Passive learning is inherently how dogs learn, 24/7. Understanding how to implement passive dog training effectively will open new doorways of communication for you and your dog. Passive dog training is wonderful for dogs with all sorts of personalities, especially for dogs who are fearful or traumatized, including aggressive and reactive dogs, and for shy and timid dogs.
Dogs learn by doing. Just by your dog performing a behavior—whether you set her up to do it or whether she chooses to do it on her own—the behavior reinforces itself. In other words, she’s likely to do it again. As humans, we are very reactive. When things go well, whatever that means for us, we don’t do much of anything. But, when things go poorly or something happens that we dislike, we then try to correct or interrupt it. However, our timing is late and the behavior already happened. If we interrupt an unwanted behavior positively, it might work for that moment. But, the unwanted behavior will likely continue. If we interrupt an undesirable behavior negatively, it may also work. But, in addition to our late timing, we still haven’t taught our dog a new way of behaving. If we use punishment, we may also create other behavioral problems, albeit unintended.
For instance, if your dog jumps on you—whether because of enthusiasm or anxiety—and you respond by telling him to sit, he may sit. However, if you tend to react to his jumping, the behavior won’t go away. If you consistently respond to jumping by telling him to sit, you’ll have two behaviors. Your dog will jump on you and then sit.
To change behavior, be preemptive. In other words, before your dog behaves in a way you dislike, prevent it from happening. Teach your dog alternate behaviors instead. The better you can be with your timing, the quicker your dog will learn.
Dogs learn through repetition and context. The more often a dog repeats a behavior in a certain setting, the more that behavior becomes learned and habitual. Dogs don’t easily generalize behaviors. Whether you teach your dog a behavior or she chooses to do it on her own, she connects that behavior to the specific context in which it happens.
For example, if you teach your dog to “Leave it” by the food bowl while standing in the kitchen next to the sink, she will associate “Leave it” with that exact scenario. She won’t automatically apply it to chasing squirrels, avoiding chip bags on the sidewalk, or leaving socks in the laundry bin. To her, “Leave it” means: don’t touch the food bowl next to the sink in the kitchen.
If you want a behavior to happen in a specific situation, you need to teach it in that situation. If you want your dog to lie down calmly in the living room while you study, you must train her to do it in the living room. If you want her to back away from the front door, you need to teach her by the front door. If you train her to sit or back up in the living room, and then try to use those behaviors at the front door, she probably won’t understand. Teach behaviors where you want them to happen. Don’t expect your dog to make the connection on her own.
When interacting with us, dogs tend to repeat whatever we reinforce. Most people think of “positive reinforcement” as giving food. But positive reinforcement is anything your dog likes or wants at that moment. The behavior you reinforce is the one that happens right before the reward.
For instance, if you’re sitting on the sofa and your dog walks up, nudges your hand with his muzzle, and you pet him, you’ve just rewarded the nudging. You’ve positively reinforced him for bumping your hand, even if you didn’t mean to—that’s passive dog training.
If your dog wants you to throw a toy, barks at you, and then you look at him and throw the toy, you’ve reinforced barking to get the toy thrown. Your dog is always learning from you. Be mindful of the behaviors you may have reinforced without realizing it. Decide what you want, and then notice what comes naturally to your dog. Make training relevant and rewarding for both of you.
To learn more about passive training and positive techniques to train dogs, read Training Your Dog the Humane Way or The Right Way the First Time.
© 2020 Alana Stevenson.
