{"id":5876,"date":"2011-07-11T21:40:36","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T04:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/?p=5876"},"modified":"2011-07-11T21:40:36","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T04:40:36","slug":"a-puppys-first-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shibashake.com\/dog\/a-puppys-first-words\/","title":{"rendered":"A Puppy’s First Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

Husky puppy Lara<\/a> sat on my lap all the way back from the breeder’s house and she was very well-behaved. I was afraid that she might piddle while on my lap, but she was great, and held it in.<\/p>\n

When we got back to the house, we took her straight out to the backyard where she quickly went to do her business. <\/p>\n

Good Girl!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those were the first words she learned, and they continue to be her favorite words.<\/p>\n

\"A
A Puppy\u2019s First Words - Good Girl!<\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>\n
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Good Girl!<\/h2>\n
\"Good
Good Girl is puppy Lara\u2019s favorite words.<\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>\n

Good Girl<\/em> is puppy Lara’s favorite words because after Good Girl comes a yummy food reward.<\/p>\n

Good Girl<\/em> is commonly referred to as a mark<\/strong>. In this case, we condition our dog to associate Good Girl<\/em> with something positive by tying it to a food reward. Every time puppy hears Good Girl<\/em>, she knows that she has done something desirable and is about to be rewarded for her good behavior. In this way, we can accurately time-mark a good behavior because it is easy and quick to say Good Girl<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Together with a mark for good behavior, there is also a no-mark for bad behaviors, e.g. No<\/strong>, or Ack-ack<\/strong>. Just as a mark is usually followed by a reward, a no-mark is usually followed by a punishment<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Most people associate punishment with physical punishment,<\/a> but the most effective dog training techniques are NOT<\/strong> based on physical punishment. Instead, they are based on the control of resources<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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By controlling what our dogs desire most (e.g., her freedoms, our attention and affection, her food, her toys) we can very effectively encourage good behaviors as well as discourage bad behaviors.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"By
By controlling what our dogs desire most we can very effectively encourage good behaviors as well as discourage bad behaviors. <\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>\n

For example when puppy Lara displays an undesirable behavior, e.g. biting on furniture, I no-mark her, Ack-Ack<\/em> and follow that up by redirecting her onto an acceptable toy to bite on. As a result, she knows what not to do, but at the same time I also give her alternative ways of redirecting her energy.<\/p>\n

If she does not listen and keeps biting at the furniture then she loses access to furniture, i.e., I lead her away and get her to do something else. If she continues to try to bite on furniture, or decides to bite on me instead, then she loses all of her freedom and goes into a boring, low-stimulus, time-out area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Redirecting
Redirecting behavior is much more effective than just saying no.<\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div>\n

Some things that I have observed while training my dogs –<\/strong><\/p>\n