dog or most of the time they ignore bad behavior. I believe that if this actually worked every trainer who loves dogs would want to train this way.. the key to that statement was "if it actually worked". Lets look at this scenario; lets say your dog is loose in a field and a deer starts running across the field at that same moment, you have built your "come" cue by using food. Food to your average dog has a high value but we all know in certain moments there are things more valuable to our dogs than food.
Okay so lets give food a value of 7 and the deer has a value of 10, Do you really think you can reliably call this dog back? The deer for lack of a better word is just more valuable in the moment and more exciting than the possibility of getting food if your dog responds. Secondly if the deer is more valuable than the food, how will taking food away punish this dog?
What pure positive training lacks is reliability, however, I do believe most behaviors should be taught this way first as pure positive is great for getting the initial idea across to the dog. The opposite of pure positive training is called Traditional training.
Traditional training is based off negative reinforcement which is removing something the dog finds unpleasant. for example if a traditional trainer were to teach sit they would put pressure on the dogs leash upwards tightening the prong collar and guide the dogs butt towards the floor, as soon as the dogs butt touches the floor they remove all the pressure from the collar. the dog learns sitting turns off the unpleasant tightening of the prong collar.
Okay, so in the scenario with the deer, traditional training using an e collar would work better than pure positive training; the reason for this is you can make your punishment more valuable than chasing the deer. Modern e collars have 100 levels that you can change to in split seconds to be able to call you dog back to you. So lets say the value of the deer is 10, but now your dogs want to avoid stimulation from the collar is a 12, you have won this battle of will in your dogs mind.
Traditional training in my opinion is rougher than necessary in the initial stages of training and is already aversive to the dog before the dog knows what is expected of it. When you think about it as far as learning something new, it comes off as unfair. Picture you just started a new job and you are constantly being yelled at until you do something right. Picture being corrected when you make mistakes but you are unaware what is right and what is wrong.
Now that being said some dogs are not very food motivated and traditional training done as gently as possible can be good in this situation. I've noticed when I've used traditional training, overall, dogs are less enthusiastic about training. So overall the pros for positive training are: its great for teaching new behaviors and dogs are more enthusiastic about training. The cons to positive training are: it's not very reliable especially in situations when you need training to be.
The pros for traditional training are: great reliability, dogs are more respectful and attentive to you when there are rules. The cons to traditional training are: its too rough in the initial stages of training, dogs can show less enthusiasm towards training. Balanced training takes the best of both worlds, the initial stages are taught using food and praise then rounded out by adding pressure and consequences later on in the training process.
Dogs trained this way not only enjoy training but are also incredibly reliable. They have a greater understanding of what they are doing as they have been trained full spectrum I hope this makes sense and helps you see the value of balanced training and understand the other methods out there as well. The new dog and the established dog. These are tricky waters to navigate for dog owners. As with many scenarios in dog training the best of intentions can turn into a big problem in a hurry.
Dog owners can just be trying to give their dog a friend or be trying to give their kids a younger more energetic dog as their current dog ages. The first mistake people make is assuming that their older dog is "nice" so there shouldn't be any issues. The second mistake is assuming it's the older dog's responsibility to deal with the new dog. As with any interaction whether it's between two or more humans or two or more dogs the "nice" one can still be targeted.
You can be the nicest person in the world and get stuck around a bully twice your size and have lots of problems. Or just be around someone who is very annoying to you and you just lose your patience. It always takes at least two to tango. Now your new dog or puppy may not be trying to be mean, they could simply be over excited, have no off switch, not understand how to appropriately play yet etc. Your older dog can simply be telling your new dog to stop or to go away from them.
Learn to read your dogs and learn when to step in. The vast majority of older dogs are not trying to seriously injure your new dog. Dogs use body language and different vocalizations to communicate with us and each other. Most of the stuff that looks bad to the untrained eye in these situations are actually called agonistic behaviors which means behaviors used to create space between dogs that are annoying or potentially threatening.
We should be seeing the signs before it gets to the point of air snapping, growling, showing teeth or biting though. We should step in and advocate for our older dog from day 1. When you see your new dog demand barking at your older dog to play, jumping on your older dog, acting obsessed with your older dog, getting to close when your older dog is eating or chewing a bone etc you should be intervening before your older dog feels like they have to.
I personally use spacial pressure, squirt bottles and dressage whips ( used as an extension of my arm, not as a whip) to separate dogs and provide space for my older dog. It is also our job not our older dog's job to teach our new dog how to behave. Until you know your dogs are safe together I never suggest leaving them alone together. Always use crates, gates or exercise pens to keep them separated when they are unsupervised.
Having both dogs obedience trained is crucial, but until they both respond well they need to be managed. Cues that are helpful in these situations are the place command, come when called, wait, boundaries and relaxation. Most often we have to start with teaching our dogs to just learn how to exist around each other before they can learn to accept and like each other. Management is crucial in the beginning as well as having good things like small training sessions occur near each other and going on walks together.
I also recommend picking up all toys and food dishes at least until the dogs become more comfortable with each other. WORKING AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS The idea of being at a certain skill level and labeling it isn't a new concept. We obviously have different grade levels throughout school, different ranks in professional sports, different belt colors in martial arts and different ranks throughout corporate jobs.
