How Best to Train Small Dogs
Learn how to build your small dog’s confidence and lessen the chances that she’ll be nervous and barky.
Last year, I did an article about small-dog stereotypes. You know–little dogs are yappy, they’re skittish, they’re big old prima donnas in tiny suits. I suggested some reasons small dogs might act this way and offered suggestions for helping them. Recently, I came across a research paper on small-dog behavior. Whether you’ve got a Chihuahua or a Great Dane, the findings have something to offer you.
How Best to Train Small Dogs
A group of scientists led by Dr. Christine Arhant of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna surveyed nearly 1,300 of the city’s dog owners about many aspects of both human and dog behavior. I’ll discuss just a few points here–for more, see the Notes section, below. (1) Dr. Arhant’s team asked how much the guardians trained using punishment, such as collar jerks, alpha rolls, and shaker cans, and how much they used rewards, including praise, petting, food, and play.
The guardians were asked about consistency–basically, did they set rules for the dogs and stick to them? Did they sometimes allow the dog to break the rules, or did they always respond the same way to infractions? Note that this wasn’t about whether the guardian was harsh or gentle–just about whether he or she was predictable.
Dr. Arhant’s team also assessed the dogs’ behavior–how obedient were the dogs, and how aggressive, excitable, or nervous were they?
How Dog Owners Treat Their Dogs
Large-dog owners and small-dog owners reported that they used punishment and reward at about the same rates. And for both large and small dogs, the higher the proportion of reward-based training, the better the obedience, the lower the aggression and anxiety. Conversely, for both groups of dogs, punishment and aggression were related. That result fits with other studies that link punishment-based training with aggression. (2) But the relationship between punishment and aggression was stronger in small dogs, and only in small dogs was punishment related to anxiety scores.
The Viennese researchers came up with a striking idea about why punishment, aggression, and anxiety might be more strongly linked in small dogs than in big dogs. It turned out that among the people surveyed, the small-dog owners described themselves as less consistent about rules than the owners of large dogs were. People with small dogs were likelier to decide that sometimes it was okay for their dog not to follow whatever rules the people had set.
Why You Need to Be Consistent When Training Your Dog
Why should being able to get away with stuff make a dog anxious? Put yourself in the small dog’s booties for a sec. You’ve got a close friend, or a boss, or a parent–someone you’re emotionally attached to, or who has control over part of your life, or both. One day it’s okay if you’re ten minutes late for an appointment; the next day, you’re five minutes late, and she rips you a new one. One day he sees you looking at his flan and immediately puts a spoonful on your plate; the next day, when you ask to taste his risotto, he snaps at you and walks away from the table. If you just knew, once and for all, whether it was important to her that you be on time, or whether he minded you sampling his food, fine! But when you have no way to know when you’re about to press somebody’s buttons, what happens? You’re always off your game around them, a little bit on edge. Irritable, maybe, too.
People with small dogs were likelier to decide that sometimes it was okay for their dog not to follow the set rules.
And this makes evolutionary sense. Of course animals are likely to be more alert, more tense, in unpredictable conditions. Trainers have been saying forever that we need to behave consistently with our dogs, to set clear rules and stick by them. As trainers, though, we mostly focus on how difficult it is to learn a set of constantly changing rules. It’s important to realize that when we behave inconsistently with our dogs we can produce undesirable emotional effects as well. (3)
Punishment May Scare Small Dogs More Than Big Dogs
Why more anxiety for small dogs than for big dogs? Perhaps, the researchers suggest, because small dogs are small, so physical restraint and punishment may be more frightening than they would be to a bigger dog. Other researchers have found an association between an owner’s inconsistent behavior and a dog’s fear of familiar people. (4) From the dog’s point of view, inconsistency may make people scary to be around.
Play May Make Dogs More Obedient
]Another tidbit from this study: Obedience, what I’d prefer to call good manners and prompt response to cues, was better not only among dogs whose guardians trained them more but also among dogs whose guardians played with them more, including games such as fetch and tug.
In fact, along with relative inconsistency, the amount of play was the biggest difference between guardians of small dogs and guardians of larger dogs. Why should play make such a difference? The researchers don’t say, but I have a guess. When you play with your dog, you become a source of fun and satisfaction. Your dog enjoys playing with you, which means he enjoys you. You’re worth hanging around with and paying attention to. And a dog who’s paying attention is a dog who’s easier to train.
Make Your Small Dog More Confident and Friendlier
So what’s your take-home? It looks as if those of us who have small dogs tend to be a bit less consistent with them; maybe we unconsciously think rules and training don’t matter so much when a dog is little and cute. If that sounds like you, and if your little dog is nervous and snappish, you’ve got work to do. Professional help may be in order, but at the very least you can do your dog some good by making the rules of her world clear and predictable. There’s no call to be harsh, whatever size your dog is; train with rewards, but train consistently. And, as I seem to find myself saying over and over again, make time for play. Play is so tasty, and nutritious, too!
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Notes
1. Arhant, Christine, et al. 2010. Behaviour of smaller and larger dogs: Effects of training methods, inconsistency of owner behaviour and level of engagement in activities with the dog. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 123: 131-142. The researchers found that Vienna’s dog population fell naturally into two groups – those over 20 kilos, and those under 20 kilos. Most of us would probably consider a 19-kg dog medium sized, and I wish the researchers had divided the dogs into small, medium, and large instead. But since all the dogs we think of as small do fit into the researchers’ small-dog category, I think the study remains provocative and potentially useful. I hope further research takes place.
As I mention in the main text, the survey asked about many aspects of dog and human behavior. Besides what I describe above, the researchers also asked about what they called “reward-based responses to unwanted behavior,” such as distracting a dog with food or comforting her when she aggresses. I should make clear that they weren’t talking about reward-based programs of behavior modification. Time-outs and ignoring the dog are technically punishments, but for complex analytical reasons the researchers also included them.
Finally, the questions about training, play, and other activities covered everything from agility training, to games of fetch, to petting the dog, to taking her for long walks in the park. By the way, for us living in the germ-phobic United States: one example the researchers gave of a social activity was going out to a café with the dog. Oh, if only.
2. For example: Herron, M. E., et al. 2009. Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117, 47-54; Hiby, Eleanor, et al. 2004. Dog training methods: their use, effectiveness and interaction with behaviour and welfare. Animal Welfare 13, 63-69; Blackwell, E. J., et al. 2007. The relationship between training methods and the occurrence of behaviour problems in a population of domestic dogs. Proceedings of the 6th International Veterinary Behaviour Meeting and European College of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, Riccione, Italy, June 17-20.
Anouck Haverbeke and her colleagues have published several papers related to Belgian military dog training; the military had grown concerned about the dogs’ aggressive behavior outside the context of their work. The Haverbeke team reports on the favorable results of changes in training and socialization, with moves toward more reward-based, less aversive methods. Some of the papers are Haverbeke, A., et al. 2009. Assessing undesired aggression in military working dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117: 55-62; Haverbeke, A., et al. 2010. Efficiency of working dogs undergoing a new Human Familiarization and Training Program. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 5: 112-119; Haverbeke, A., et al. 2010. Assessing efficiency of a Human Familiarisation and Training Programme on fearfulness and aggressiveness of military dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 123: 143-149.
3. Arhant and her colleagues cite research showing that in pigs as well as in dogs, inconsistent handling produces avoidance responses and reluctance to allow handling.
4. Casey, R. A., et al. 2007. An investigation of the relationship between measures of consistency in owners and the occurrence of “behaviour problems” in the domestic dog. Poster presentation. Proceedings of the 6th International Veterinary Behaviour Meeting and European College of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, Riccione, Italy, June 17-20.
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