The TC Training Methodology
The Treasured Creatures methodology is based on a scientific understanding of dog behavior and how training can change behavior over time. Our training strategy comes from years of education and professional experience.
In TC’s custom dog training programs, you’ll learn how to use a strategic combination of management, positive reinforcement, desensitization, and counterconditioning methods to change your dog’s behavior in an effective, non-aversive way that helps you build a stronger bond with your dog.
We don’t recommend attempting to punish out problem behaviors with aversives like pain or fear, as it doesn’t deal with the root cause of the issue and often has unintended consequences such as fear of you and generalized anxiety. The one type of punishment we recommend in some cases is negative punishment.
The Treasured Creatures methodology is based on a scientific understanding of dog behavior and how training can change behavior over time. Our training strategy comes from years of education and professional experience.
In TC’s custom dog training programs, you’ll learn how to use a strategic combination of management, positive reinforcement, desensitization, and counterconditioning methods to change your dog’s behavior in an effective, non-aversive way that helps you build a stronger bond with your dog.
We don’t recommend attempting to punish out problem behaviors with aversives like pain or fear, as it doesn’t deal with the root cause of the issue and often has unintended consequences such as fear of you and generalized anxiety. The one type of punishment we recommend in some cases is negative punishment.
Understanding and Applying the Training Methods
Management involves setting up the environment to restrict your dog’s choices so that unwanted behaviors are less likely or impossible. Management may be a permanent measure or it may be temporary until new behaviors are established through training. Having a lid on a trash can or a fence around your yard are examples of permanent management. Holding your dog back with a leash so she doesn’t run up and jump on a guest can be a temporary measure that is removed once you’ve trained your dog to greet people properly.
Positive reinforcement is the process of rewarding desired behaviors to make your dog more likely to do them again. If you give your dog table scraps when she stares longingly at your plate during human mealtimes, you are positively reinforcing the begging and she will be more likely to beg in the future. If, on the other hand, you don’t hand out food for begging and instead feed your dog treats when she lies on her bed during human mealtimes, she will be more likely to lay on her bed during human mealtimes in the future. The trick with positive reinforcement is to reward the desired behaviors so that they become more frequent and avoid rewarding the problem behaviors so that they become less frequent/intense.
Desensitization is the process of exposing your dog to a trigger at a low enough level that the unwanted emotional response doesn’t occur and then gradually increasing the level of the trigger. The goal of desensitization is to get your dog used to the trigger so that the big emotions around that trigger are replaced with a calmer emotional state.
Management involves setting up the environment to restrict your dog’s choices so that unwanted behaviors are less likely or impossible. Management may be a permanent measure or it may be temporary until new behaviors are established through training. Having a lid on a trash can or a fence around your yard are examples of permanent management. Holding your dog back with a leash so she doesn’t run up and jump on a guest can be a temporary measure that is removed once you’ve trained your dog to greet people properly.
Positive reinforcement is the process of rewarding desired behaviors to make your dog more likely to do them again. If you give your dog table scraps when she stares longingly at your plate during human mealtimes, you are positively reinforcing the begging and she will be more likely to beg in the future. If, on the other hand, you don’t hand out food for begging and instead feed your dog treats when she lies on her bed during human mealtimes, she will be more likely to lay on her bed during human mealtimes in the future. The trick with positive reinforcement is to reward the desired behaviors so that they become more frequent and avoid rewarding the problem behaviors so that they become less frequent/intense.
Desensitization is the process of exposing your dog to a trigger at a low enough level that the unwanted emotional response doesn’t occur and then gradually increasing the level of the trigger. The goal of desensitization is to get your dog used to the trigger so that the big emotions around that trigger are replaced with a calmer emotional state.
Counterconditioning works alongside desensitization to change how your dog feels about the trigger. The trigger is paired with something the dog likes to change the dog’s emotional response to the trigger. Food causes a pleasant emotional response and encourages a calmer emotional state, so pairing triggers with food can transfer that pleasant/calm feeling over to the trigger. Once you replace those big emotions with a more pleasant/calm emotional state, that previously triggering stimulus will no longer be a trigger for your dog, and those unwanted behaviors associated with the stimulus will no longer occur.
The only type of punishment we ever recommend is negative punishment, which is the process of taking something away that your dog likes, such as your attention, to make unwanted behaviors less likely in the future. For example, you can leave the room and shut the door in your dog’s face as a punishment for jumping and nipping you excitedly. When your dog seeks your attention in a more polite way, you can then reward that choice with lavish attention.
As educated and experienced trainers, we at Treasured Creatures can strategically combine these training methods to create a custom training plan for your dog. We will recommend changes to the home environment and the daily routine along with training exercises tailored specifically to your dog’s needs. Whether you are in need of behavioral modification or you just want to teach your dog to respond to verbal cues and have some impulse control, Treasured Creatures can help you figure out how to sue these methods to change your dog’s behavior for hte better.
Contact Us
Call or text us
+1 614-535-6689
Email us
sydney@sydneystreasuredcreatures.com
Contact Us
Call or text us
+1 614-535-6689
Email us
sydney@sydneystreasuredcreatures.com