A More In-Depth Look into Marker Training!This post will go more in-depth into how I train and use Marker Training, and especially how I integrate it into E-Collar training, or the use of a Remote Collar/E-Collar/Electronic Collar (not a shock collar, as those are inhumane) to allow my personal Hound and other Hounds the freedom of off-leash training, Service Dog work, and general fun times! Hopefully this post helps those looking into an easy, humane way to train their dog several different behaviors starting with the most simple ones: Yes and No, Positive and Negative markers. How to "Load the Marker" for the "Yes!"You want to start with your "Yes!" or Positive Marker, because that's the one you'll be using probably around 80-90 percent of the time. You want to encourage your dog to do what you want them to do, and teaching them how to get their reward is how you get them to do what you want. It's really simple, and doesn't take long. First: Get yourself some dog treats. Something that your dog cannot help herself to love, such as diced hotdogs, liver treats from the pet store, or whatever works for your dog. Heck, sometimes even her breakfast will work for your dog. Second: Get your dog and have her on-leash in front of you. You can sit on the floor, on the sofa with her on the floor in front of you, both of you on your bed, wherever is least distracting for your dog. Third: Begin "loading the marker" by telling your dog "Yes!" in a happy, excited voice, and then giving them a treat, about 15 or so times in a row. Do this "Yes!", Reward training several times a day, every day, for about a week. During this week, also tell your dog "Yes!" and give her a treat every time you see her doing something you want her to do, such as laying down on her own, going into her crate when asked, going potty outside, and whatever else you'd like them to keep doing in the future. Don't worry about putting a name to whatever you're encouraging yet, as that will come later, as described in our last post. After that first week, you will probably notice your dog offering behaviors you encouraged before. Keep marking and rewarding those behaviors. But now, practice by going out on walks, in different areas of the house, in the yard, etc. until your dog definitely understands what "Yes!" means. Then, we'll move on. How to "Load the Marker" for the "No!"Now that your dog understands what "Yes!" is, we're going to introduce the concept of "No!" or a Negative Marker. this is, obviously, the opposite of the previous, and you want to be very careful that you don't discourage your dog from doing things you want during this stage. What we're after is to simply discourage the dog from doing what you don't want them to do, while continuing to encourage them to do what you do want them to do. It can be a bit of a challenge, but that's why I'm explaining it here for you to learn in simple steps. First: Put your dog in front of you on-leash like you did during the "Yes!" training written above. I recommend using a Prong Collar during this phase, but you can use a flat buckle collar or martingale collar if you don't have a prong collar. I do not recommend using a slip/choke collar/lead, as they are not safe for training as they do not stop tightening like a martingale or prong collar does. I advise against using a halter/headcollar, as this stage could cause damage if you misuse it in this way. They're not made for this kind of training. Second: Tell your dog "No!" in a stern, but not loud voice, such that you would use when reprimanding a child, and give a sudden jerk on the lead, such as one you would use on someone's shirtsleeve to get their attention. Not hard enough to hurt the dog, but enough to get them to pay attention to you. This is commonly referred to as a "leash pop" and is a common "correction" behavior to use for dogs. You may also choose to turn away from your dog, and ignore her for a 5-second period of time, which is commonly referred to as a "turn away" which is also a common "correction" behavior. Third: after you have given the "No!", if your dog seems fearful (cowering, ears back, lip licking), take note and use a less harsh tone of voice, or try the "turn away" instead of the "leash pop" and see if they are less upset by that. We are not trying to scare the dog, so make sure your dog isn't getting too upset by this training. Do this "No!", Correction training 2-3 times a day, every day, for about a week, while also continuing to use "Yes!" in between. If you see your dog doing something you don't want, such as chewing on a shoe or barking at the door when the doorbell rings, you may use your "No!" and you may want to substitute the "leash pop" or "turn away" with taking the item being chewed away, or putting the dog in her crate. After the first week, you will probably notice a decrease in behaviors that you used your negative marker with. This is expected, and shows they are learning. You then want to continue by using your "No!" on undesirable behaviors, using your "Yes!" on desirable behaviors, and utilizing them on walks, in the yard, etc. This is especially useful when out on a walk, as if your dog begins to pull or try to chase something on leash, you can use "No!" and turn around and walk the other direction to discourage your dog from pulling or chasing, or you can use a "leash pop" to discourage her. Depending on how confident and strong-willed your dog already is, you might need to use a prong collar while on walks to make your "leash pop" or "turn away" more effective, and this is, in fact, how a lot of dogs learn to walk nicely on a leash. The Beginning of E-Collar TrainingNow that your dog understands the concepts of "Yes!" and "No!" you may begin to start using your E-Collar to gain some freedom. I always recommend E-Collar Technologies for remote collars, as they are high quality and will not harm your dog if used properly. Other brands you could use are Dogtra, Garmin, and PetSafe, though I usually prefer to avoid PetSafe since they do not have a large range of levels and do not have great remote design, however they are still good quality. The first thing you will want to do is find your dog's "Working Level" for the Stim function of the e-collar. You do this by putting the collar on your dog (ensuring it fits snugly, but not so tight that it chokes her) and letting her outside in the yard or putting her on a long line. You then go up one level at a time, and use the Stim button on the collar, watching your dog for a small reaction (scratching, ear twitching, turning around looking for where the stim came from, etc.) If your dog yelps or jumps or otherwise acts panicked on the first number, you have too strong of a collar and you should probably return it and get a gentler collar, then try again. Once you know this number, lock it if your collar comes with this feature. (ECollarTech definitely does, but others might not) Reward your dog after this test with a treat or toy.
The second thing you will want to do is turn on your Tone feature if your collar has both vibration and tone for the same button (ECollarTech does, but others might not) and test it by putting the collar on your dog and pressing the Tone button. Your dog might have a strong reaction to the tone at first, as most Tone functions are fairly loud and it's not far from your dog's ears. Reward your dog with a treat or a toy after this test. PLEASE NOTE: Most of these E-Collars also come with some form of Vibration, or Vibe function. I typically don't use this function because a lot of Vibe functions on E-Collars are very intense, and tend to scare dogs. I have found that most dogs are much more comfortable with Stim, and a lot of ECollarTech's collars especially have the Vibe and Tone functions running off the same button, just set up differently. This interferes with the training method I use as well, which is another reason I don't typically use it. However, your dog might benefit from an adjustable Vibe/Tone Only collar, such as the ECollarTech Pager collar. It would depend on your dog. How to use "Yes!" for E-Collar TrainingNow that you've got your collar set up, it's time to begin the work. Go into a large enough area, and have your dog leashed either on a standard 6-foot leash or a long line. It's up to you what you start with, but a standard 6-foot leash might make this easier at first. First: Tell your dog "Yes!", then press the Tone button on the remote, then give her a treat. Repeat this about 15 times in a row. Second: Back up about 6 feet, ( the length of your leash, or estimate by taking two long strides backwards if using a long line) tell your dog "Yes!", and press the Tone button. If your dog comes to you, give her a treat. If she doesn't come to you, move forward to about 3 feet away (half the leash, or a large stride forward from before) and try again. Repeat this about 15 times in a row. Third: Repeat this process several times a day, every day, for about a week. Then take an additional week practicing by moving farther away using a long line. This allows your dog to learn to listen to the collar even if she can't hear you that well, and also is a wonderful way to teach a Recall, or to come when called using the e-collar. Fourth: Take your dog to a large fenced in area, such as a baseball field, high school football field, or outdoor tennis court. Remove the leash from your dog, and practice by having your dog wait in one place, then taking large strides away, one at a time, to practice without a leash or long line. This is a safe way to reinforce your dog listening to the Tone without worrying if the dog will run away from you. Repeat at this fenced area (or many different fenced areas) for another week, once a day. Make sure during this "Yes!", Tone, Reward training period that you are keeping the e-collar on the dog from the time you get your dog up in the morning til the time you put your dog to bed at night. You may also use the Tone during normal times you would use "Yes!" at home, or out on a walk, or whenever, as we want the Tone and "Yes!" to mean the same thing. This training is both teaching your dog that the Tone is the same as "Yes!" and teaching your dog to Recall, or to come when you call her. These skills are incredibly important, whether your dog is for sports, showing, hunting, companionship, or Service Dog work. Having a solid and well-trained Recall is sometimes the difference between life and death, and we definitely want to be on the Life side. How to use "No!" for E-Collar TrainingNow that your dog understands that the Tone means "Yes!", we will teach your dog that the Stim means "No!" in a similar fashion. Go into a large enough area, and have your dog leashed either on a standard 6-foot leash or a long line. It's up to you what you start with, but a standard 6-foot leash might make this easier at first. First: Tell your dog "No!" and use the Stim (be careful not to use the Boost!) then give your dog a "leash pop" or "turn away" and walk your dog a short distance. Repeat this about 15 times in a row. Second: Back up about 6 feet, and wait for a brief time. If your dog attempts to sniff the ground or wander away, tell your dog "No!", use the Stim (not the Boost!) then give your dog a "leash pop" or "turn away" and walk your dog a short distance. Repeat this about 15 times in a row. If your dog chooses to come to you when you do this exercise, tell her "Yes!", use the Tone, and reward her. Third: Repeat this process several times a day, every day, for about a week. Then take an additional week practicing by moving farther away using a long line. This allows your dog to learn to listen to the collar even if she can't hear you that well. Again, if your dog chooses to come to you when practicing, "Yes!", Tone, and Reward for that. Fourth: Take your dog to a large fenced in area, such as a baseball field, high school football field, or outdoor tennis court. Remove the leash from your dog, and practice without a leash or long line. This is a safe way to reinforce your dog listening to the Stim without worrying if the dog will run away from you. Repeat at this fenced area (or many different fenced areas) for another week, once a day. Make sure during this "No!", Stim, Correction training period that you are keeping the e-collar on the dog from the time you get your dog up in the morning til the time you put your dog to bed at night. You may also use the Stim during normal times you would use "No!" at home, or out on a walk, or whenever, as we want the Stim and "No!" to mean the same thing. Also make sure you are continuing your "Yes!", Tone, Reward training as well as the "No!", Stim, Correction training, as we do not want to ruin the positive with the negative, or the negative with the positive. PLEASE NOTE: Some E-Collars have a Pavlovian Tone Function (ECollarTech does, unsure of other brands) that will Stim a dog (with their Working Level) if you hold down the Tone for over 10 seconds. You may want to be aware of that during Recall practice especially, though later on in training it does help if your dog attempts to "blow off" the recall you asked for. Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice!Continue working on both markers with and without the e-collar once your dog understands it. Eventually, you will get to the point where you will hardly ever actually have to use the e-collar except at distances that your dog can't hear you well enough. It opens up a lot of possibilities for refining other training, but also helps your dog to be able to be off-leash when you would like to give her freedom without worrying about whether or not she will come back to you.
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November 2023
CategoriesAuthorMyranda Miller |