MP K9 All Breed Dog Training ©

Choice Theory  Dog Training

Working Dog Training for the Pet Dog

 

Most of us have seen some sort of working dog or another and found ourselves thoroughly impressed by their ability and training. Many of you have probably wished that you could get your dog to perform so well under such great distractions. Well now you can.

 

Choice Theory Dog Training is the first organized system developed to use working dog training techniques and philosophies to train the average pet. It works quickly and safely with guaranteed results.

 

Choice Theory Dog Training was developed by Master dog trainer Gregory. Gregory has over 2 decades of training high performance and police dogs. He has studied the training methods of top service dog, agility dog and obedience trial trainers.

 

Gregory is also a naturally gifted and well versed teacher of people. As the k-9 training NCO for the US Army Southern Command, Gregory was task with creating new, more effective training scenarios to improve the dogs work performance. His philosophy for teaching people to train their dogs is; if you are going to teach them, teach them to use it in real life, not in the classroom.

 

 

CHAPTER 1

THE DEFINITION OF WORK

 

There are many definitions of work but here is one that describes it best for me.

Work <noun>: an exertion of oneself by doing mental or physical activities for a purpose or out of necessity;

 

Understanding this definition is the secret to Choice Theory Dog Training. As people, we work for several different reasons that vary from paying the rent to doing something that we love. For those of us that are lucky enough to do something that we love we need no motivation or administered discipline from our employer. However for those that are not so fortunate staying motivated is not that easy. Employers spend billions of dollars worldwide learning new techniques and reprising old ones in hopes of motivating and administrating employees

 

Understand when we work for a purpose we tend to work as hard and for as long as that purpose exists. For example if we want to buy a new TV then we might take on additional hours of employment and stay focused until the TV is purchased. Once that purpose is fulfilled more often than not we will quit working the extra hours.  However when we are working to pay the bills of necessity then we will more than likely keep working every day until retirement or until your survival instincts no longer function.

 

The same is true with dogs. If a dog performs a task for her owner in hopes of getting a treat, she is in fact working for a purpose. If you remove that purpose from the dog or the dog isn’t hungry then more than likely she will quit working. However if a dog hunts or scavenges to provide for her own survival then just like the human she will continue to do so every day until her survival instinct no longer functions.

 

The original domestic dogs were trained by exploiting two of the dog’s basic needs. First was the need for nutrition (food and water), second was the need to avoid, eliminated or alleviate pain (being beat). By understanding these two needs early trainers were able to get their dogs to do their bidding.

 

Tens of thousands of years later we as humans have evolved physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Herein lays the problem in most modern pet dog training systems. Even though the human specie has gone through great evolution, the canine species hasn’t. This is where the real challenge exists for working dog training. How do we get a dog to work without food bribery or causing the dog excessive pain or discomfort?

 

 

CHAPTER 2

By-product of evolution

 

Earlier philosophies and methodologies on dog training were very simple. But then again so were early ideas on employee management. Neither took psychology into consideration. However both seemed to work well when applied with consistency.

 

We as a species are infinitely more intelligent than our ancestors and can be motivated by our needs as well as our aspirations or the aspirations of others.

This isn’t true however for dogs. Unlike people the modern dog is not an evolved creature. He is a creation of an evolved creature, man. He is the result of selectively breeding one dog with another. However with all of the selective breeding over the 10,000s of years the dog as a species has not evolved. His intelligence level is no greater than that of his ancestors. Therefore to raise and train dogs in the same manner in which we raise and train children and adults will almost always prove to be futile.

 

 

CHAPTER 3

The Basic Principles of Dog Training

 

All dog training regardless of the methods or philosophies start with the assumption that we must exploit one the dog’s basic needs in order to train the dog. Those basic needs are;

 

· Food: All nutritional needs fall into this category including water.

· Social: This includes the need to be around another being and to touch or be touched.

· Prey-kill: This is the need to chase down and bite on objects or animals.  

· Pain-relief: This is the need to eliminate, alleviate or avoid discomfort and pain.

 

An unfortunate thing is that the word exploit has taken on such a negative stigma in the modern day that many trainers are afraid to use this word even though they do it on a daily basis. Exploiting a dog’s need is not a bad thing unless we are abusing the dog in the process. Exploiting a dog’s need for food to get it to sit is an example of exploitation without abuse.

 

As a dog trainer you are either working with or against one of the dog’s basic needs. Any need that you do not control is a distraction to your dog. The short coming of most modern training methods is that they focus on one need, food. If for any reason the dog isn’t hungry or is distracted by its social, prey-kill or pain avoidance needs, there is high probability that the dog will not perform the task requested.

 

Every dog has its inherent hierarchy of needs. For some dogs food might be at the top of their list and they will do everything from sitting to washing your dishes for it. Another dog might not have a big appetite but loves to be around and be touched by people. An even entirely different dog could care less about food or people if there is an opportunity to chase a ball, bike, car or animal. Finally all dogs have a need to relieve pain however some dogs have a higher tolerance for pain than others.

 

I hope you’re starting to see now why treat training by itself almost never delivers results high enough for the average dog owner to use in everyday life. First of all it’s impractical to carry treats with you all of the time. Second, it’s ludicrous to believe that all dogs have a high food drive and will always respond to treats.

 

CHAPTER 4

Choice Theory Dog Training

 

Choice Theory Dog Training teaches you how to use the proper techniques in order to train your dog to working dog standards. Working dog standards are higher then pet standards. This is because the consequences for failing are greater. A service or guide dog that fails to sit in total control when it sees a distraction could very easily pull its owner into traffic or down to the ground where great injury could be suffered. A military or police working dog is assertive enough that if not under control would take food or toys away from humans and not give them back.

 

We at MP K9 Dog Training understand that modern dog owners have the opportunity to take their dogs with them to many dog-friendly environments and do not wish to be embarrassed by their dog’s behavior or pay the price of replacing goods or claims resulting from injury to others or their pets. Therefore we guarantee our training system.

 

The commands covered in this Alpha Dog Training System Basic Obedience Program are;

1) Heel: Walking on a designated side of the owner and sitting automatically upon stopping

2) Sit: Sitting on command from different positions.

3) Down: Laying down on command from different positions

4) Stay: Holding a down, seated or standing position for an extended period of time.

5) Recall: Calling your dog to you whereas the dog will sit directly in front of you.

6) Finish: Having your dog return to the heel position directly to the side or around your back.

 

 

CHAPTER 5

How The System Works?

Choice Theory Dog Training is the product of over 2 decades of research. It utilizes the best methods from food reward training, praise reward training and correction based training.

What makes this system different from other systems is that it always first takes into consideration that no two dogs are the same. Secondly that it is impractical to use food every time you take your dog out or want it to do something inside the home. And third, it takes into consideration that it is your job to be the pack leader not a bribery artist. Choice Theory Dog Training doesn’t work through intimidation but rather through persistence, consistence and patients.

Have you ever heard people say that their dog went through a food reward training system and now it won’t do anything unless they have food in their hand? This is because the other systems are actually not just food-reward but rather a food-motivating and reward system.

Many early dog trainers didn’t give dogs enough credit and believed that dogs learned only through repetition and pain avoidance. Many modern trainers give the dog too much credit and train dogs as if they are people. Although dogs like people are very capable of reasoning, what they are not capable of is basing their reasoning on words. Your dog’s reasoning is based on four things, cause and affect, and action and consequences,

When we steer a dog’s body into position with food and then finally give the food when the dog’s body is in position, we are in essence motivating the dog with the food. This is cause and affect and this is bribery. The presence of the food causes the dog to perform, sometimes voluntarily and unfortunately sometimes involuntarily. The dog will quickly learn that if the hand is empty then there is a good chance that there will be no food reward at the end of the task. Thus a smart dog will stop performing once the food has been removed. If you don’t insist that the dog performs at this point then your dog has in fact trained you. He understands better than you that if you don’t produce the cause then you won’t get the desired affect.

Choice Theory Dog Training works differently. It works by truly imposing your will on the dog with humane and physical positioning techniques using a leash and collar or by hand. This is the action. Once the dog is in position it can then be reward by verbal praise, physical praise and/or food reward. This is the consequence. In this manner food is truly a reward and not a motivator. The motivator is your imposing will, which ultimately puts you the owner/trainer in a position of authority over your dog. Once you are in a position of authority your dog will work hard to please you. Your praise and food will now have a new found value to your dog. Your dog will also have a feeling of happiness, calm and relief knowing that it will not have to be the pack leader.

Choice Theory Dog Training works with all dog personality types from the most submissive to the most aggressive. This is because the amount of will imposed is dictated by the dog not the owner/trainer. If a dog is docile/submissive only a slight amount of pressure might be necessary to position its body. However if your dog is dominant/overly assertive then greater pressure might need to be exerted. Regardless, we always start with the least amount of pressure and only escalate as needed.

Choice Theory Dog Training makes for more intelligent dogs because it constantly puts your dog in situations where it has to make intelligent choices. From the beginning your dog will perform task not because he/she expects a reward but because he/she is truly doing your will and has a high desire to please you.

 

DISCLAIMER: The quality of Choice Theory Dog Training remains consistently high and is guaranteed, however dog training will not provide exact results. Each dog is different in regards to ability, intelligence and temperament. Choice Theory Dog Training makes no expressed or implied guarantee to the level of competency reached by your dog. It is the owner’s responsibility to continue training with his/her dog until desired proficiency is reached.

 

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