Tag: aggressive dog training

Could AI Train my Dog?

Michael Baugh CDBC

 

 

 

 

 

Some dog training is robotic. In fact, I teach some techniques that way. Keep your hands relaxed and still. Cue a behavior. If the dog performs the behavior associated with the cue, mark the behavior with a click or a clear marker word. Then, reach into the treat bag and deliver a bit of food to the dog. The process is crisp and clear. Non-human artificial intelligence could pull it off.

Actually, AI would nail it. Dogs perceive cues from non-human sources all the time. AI can already perceive live video. Remote feeding devices have been around for decades. It’s a no-brainer, literally. (Well, our dog has a brain, but you get it).

With some work, artificial intelligence could actually train with environmental cues, like teaching a dog to station on a bed when a doorbell rings. That would be cool.

The only thing missing would be everything else.

Training with our dogs isn’t only about teaching a list of tasks. It’s about learning communication. Our dogs learn from us, our verbal phrases, our body language, and facial expressions. And we learn theirs. Faced with a new and potentially challenging situation, the discourse is easy. Our dogs and we navigate the situation on the fly. This is how our dog learns behavioral flexibility. It happens in real life, with us.

Artificial intelligence is excellent at learning patterns. It’s quick. It uses pattern recognition to infer outcomes. That’s amazing. And it’s getting better. AI can learn a great deal about us. It can learn about our dogs. Artificial intelligence will never be human, though. Never a dog, either.

I fell in love with my dogs while teaching them. It’s intoxicating, that flood of neurochemicals: oxytocin, dopamine, adrenaline. I don’t know them all. It’s a cocktail you can only make with a dog. A friend. Another living being.

The first time I ever taught a dog to stay, we looked lovingly at each other from across the room. My dog wanted to run to me. I wanted her to. But we both knew the game, so much fun, waiting. Artificial intelligence is helpful; I’m glad it’s here. But AI will never know what I felt teaching stay that day. It will never feel.

Humans and dogs evolved with each other. We grew up together over millennia. Our interactions are as sloppy and unpredictable as they are inspired. Yes, we communicate with clicks and treats. And we communicate with laughter, and play bows, and winks, and smiles, and stillness, and brief moments of silence. Yes!

Trainers sometimes tell students that dogs are forgiving of our messy, inconsistent training. I wonder if they thrive on it. This is who we are together: dogs and humans. Organic. Alive. Perfectly flawed.

I know it sounds diminutive, but AI has its place. Help my brain, my wobbly memory. Help me see the pattern here I don’t see. Maybe artificial intelligence will claim some big spaces. Heal our bodies. Enrich our lives. Open a world at our fingertips.

Things dogs do.

Tread carefully, my dear sensitive, loving fellow humans. Take my hand. Laugh with me. Tremble if you must. So much is unknown. Make room for this artificial invention of ours, but keep it out of your heart. Meet me out on the path instead. Walk with me, just a couple of people chatting.

And AI, our helpful illusionist. Respectfully. Stay away from my dog.

MIchael Baugh teaches dog training in Sedona, Arizona and Houston, Texas. He specializes in aggressive dog training. 

Related article on my Substack: Are Human Dog Trainers Obsolete?

Resolving Dog Reactivity by Teaching “This Way”

Michael Baugh CDBC

What are we trying to teach dogs who bark and lunge at other dogs, people, bikes, or cars on walks?

We call them “reactive dogs.” But what are we trying to replace that reactivity with?

Not simply the absence of barking. We want a dog who calmly follows our lead.

This Way

Let’s teach our dog to follow us when we cue, “This way.”

Say, “this way.” Turn 90 degrees off the path without pulling on the leash. Encourage your dog to follow. Praise warmly, then scatter three to five treats on the ground.

Practice “this way” several times during every walk, even when you don’t see other dogs or anything else that typically causes your dog to react.

We are teaching our dog that when something concerning appears, following us is safe and rewarding. Rather than barking and lunging, your dog learns to stay calm, follow you, and create distance.

I recommend turning at a right angle, either left or right, and moving off the path as far as you need. Sometimes that means walking up a neighbor’s driveway or sidewalk for a few moments. That’s okay. Your goal is to create enough distance for your dog to remain calm.

This way → increase distance → praise → scatter treats.

Under Threshold

When we actually encounter a trigger on a walk, such as another dog, our goal is to move before the barking and lunging begin. We call this working under threshold.

If I notice a trigger, I watch to see whether my dog has noticed it too. There is usually a brief moment after your dog sees the trigger but before emotion spills over into barking and lunging. That’s your opportunity.

Your dog sees the other dog. → “This way” → Move off the path, praise, and scatter treats.

Having practiced “this way” many times during ordinary walks, your dog will be much more likely to respond when it really matters.

Beyond Avoidance

Some people worry this is avoidance. It isn’t.

Your dog has seen the trigger. He knows it’s there. Instead of barking and lunging, he’s learning another response. He sees the trigger, follows you, earns reinforcement, and remains under threshold.

Over time, as your dog has many successful repetitions, he will naturally become comfortable at shorter distances from the things that once caused him to react. Walks become calmer, easier, and more enjoyable for both of you.

We’re not just trying to stop barking and lunging. We are teaching our dogs what to do instead.

 

Michael Baugh CDBC teaches dog training in Sedona, Arizona, Houston, Texas, and online everywhere. He specializes in aggressive dog training. 

Training Your Dog to Come When Called

Michael Baugh CDBC

Coming-When-Called (verb)

In response to a cue, the dog quickly decreases the distance from where they are to where you are, usually in a straight line, ending in front of you.

Reinforce this behavior every time it occurs.

Avoid asking for additional behavior, such as a sit, before reinforcing. Reward the come first. Everything else can wait.

The Sacred Promise

Many people tell me, “My dog will come if I say, ‘Treat!'”

Of course he will.

When you say “Treat,” you’re not lying to your dog. You fully intend to give him one.

So why not create that same certainty around the word “Come”?

Say, “(your dog’s name), Come!” Your dog runs to you. You give a treat. Every single time.

Come → Your dog comes → Treat.

That’s it.

The word Come should always mean the same thing: If you come to me, I’ll give you something.

Every time.

It’s a sacred promise.

And that’s the beginning of teaching a truly reliable come-when-called.

Simple, right?

Single-Rep Sessions

Throughout the day, randomly call your dog from another room.

Say, “(your dog’s name), Come!”

When your dog arrives, reinforce the behavior with a treat.

For best results, carry treats with you. If you don’t have one in your pocket, simply walk with your dog to where the treats are after he comes. That’s perfectly fine.

Then wait at least twenty minutes before calling him again.

Avoid practicing several repetitions in a row. Instead, teach in single-rep sessions scattered throughout the day.

Increase the Challenge

Once you and your dog are succeeding indoors, begin practicing outside.

Again, call once, reinforce. These are single-rep sessions.

If you’re not in a securely fenced area, use a long leash for safety.

The pattern never changes:

Come → Your dog runs to you → Treat. Every time.

Continue reinforcing this behavior throughout your dog’s life.

The goal isn’t to wean your dog off food reinforcement.

The goal is to build a recall so strong that your dog chooses you over squirrels, smells, other dogs, and every other competing motivator the world has to offer.

Few things in dog training are as satisfying as watching your dog sprint toward you full speed, eager, and joyful.

You’ll probably feel proud.

You’ll certainly feel more in control.

But my hope is that you’ll feel something even better: a deep connection with your dog.

That’s the best feeling of all.

That’s what you’ve been practicing for all along.

 

Micheal Baugh teaches dog training in Sedona, Arizona, Houston, Texas and online everywhere. He specializes in aggressive dog training.