Training Tuesday: Why Isn’t My Dog Learning What I’m Training?

The problem is often in the reinforcement process.

This podcast and video are shared with permission from Susan Garrett's Shaped by Dog podcast series.

In education, what the teacher is teaching, and what the learner is learning might not be the same thing. It’s the same when we are training our dogs. If what our dog does is not what we have trained, we need to look at our training to see where that might be flawed. Often it comes down to the reinforcement process, and today we’re going to fix that.

In the episode you'll hear:

• The elements of the reinforcement process in dog training.
• How to fix the way you are rewarding your dog.
• About the reward process for loose leash walking.
• The reason we want to catch our dogs being amazing.
• Why to observe, recognize, mark, deliver and place reinforcement, release.
• The reason that gaps between reward elements morph behavior.
• How barking can be inadvertently rewarded.
• Why you should ask yourself, “What did I just reward?”
• About being prepared for training to help your dog learn.
• The mechanics of good reward delivery.
• Why reinforcement placement builds or tears down behaviour.
• How your dog will always tell you what they are learning.

Visit the website for the complete transcript of this podcast.

About Susan Garrett

Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behavior started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in animal science. Since then she has developed into a pre-eminent canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last two decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.

A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply learning principles to practical and competitive dog training has made her a much sought-after speaker throughout North America and as far away as Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The Dog Writers Association of America named Susan’s book “Shaping Success” the 2005 "Dog Training and Behaviour Book of the Year." 

Read more about Susan and her training philosophy.