In the article yesterday ‘Punishment has no place in the teaching phase of a dogs education’ it says that - ‘As dog owners we tend to think of our dog's behavior in terms of what we don't want the dog to do; not jump, not pull, not run away. Instead, we should define what we what our dogs to do instead; sit, walk by our side, come when called. Often times because there is no clear behavior that gets rewarded, dog owners resort to punishment in the effort to get rid of the behavior they don't want’. Now by bringing in the NRM and RM as part of your daily training and interaction with your dog you will be able to immediately define what behaviour you do and do not accept - this will result in greatly improved communication with your dog and no need to use physical punishment.
When our dogs are engaged in behaviour that is unacceptable to us, we prefer the use of the options below. The options are:
Option 1 – teach the dog a completely different alternative behaviour. An example of this is that a dog that is Jumping up would be taught to repeatedly sit in front of people in a manner that it would find rewarding rather than being shouted at, pushed off, smacked, kneed in the chest etc. (which would actually encourage the dog to do it more!)
Option 2 – indicate to the dog what behaviour we do accept and what behaviour we don’t accept and this is where the use of the NRM comes into being and is combined with what is called a RM – Reward Marker.
There are various slants as to what NRM actually is, especially in clicker training where it is considered a form of negative punishment and in a way it is. However it can also be used as a means of communication with a dog – let me explain why and how and then if it makes sense to you, give it a try - you really have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
If our dog is engaged in an unacceptable behaviour such as about to jump on the table, the owner would immediately say UHUH! indicating to the dog that the behaviour was unacceptable while the dog was engaged in the unacceptable bahviour – followed immediately by ‘good dog’ in a totally non-commital tone of voice the second the dog stops the behaviour even by just putting its feet back down on the floor again. We are indicating to the dog what behaviour we don’t like as well as the behaviour we do like – in other words we are opening up excellent lines of communication and our dogs know exactly what is acceptable and what is not. If this method is used in your daily interactions with your dog, it always knows where it stands and in a way you are forming your own language between the two of you – this makes for a well behaved dogs who understand what you want.
Why don’t we use the word ‘No’?
Very often, a dog has heard the word ‘no’ so many times that it becomes white noise and the cue is totally ignored and this is why I prefer the use of a word that is not used in our daily conversation such as ‘uhuh’, poofy etc. It does not matter what word you use as long as it is not part of your daily conversation.
What is crucial is that from now on every member of the family will use this word to indicate to the dog what is not wanted and you must be 100% consistent and use each and every time the dog is engaged in an unacceptable behaviour. Additionally, we as humans tend to use sentences involving the word No or UHUH, such as “ UHUH, I told you not to jump on the bed’, from now it is just “UHUH!” – less is often more where dogs are concerned.
Timing and Intensity.
What is crucial is that the NRM is used while the dog is engaged in the unacceptable behaviour – even a second after the behaviour has happened is too late.
It is always better to talk to a dog in a soft voice and use the loud voice for when the dog has really misbehaved, and when you initially start using the NRM you want to go for maximum effect, so for the first few times I would really use a hard harsh tone of voice such as UHUH! with my face showing my displeasure as well – I call this the ‘look’. If you go in far too soft to start with, all that will happen is that you will have to start increasing the intensity as the odds are that your dog will not listen to a gentle Uhuh and will not stop the behaviour – rather go in for maximum effect and get your message across.
Having said that, if you do have a dog that does not like loud noises or raised voices, then of course you will adjust to suit your dog’s individual needs. We currently have a rescue that has been abused and my NRM is the ‘look’ combined with a very soft, but firm Uhuh – if I did more she would have run away in fear.
You will find that once the dog has understood after having done this a few times, that you will be able to moderate both the tone and volume of using the NRM. In time, you will find that you can just give the ‘look’ that the NRM itself is not always necessary, always remembering to bring in the RM of course!
Reward Marker
This is a crucial part of the exercise and cannot ever be left out – you have indicated to your dog what you don’t want, this is where you let it know what you do want.
What is also important here is the manner in which the RM is said – it is a casual ‘good dog’ – a bit like you pass somebody a glass of water and they say ‘thank you’. There is no need for a treat or going overboard with praise or even touching the dog. If we did either of these three things our dogs may very well engage in the unacceptable behaviour, just to get the praise/reward!
What is also critical is the Timing – the second the dog stops the unacceptable behaviour.
We have been using this system for years and have yet to find a situation where bringing it in did not result in a improvement in behaviour and increased understanding between owner and dog. Good luck and let us know how you go. Scotty
When our dogs are engaged in behaviour that is unacceptable to us, we prefer the use of the options below. The options are:
Option 1 – teach the dog a completely different alternative behaviour. An example of this is that a dog that is Jumping up would be taught to repeatedly sit in front of people in a manner that it would find rewarding rather than being shouted at, pushed off, smacked, kneed in the chest etc. (which would actually encourage the dog to do it more!)
Option 2 – indicate to the dog what behaviour we do accept and what behaviour we don’t accept and this is where the use of the NRM comes into being and is combined with what is called a RM – Reward Marker.
There are various slants as to what NRM actually is, especially in clicker training where it is considered a form of negative punishment and in a way it is. However it can also be used as a means of communication with a dog – let me explain why and how and then if it makes sense to you, give it a try - you really have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
If our dog is engaged in an unacceptable behaviour such as about to jump on the table, the owner would immediately say UHUH! indicating to the dog that the behaviour was unacceptable while the dog was engaged in the unacceptable bahviour – followed immediately by ‘good dog’ in a totally non-commital tone of voice the second the dog stops the behaviour even by just putting its feet back down on the floor again. We are indicating to the dog what behaviour we don’t like as well as the behaviour we do like – in other words we are opening up excellent lines of communication and our dogs know exactly what is acceptable and what is not. If this method is used in your daily interactions with your dog, it always knows where it stands and in a way you are forming your own language between the two of you – this makes for a well behaved dogs who understand what you want.
Why don’t we use the word ‘No’?
Very often, a dog has heard the word ‘no’ so many times that it becomes white noise and the cue is totally ignored and this is why I prefer the use of a word that is not used in our daily conversation such as ‘uhuh’, poofy etc. It does not matter what word you use as long as it is not part of your daily conversation.
What is crucial is that from now on every member of the family will use this word to indicate to the dog what is not wanted and you must be 100% consistent and use each and every time the dog is engaged in an unacceptable behaviour. Additionally, we as humans tend to use sentences involving the word No or UHUH, such as “ UHUH, I told you not to jump on the bed’, from now it is just “UHUH!” – less is often more where dogs are concerned.
Timing and Intensity.
What is crucial is that the NRM is used while the dog is engaged in the unacceptable behaviour – even a second after the behaviour has happened is too late.
It is always better to talk to a dog in a soft voice and use the loud voice for when the dog has really misbehaved, and when you initially start using the NRM you want to go for maximum effect, so for the first few times I would really use a hard harsh tone of voice such as UHUH! with my face showing my displeasure as well – I call this the ‘look’. If you go in far too soft to start with, all that will happen is that you will have to start increasing the intensity as the odds are that your dog will not listen to a gentle Uhuh and will not stop the behaviour – rather go in for maximum effect and get your message across.
Having said that, if you do have a dog that does not like loud noises or raised voices, then of course you will adjust to suit your dog’s individual needs. We currently have a rescue that has been abused and my NRM is the ‘look’ combined with a very soft, but firm Uhuh – if I did more she would have run away in fear.
You will find that once the dog has understood after having done this a few times, that you will be able to moderate both the tone and volume of using the NRM. In time, you will find that you can just give the ‘look’ that the NRM itself is not always necessary, always remembering to bring in the RM of course!
Reward Marker
This is a crucial part of the exercise and cannot ever be left out – you have indicated to your dog what you don’t want, this is where you let it know what you do want.
What is also important here is the manner in which the RM is said – it is a casual ‘good dog’ – a bit like you pass somebody a glass of water and they say ‘thank you’. There is no need for a treat or going overboard with praise or even touching the dog. If we did either of these three things our dogs may very well engage in the unacceptable behaviour, just to get the praise/reward!
What is also critical is the Timing – the second the dog stops the unacceptable behaviour.
We have been using this system for years and have yet to find a situation where bringing it in did not result in a improvement in behaviour and increased understanding between owner and dog. Good luck and let us know how you go. Scotty
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