by Jenny Turner
Positive – reward training – Rewards imposed on a horse during training must first be associated with a primary reinforcement for the horse to distinguish it. This type of reinforcement can be quite successful in training a horse. Today, more trainers use positive reinforcement in their training programs. 'Positive behavior training' she said, jogging over to me, 'Grab some of these plastic bags. Unless he stops and faces you, keep him running by hollering, clucking and waving one of these bags around. The idea is that we make him work harder until he accepts the easier option of letting us put his halter on. Common dog behavior problems such as house training, barking, digging, chewing, pulling on leash, jumping on people and destructive behavior. Common cat behavior problems such as litterbox problems, cat and dog introductions, cat aggression, and shyness. Serious dog behavior issues such as separation anxiety and some forms of aggression.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Certification
Fear of riding in the car is usually caused by one of two reasons: poor socialisation or a previous bad experience. Either way, to train a dog to enjoy riding in the car we need to change the association they feel towards the car, to a positive experience.
Poor socialisation can be due to age. Your puppy may be very young and generally scared or cautious of anything new, or an older dog may not have ridden in the car regularly, or for a long time. A previous bad experience may include regular car sickness, being involved in an accident, or being hit by a car. Dogs will even associate the car journey with a bad experience at the destination. For example, your dog may be unwilling to get into the car if the only destination he ever goes to is the vet’s office, if he associates that with stress and discomfort.
As with all training, we need to break down the final action into small stages, then train and reward each stage. The first stage is getting the dog to go near the car willingly. Use something that your dog finds rewarding to get him beside the car, such as a treat or ball to lure him there, then reward by giving the treat, or playing a game of fetch beside the car.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Pdf
The next stage is getting into the car. Two good methods are to get into the car yourself and feed your dog his meals in the car. Often a young puppy will feel safer approaching a scary situation if the person they trust the most (you) goes in first. Prepare your dog’s daily meal, then walk to the car, open the door or hatch, climb in yourself, then use the food bowl to lure your dog into the car behind you. If he follows, pet him and make a big fuss, then give him his meal as a reward. If he doesn’t follow, then you need to go back to stage one again, or break stage two into smaller increments. Instead of asking the dog to climb all the way inside the car, reward the dog for standing or sitting very close to the car, or sniffing inside the car, or putting one or two paws into the car. Reward these smaller increments, and your dog will become comfortable at this level, then he’ll want to do more to please you and get further rewards.
Once your dog is comfortable sitting in the car with you, it’s time to move to stage three. This stage involves you getting in the front seat. Evaluate how your dog copes with your getting out of the back and into the front. If he copes well, you can move onto the next stage. If he copes poorly, you’ll need to break this stage down again. First open the door that you are going to exit by, then reward your dog. Next put your feet on the ground, stand up, sit back down again, and reward your dog. Keep moving in small steps until you can get into the driver’s seat while your dog stays calm.
The next stage is to start the engine of the car. Assuming you will need to be in the front seat to do this, and your dog will be in the back, you’ll need to toss a treat to your dog as a reward for remaining calm.
Restraining Equipment
Once your dog is comfortable sitting in the car with the engine running, it’s time to introduce your restraining equipment. For the safety of your dog, you should put them either in a crate or a harness designed for riding in the car. The reason we don’t introduce this equipment before now is that we don’t want the dog to transfer their current fear of the car to the equipment, therefore creating the need to retrain again. A dog that starts to panic while confined to a crate or strapped into a car harness, because you are exiting the car without them, will become very unwilling to get into the crate or the harness again. The same can be said if they start to panic when you finally put the car in gear and begin to move, but I cannot recommend taking your dog for a ride, no matter how short, without having him restrained for his own safety. To be sure your dog is comfortable in his crate or harness, go back to stage two (where you are sitting in the back with your dog). Put him in the crate or harness, reward for being calm, then move to stage three (you getting out of the back and into the driver’s seat), reward again, then move to stage four where you start the engine, and reward again. This may need to be done over a few training sessions, or your dog may accept their restraint readily and be comfortable moving at a faster pace – you’ll need to assess this as you go.
Now it’s time to take a spin around the block. Take it slowly and smoothly; sudden braking and acceleration will probably scare your dog. Make it a very short trip (just a couple of minutes at first, then building up) and talk to your dog calmly and reassuringly. If you can do it safely, toss some treats to your dog from time to time. Once you have successfully taken a few trips around the block you can start taking your dog with you on short errands. Be sure to take your dog to fun places, such as the dog park or beach, so that your dog associates a ride in the car with a wonderful destination. But remember: never leave your dog in the car on a hot day – the temperature inside a locked car can soar to deadly levels in less than 10 minutes.
Car Sickness
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Training
Motion sickness is often suffered by young puppies. Over time they usually grow out of it, especially if they are given plenty of short rides in the car. To avoid making a mess of your upholstery, it’s best to put your dog in a crate with a waterproof liner. Be sure your dog hasn’t eaten for many hours, or better still since the day before, and be sure the car has adequate ventilation. If your dog begins to show signs of sickness, such as excessive panting or drooling, stop the car and turn off the engine. Severe stress can also cause your dog to become sick. However, if you have followed the steps above, and most importantly, not moved to the next stage until your dog is fully comfortable with the previous stage, he should be calm enough by the time you begin taking short rides to avoid become sick due to stress.
Remember, train each step completely before moving to the next stage, and break stages down into smaller pieces if need be. You should have a dog who loves riding in the car in no time.
Riding The Wavesdialectical Behavioral Training Plan
Training a Mule
By Tim Doud
Diamond Creek Mules, Cody, Wyoming
Reprinted with permission from Mules and More Magazine, May 2009
| Hi Tim!
I look forward to reading your articles!
I am interested in a training program for me and my mule. Just recently I purchased the entire set of John Lyons books from a horse person that no longer rides. I was not sure if all of the principles would apply to my mule and was so glad to see the article about you. Is there anything that does not apply to mules that applies to horses?
A little about Franklin and me; I purchased him at a foreclosure auction last January. He was a ‘gentleman’s farm’, although the owners were not gentlemen. They owned property in Cooperstown, NY, got in over their heads, had Frisians, mules, quarter horses, miniatures, etc…..and one day just drove away. Franklin was mule #12 and gave new definition to a large impulse purchase! He is 16 hands even, bay, long thinnish legs (definitely not draft mix) and he has a gorgeous big head with amazing brown eyes.
It took about five weeks of my going to the barn every day for him to decide he liked me and that he was my fella. I am 53, rode English as a kid and am now riding western. Could use a lot of lessons, and am working on that aspect. I have trail-ridden Franklin for up to four hours and he is a prince on the trail. I trust him completely and we have been in a couple of crazy situations, like a giant 15 foot branch landing on his back, riding in the town parade.
He prefers to lead on the trail and kicks out if horses come running up behind him. The problem is that he is pretty much in charge, which I know is the exact wrong thing. He tried to dump me only once and that was when the mare we were riding with went back to the barn early. He whirled around in circles, each time getting closer to where she was headed, threw a buck or two, and then gave up and we went on our way with the gelding.
I do not want to continue to train him incorrectly, as I am sure I have already done. As soon as spring comes I will start round pen work with him. Any thoughts appreciated. Would love to attend a clinic of yours. – Take Care, Terri Bright, New York
Terri,
Thank you for your question. The books from John Lyons are a great investment in your training program. Any good training program, like John’s, will work for any equine. The major difference you will see in training a mule versus a horse is you. You will need to be more consistent and more specific with your cues when training a mule.
When I attended the John Lyons certification program I was the only student in class with mules. I still did every lesson the same as the other students did with horses. The difference was I had to do a better job of communicating to my mules. I had to be more specific with what I was asking them to do. I will always remember the first day of the certification, Josh Lyons, John’s son, walked into the room and the first thing he said was, “Who brought the mules?”
I responded that they were mine. Josh replies, “Don’t make any mistakes.”
As I mentioned above, training mules means better communication. You can allow your mules to make mistakes, they all will at one point or another. But, you must be confident, specific and consistent from day one. It will make all the difference. Contrary to what many think, you can fix any issues that arise. Just be patient, specific and consistent.
WHEN YOU ARE asking your mule for a turn make sure the mule is responding to your cue, not a pattern you have created
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When you are asking your mule for a turn, or to complete any task, make sure the mule is responding to your cue, not a pattern you have created. Make sure you ask for a response to your cue at different times and places, while being specific and consistent.
Mules are always thinking; more so when you are with him or her. This is their self-preservation. In order to build a better relationship with your mule, you as the trainer, need to be sure you make it easy for your mule to understand what you are after. If you always ask the mule questions, or give it cues it can answer, you will build a trust between you and your mule. If not, you will have a mule that will not respond well to your training methods.
The best way to help a mule find the right answer to your question or cue is to be specific and break your training session down into smaller steps. If you ask your mule a question and he gives you the wrong answer, do not get mad at him. Getting mad only creates problems and the mule will become more defensive and eventually harder to train. Take a step back and think about how you can make the exercise simpler and more obvious for him. Then, ask the mule again until he answers the question correctly. Once he answers correctly, be sure to make a big deal out of it and praise him for doing it right.
ONCE YOUR MULE ANSWERS correctly be sure to make a big deal out of it and praise him for doing it right
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Think about training as professional athletes do. A professional basketball player is considered great if he makes 50 percent of his baskets. How can we expect our mules to execute each command 100 percent of the time? The only way to achieve that is through practice, training and learning. In order for the basketball player to get to the 50 percent completion rate he must spend many hours each day shooting baskets. The shot must become an automatic response. The automatic response from your mule also takes hours, months and years of practice----just as it does for a professional athlete.
Training is not a quick fix; it takes hours and hours of practice with our mules in order for the mule to learn each cue. This does not mean we must drill each exercise into the mule. We must make learning fun for our mule. Do this by breaking each lesson up into shorter sessions, or take your mule for a short trail ride to get out of the arena.
However, there are a few important things to remember when choosing a training program for you and your mule. Most importantly, be sure the training program you choose works for you and your mule. Next, when evaluating any training program three rules apply: Rule #1 – You cannot get hurt. Rule #2 – The mule cannot get hurt, and Rule #3 – The mule must be calmer at the end of the lesson than before the lesson.
Rule #1 “You cannot get hurt”. You are more important than any mule. If you are teaching a lesson you should ask yourself before you start, “Can I get hurt doing this lesson?” If the answer is “yes”, or even “maybe”, then do not do the lesson.
Rule #2 “The mule cannot get hurt”. Remember, you are responsible for the mule’s safety. If you think the mule can get hurt, or will be caused pain by the teaching method, then do not use the training method. Accidents will happen, but you need to do everything possible to keep your mule safe.
Rule #3 “The mule must be calmer at the end of the lesson than before the lesson began.” If the mule is calm and relaxed after the training lesson, he understands what the trainer is asking. Any time we apply pain to a lesson, whether from a severe bit, excessive force, etc., the mule will resist the training and will not learn. He, instead, will go into preservation mode and vices/issues will eventually arise.
You mentioned your mule kicks at other animals in back of him on the trail. He also tried to dump you once when another equine you were with went back to the back. When your mule acts up like this, ask him to do something you know he will respond to. Disengage his hip; move his front shoulder to the left, ride a small circle around a bush to the right, etc. Keep your mule busy and keep his mind off the animal behind him, or the mare leaving.
Some people are afraid to train their mule because they think they will ‘mess him up’. Equines, even mules, are like a blackboard, you can erase and start all over again, no matter their history. The history does not matter, it is what you do from this day forward that will shape your mule’s future. A mule that has been abused can take a lot of time to trust a human again. However, some of the best mules I have are mules that were abused or given to me as ‘unfixable’. After years of training they have become great partners.Tim can be reached at www.diamondcreekmules.com, or by phone at 307/899-1089, or email: bliss@wavecom.net.
| | Mules and More | May 2009 |
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