REVOLUTIONARY METHOD IN CANINE EDUCATION !

WHEN WAS. THIS METHOD "INVENTED"?
I "invented" tthis method in the early eighties and published the details in magazine. such "La Vie Canine" (Canine lire). with is now of publication-or the German Shepherd Sociéty’s', Magazine bv request of Mr. Marcel OLIVE, Président, who immediatelv understood the interest of this method.

When was this method "invented"?

I invented this metod in thr early eighties and published the details in magazines such "La vie canine" (Canine life)- Wich is now of publication or the German Shepherd Society's Magazine by request of Marcel Olive, President, who immediately understood the interest of this method.

WHICH ARE THE BASIC PRINCIPLES?

There are two quick ways to teach a dog how to do an exercise:

I) You wait for the dog show the comportement naturally
( Sit-Lie-Stand-Bark.Bring-Give, etc)
- You give the adequate order
- You immediately reward the dog

2) – You induce the dog comportement (For example the dog sees his daily food bowl and runs up to you)•

WHICH IS THE DIFFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NATURAL METHOD AND OTHER CLASSICAL METHODS?

Whilst training with classical methods: the orders are constraint for the dog. this constraint can be gentle or strong depending on the master but whatever stays a constraint, using the methods the fist canine books - at the begining of the century- thaught us.

When using the Natural Method you don’t use the collar nor the lead and there is therefore no constraint: motivation becomes the key of training!

What do we mean by motivation ?

There is no action without motivation.

Etymologicaly, beeing motivated is having something who motives.you.

The word motivation would have been invented by E.DITCHER and L CHESKIN in 1939 and would include all irrationnal comportements who have nothing to do with intelligence or reason. These comportements are really based on desires, needs and emotions and will lead to action in a very powerfull way as the dogs is turned to the accomplishement of his needs.

Wich are the rewards the dog likes most?

The reward are to each dog depending on their personnal taste. As Mr Wallace Craig said: "Apprenticeship by rewarding can only be obtained where a certain number of natural instincts and desires are inscibed in a a phylogenetically established comportemeny programme".

Is the natural method easy to realise?

With or without dog training experience this method is simple and quickly understood by all just like the classical method.
As the masters strength is n't necessary to impose anexercice, it's with the children that we have had the most spectacular results.
We could say that, at fist, even a machine can replace tne master as the living trasmitter is not necessary: only the object of motivation counts

IS THE EXECUTION OF THE EXERCISES AS QUICK AS WITH THE CLASSICAL METHOD?

Contact clashes between the dog and his master can inviilve, by too many emotionalism, stiffness or flabbiness. By valorizating the effort rewarding there is an elimination of the affects in the comportement. The reward becomes a magnet with healwalking, if you want and look straight in front of him you place the reward in front of his nose...

HOW OLD MUST THE DOG BE TO START TRAINING WITH THE NATURAL METHOD?

That's also something new in comparaison with classical method; instead of waiting for the dog to be six months to one year old before to inscribe him in a club you can start training him very early, even at the breeders. As soon as the puppy are, at about four cans or the reward toy. It's at seven weeks old that his sensory captors are the most sensitive and that's the moment where he'll memorize the environment references who'll be usefull to him later on. The master must then take over the breeder to gently forge the basis of education.
With a puppy of two or three months old you can usually obtain: sit, lie, return and heal from the fist session and this without the lead.

DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN'T OBTAIN RESULTS WHILST STARTING TO TRAIN AN ADULT DOG WITH THE NATURAL METHOD?

Not at all. You can re-educate an animal by ludopedagogy (education based on pleasure, game playing) when he has been educated with classical methods and all the coercion and blocking the natural expression by routine it means.
You must start everything all over to give joy and pleasure to the dog again.
It is much more difficult to orientate the master than the dog because he must lose all the old mechanisms-pulling on the lead for healwalking, pressing on the dog's back to make him sit...He learned before.

ARE ALL RACES SUSCEPTIBLE TO ASSIMILATE THIS METHOD?

The natural method disregards all premisses about some races like Greyhounds or Huskys, know as being refractory to obedience.
By motivating dogs with suppleness because they don't obey to an autority by submission but to obtain what pleases them. It can be so when the master and dog relations are disturbed.
Let's take the case of a 30 pound Rottweiler who'll systematically refuses to lie when forced and is eventally growling or biting not to submit himself. By rewarding, with a toy or food, we will easely obtain the right position as the dog desn't submit himself but gets pleasure out of it.
Ptacting with the reinforcement principle system (systematic, casual, random, differated) you will master the exercises without any problem after a certain amount of time.

CAN THE NATURAL METHOD BE TAUGHT IN CANINE CLUBS?

Of course you can practice the natural method inside the Club but certainly not in a classical way (exhausting dogs with repeated sits and lies).
The ideal is to constitute groups of five or six, they will then acquire the exrcices in about ten minutes.
In fact the natural method has the enormous advantage of being worked at anywhere whilst having a walk, in the house or the garden.

One of the methods basic principle is not to impose orders to the animal but to wait for it to appeart: then you give the corresponding order and reward the dog to fix it in his mind. For example if the dog runs to the car after a walk ( it means rest and return to the house for him) or is waiting for his food you give the order "go".
You can also provoke the comportement you desire. If you have the lead in your hand and go to door the dog will come running: you then give the "heal" order, the reward being the walk is given immediately.

WHEN WE SAY THE IS NO CONSTRAINT DOES THAT MEAN THERE IS NO PUNISHMENT?

As paradoxical as it may seem that's the way it should be. There is a scientific law that says that all comportment who doesn't go to the end or isn't reward (wich means the dog managed the order) will disappear after some while.
You must ignore all bad comportments or deviate them on another comportment. For example lets take a dog who leaps on visitors to say hello. Instead of hurting him by giving a kick or walking on his paw you offer him a ball and give the "sit" order, then you throw the ball so he can play. After some while the hello ritual should be made of a "sit" if you progress in the right way (systematic, random, etc.)

DOES THIS MEAN THE NATURAL METHOD IS PLAYING WITH YOUR DOG EDUCATE HIM?

That is effectively the impression that it gives to any observer and the one dog must have but what we are really doing is putting all the appreticeships into place without the dog even noticing.
When using the classical method the master will constraint the dog and then play with him for half an hour. With the Natural Method nothing is done without a reason and the dog never plays foolishly: the game is there to educate and strongly motivates the animal.

NOWADAYS WHERE IS THE NATURAL METHOD PRACTICED?

Following the training courses i give the natural method is practiced with success in a few country dy breeders-some of them actally sell puppys who allready have a basic aprenticeship-professional educators, club instructors, comportementalists wanting to adjust an exercise quickly, precisely and especially with lots of fun and joy for the dog, etc.

If you want to obtain more precise informations about the Natural Method you can
read my last Book: « Le Guide de l’éducation canine à l’usage des éducateurs et des maîtres. »
WHICH ARE THE GESTITRES USED IN THE NATURAL METHOD'
The positions.
- «Sit» : The hand holding the reward (food or toy) goes from the muzzle and raises above the dogs head.
«Lie» : The hand holding die reward starts in front of the dogs muzzle and goes down to the ground, just in front of the dogs paws.
- «Stand»
(after a sit) : Facing the dogs head, the rewarding hand suddenly goes back.
Tasaffithe_sioglacic:
- You'll maintain die hand in front of his chest. If you want the dog to sit in front of you when he finishes you'll raise the hand when he arrives next to you.
Once he's sat in front of you to put h im back at heal;
- The rewarding hand (right hand here) passes behind the masters back, starting from the right side, wich will incite the dog to corne and sit at heal straight at the left.
For the go_order:
- The toy (a ball) is thrown quite far. The arm stays streched whilst you give die order u
got.
Of course during the exercises the dog is absolutely free. He only obeys because he's interessed in the reward.
After some while rewarding should become rare: the conditioning's fixed or with the voice or with the gestures at a small or large distance.

A commander chez l’auteur:
Joseph ORTEGA
Cancales
46360 St. Cernin