Have you ever heard of a dog that could open the handle on a chain link fence gate, climb the fence, or just bounce over it? You are probably wondering how my dog learned to do it. Well, he had a problem! He was confined within his chain link fence and could not get out. Secondly, he was determined to solve his problem.
Let's pretend you have just brought home a beautiful new pet. You bring your dog home and confine him to a pen on your property. Before long, he begins to bark. You may look around and wonder what is happening. Suddenly, no more barking. Now, you notice him digging around the gate or some other area of the fence. You are probably thinking there is nothing to worry about. Later, you see him on top of the dog house, almost as if he is checking things out, but still not finding any escape route.
The next day there is complete silence, and you become concerned, and when you look outside, he is playing in the backyard. You go outside and find the gate open. Your pet is a problem solver, and he solved the confinement problem when he did not want to be contained.
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If you have ever experienced a dog who can learn to get out of his confined area, you will soon realize his second attempt comes much sooner. He may show signs of frustration such as barking, jumping, or pawing but he soon learns to repeat the behavior again and again. Soon he will be showing his playmates how to do the same thing.
Your pet tried barking, digging, climbing, and jumping until he arrived at a successful solution to his problem. This suggests to me that any behavior which is not rewarded will soon eliminate itself. If your pet stops barking, digging, climbing, pawing, or any other behavior, it is because it did not solve his problem.
Many times a dog will escape his boundaries simply because it was accidental. If something works he will try again and again until finally he becomes an expert at it. Before long, he will repeat the behavior at will and maybe with you standing nearby. The dog that has learned to escape, say by climbing a fence or opening a gate, will be confused if you put him in another location but under the same circumstances. It will take him a while to become familiar with the new situation, but he will soon learn to repeat the same behavior in his new location. This is called "situational learning".
When we install our pet containment fencing, we put out flags to mark the dogs boundaries. The training process involves teaching the dog that all areas of your yard are the same. He must understand that they are the same situation. Therefore, he comes to understand how to react (jump back into the yard) in different parts of the yard. Also, our training involves creating the impression in your pet's mind that this so called invisible boundary which you have created extends beyond just your yard. To your pet, we want to create the impression it goes into your neighbors yard and into the street and beyond. Once your pet is comfortable in his yard and understands where it is safe to be, we will introduce him to stimulation training. He needs to believe that this invisible zone you have created has no end, and it is uncomfortable enough that he just stops trying. (Return to top)
- Which way to jump to avoid coming in contact with the stimulation zone.
- Where he needs to go to escape.
- How to learn to enter and exit the pet containment system on command.
- Where it is safe in the yard and where it is not safe.
- Never letting your dog know how wide the correction zone really is.
- When to trust your dog to be left alone.
This is where we as professionals can be of tremendous help to you. We know exactly what to do and what not to do to train your pet to our electronic pet containment system. We never want a dog to learn how to escape from the yard. Therefore, we spend time working with you and your pet and correcting any misbehavior immediately before it becomes a problem. (Return to top)
It is very important to reinforce positive behavior at every opportunity if you want to be effective in training your pet. This rule applies to obedience training such as sit, stay, come, heal, ect., or learning the boundaries you have created with the Dog Guard pet containment system. When your pet makes a correct choice, you will need to respond with some form of positive reinforcement. The more lavish the praise, the more your pet will want to repeat the behavior. You do not necessarily need to give your pet a treat, but really be pro active and show enthusiasm with your praise. This praise should be reserved for a good performance to accomplish a preplanned goal. Behavior reinforcement can be accomplished more quickly by making your sessions brief and consistent over several days or more. As long as you work with your pet daily, if only for 15 to 30 minutes, you should make steady progress. (Return to top)
What if my pet makes an error?
If your pet is trying to follow your directions and makes an error, you would approach this the same way as you would when giving instructions to a child. Just as you would have compassion for a child, you should treat your pet the same way. A pet that makes an effort should be shown the correct solution to the problem. Your response should be calm but firm. Simply repeat the correct method of responding to the problem and praise your pet when he does follow your directions. Remember, the more lavish the praise, the more your pet will realize they are making the right moves. This positive behavior must be reinforced at every opportunity.
If your pet is distracted by another pet or something going on outside your yard, you will need to move to another location or take a break and begin again later. Do not try to compete with other things which are stimulating your pet. He will become uninterested and you will not make nearly as much progress as you would when you have his complete attention.
Remember, dogs want to repeat behavior which is rewarded and will discontinue behavior which does not produce a desired result. If you want you dog to stop barking, you will need to be patient enough to ignore this behavior or remove what is stimulating him.
If your pet is learning his boundaries and responding appropriately within the pet containment system, you should take every opportunity to praise him. This is especially important during the first few days while learning the system. (Return to top)
Trust but Verify
The first 2-4 days should be spent training your pet on a leash. He should be learning his safe area, which direction to jump, and how far he is allowed to go before being stimulated. Once this is accomplished, you can let your pet off leash and have the run of your yard. At this point you may feel you can trust your pet to stay within his boundaries. This is where most people let down their guards. They see their pet running around and become over confident. You may even leave you pet unattended for a period of time. DO NOT leave him alone! This is very important. Your pet may seem to know exactly where he is allowed to go and not go, but I assure you, he is not ready. You need to closely monitor your pet for at least 4-7 days. You see, since your pet was just a tiny animal he has been chasing everything you can imagine. He responds to bees, birds, squirrels, other animals, ECT. He does not have to even think about what to do. He simply goes in the direction of whatever is stimulating him. Now, what we are teaching him (jump back into his yard) takes time to become second nature to him. Therefore, it may take him just a moment to remember which way to jump if he is distracted enough to enter the correction zone. This is referred to as "processing speed". It will take your pet at least a week to absorb this new information to the point where he does not need to even think about which way to jump. After this period of time, he will just automatically jump back into his yard if the amount of stimulation is adequate. (Return to top)
Escape Behavior
This is when your pet refuses to follow you around on leash or off leash. He refuses to go into large parts of his yard. He may even want to hug your feet or take off to his crate in the garage and refuse to come out. Commonly referred to as escape behavior, this behavior is usually the result of not adequately preparing your pet before he is introduced to correction training. I would compare this to putting a child in a dark room and closing the door. The child would be very afraid to the point where their heartbeat would increase and he would hide and be very quiet. Your pet has the same feeling as a child when they do not know what is happening or what is going to happen. All they know is it is going to hurt. Your pet feels that the safest thing to do is just sit there. This is why it is very important to properly prepare your pet before he is introduced to correction training. He must know where the safe area is located and which direction he needs to jump to avoid the correction zone. We will cover this training in detail and give your pet plenty of time to become comfortable in his yard before he is introduced to correction training. It takes a lot longer to remove the fear factor than it does to do the proper preparation. (Return to top)
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