Constructs in Dog Training

I absolutely love it when my dogs snuggle into me, gaze lovingly into my eyes and smile. I just know they are giving me all of their attention. Every single ounce of it. Then they launch off the couch to go bark at whatever random noise they heard outside.

What this actually tells me is that I didn't have their full attention. Attention is a construct. A construct is an abstract or theoretical concept used to explain or describe behaviors. Why do we use them? Because we can't get into our dogs head. We can't "KNOW" what our dog thinks or feels. We can see that our dog is showing us appeasement behavior (lips pulled back, ears pinned). We can also see that our dog is excited to see us (jumping up, grabbing at our hands). But excited to see us might also be hungry? Or anxious? Do we really know?

There are many times I have heard "but my dog has done this at home" or "they knew this yesterday". I've also heard, "they know this," or "they are just being stubborn". All of these are constructs.

This is when I start asking questions.

What odor were you using? Was it a new place? How far away were you? We need to ask all these questions and more so we can have data and not rely on the 'story part' of our training. Trainers work in facts. Trainers collect data. In order to collect data we have to have specific things we collect data about. This is where operational definitions come into play. These are sort of like SMART goals, but for behavior.

I have operational definitions for all of my trained final responses and all of my basic obedience behaviors. I'm learning to write them for send outs and other behaviors. This helps me train better and faster. There is less guess work. My progression plans are now structured shaping plans, helping keep me on task and moving forward.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the feelings I can ascribe to my dogs. Flash has some of the loudest eyebrows on the planet. But as much as I wish I could, I can't read their mind to find out what they know. I can only rely on what they do.

#k9sensus #coachingthehumanendoftheleash #theoryintopractice