will make the difference between a command and a cue more clear.

The green light at an intersection is a cue. It signals that the reinforcement of forward movement is available. The light does not command us to go. There is no looming punishment if we don’t. Though one could argue that the honk from the guy behind us is more of a punishing command.

Here’s another one. The bell of an elevator arriving is a cue that the reinforcement of boarding and reaching our destination is available. The bell does not command us to get on. There’s no compulsion. Nothing pushes us in. The floor outside the elevator doesn’t electrify if we don’t step through the door.

The message indicator on your phone is a cue, that red number next to the icon. If we press the right spot, reinforcement is available. We do this all day long. But, this one is a bit different because sometimes the behavior is reinforcing (a nice message from a friend, a love interest, or an opportunity from our boss or client). Sometimes the message can be punishing, though (a complaint form an angry spouse for instance). The cue in this case works only if pressing the icon is reinforcing enough times to keep the behavior going. Otherwise, we become one of those people with a hundred unread messages.

Commands come from authority. They are usually stress inducing. Police lights in the rear view mirror are a command to pull over. Military officers and government officials issue commands.

Cues come from collaborators. They are often reassuring. A nod from a friend keeps a conversation going. Actors take cues on a stage from fellow players.

The question here isn’t whether one is more effective than the other, a cue or a command. They can both work. The real question is for those of us on the receiving end. Do you want to be cued or commanded? Door number one or door number two? That’s a cue. Or, get through that (explitive) door right now! That’s a command. Which do your prefer? Which do you think your dog might want?

 

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Houston Texas. He specializes in aggressive dog training and fear-related behavior problems.