#training methods

TheHorse.com | 27 July 2020

A little bit of stress isn’t a bad thing, researchers tell us. In fact, it can be useful—like getting a horse moving when he’s in danger of being attacked. Plus, “learning can’t even happen without stress,” explained Katrina Merkies, PhD, associate professor and equine behavior researcher at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. Still, there’s a limit to “useful” stress, Merkies said. And past a certain (yet undefined) threshold, stress can become problematic.

Essentially, stress isn’t OK anymore when it’s either too great in the moment or too long-lasting over time, said Natalie Waran, PhD, professor of One Welfare at the Eastern Institute of Technology, in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. Intense “acute” (short-term) and “chronic” (long-term) stress can lead to important health and welfare issues for horses.

“We have a responsibility toward our horses to ensure they’re living a good life, and we can help do that by keeping their stress levels to a minimum,” she said.

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“People can be very accepting of stressed-out horses, as though it’s just normal that their horse is being obstinate or stubborn, for example, when actually there’s a serious stress issue going on,” she said.

Waran agreed. “Stress is a word that gets used so frequently in the human world, we tend to just normalize it,” she said. “But if you really appreciate the emotions that the horse is going through when he’s experiencing stress, you realize that, actually, it’s not normal at all.”

It’s better to acknowledge when your horse has passed a stress threshold, our sources say, and change what you’re doing to reduce his stress levels. You’ll be promoting his health and welfare, as well as an improved horse-human relationship.

The "Stress Face" (Horse Grimace Scale)

Reduced blinking and increased eye fluttering

Frequent pooping

Increased heart rate and altered respiratory rate

Jumpiness, bolting, and freezing

Does Your Dog Play with His Food?

Most people have heard the admonition “Stop playing with your food!” at some point during their childhood.

MODERN DAY VERSION 

It is rare to hear the dog version of this rebuke, however, especially if you live with Golden Retrievers (or Labs……). When the food is only in the bowl for 30 seconds, there is little time for playing with it.

NEVER TAKES TIME TO PLAY WITH FOOD

However, there isa version…

Jealousy, arrogance, pride and anger. All those things were paths to the dark side, Yan Dooku knew that all too well. The vision of the future, where he had become a Sith Lord due to his anger towards the Jedi Council, was proof enough. 

The Jedi Master shook his head. He would not let it come to that. He would make sure that his former Padawan would survive. But first steps first. For now, he had to make sure that his new Padawan, his former Grandpadawan, would not turn to the dark side. Yan was not sure if it was possible to bring him back into the light. The roots were already darkened and if he did not find a way to heal the roots, then the rest of the tree would rot, until all leaves had fallen down.

He took a deep breath. The boy was jealous, jealous because he did not understand, why his Master had given him away in exchange for a much too young Initiate. There was also pride in the boy, pride at his skill and at his looks. It had not helped that Qui-Gon had been fueling this false pride. Arrogance was  a major problem. Where there had only been pride in the beginning, arrogance had grown. The boy saw himself above everyone else, at least above his agemates, that much was clear. Also, Yan suspected that he knew about his heritage, or at least where he was from. 

And not to forget, the great anger he could sense in the boy. All the previous emotions lead to anger. It was unacceptable and it was about time that someone took care of that.

“But what to do, what to do…” he mumbled to himself. A Jedi needed to be humble and grateful for the little they had. He was certainly not the best example for this kind of thinking, but he had a pretty good idea, how he would be able to teach Xanatos, what both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had in their nature.

“I think a trip is in order,” a few month spent on some distant and uncivlised planet would most likely do wonders, for Xanatos’ state of thinking and for their relationship. They would only have the few things they had packed and each other and they would need to survive. 

“Tatooine might be an interesting choice,” the deep baritone voice behind him, made Yan flinch. He had been so deep in thought that he had not even felt the approach of his former Padawan, who gracefully lowered himself next to the older Jedi.

Qui-Gon looked better than he had in days and Yan guessed that it had to do something with a certain ginger haired boy. 

“Where is Obi-Wan?” he asked.

“Asleep… finally. The Force knows that a child this small should never have such terrible visions.” It was hard for Qui-Gon to understand the nature of visions, even now that he had suffered through one. He was a Master of the Living Force, he lived in the here and now, while Masters of the Unifying Force tended to linger between past, presence and future. It did not mean that they were not mindful of the present, because they were, they just were more cautious about the future.

“Indeed, the poor child has suffered the most,” Yan said. For a moment, silence reigned between the two Jedi, while they enjoyed the quiet evening in the otherwise empty meditation garden. A few birds and little animals were running around, but otherwise they were completely alone.

“Tatooine?” Dooku asked finally, “What is about Tatooine?”

A small smile appeared on the long haired man’s features. “You were projecting your thoughts, Master. I simply suggested that Tatooine would be an interesting choice. Not only would you need to survive the desert terrain, but Republic Credits are of no value there.”

“I will think about it,” there where definitely much more pleasant places he could think of. But pleasantness was of no use here.

“I never thanked you,” continued the younger male, his back was straight and his eyes were closed. Hadn’t it been for his moving lips and the rise and fall of his chest, he would have looked like a lively statue.

“Whatever for,” he raised an eyebrow, fully knowing that his former Padawan would not see it. 

A pair of midnight blue eyes opened. They looked sad, as they gazed at Yan. “For not dismissing Xanatos... for supporting him and for taking him as your Padawan. I care about him, the Force knows that I care about him way too much. But... he is not like Obi-Wan. Where Obi-Wan is returning my praise and love with affection, Xanatos only too pride in it.”

“They are very different characters,” said Yan carefully. He was eyeing his companion closely,

“Indeed. I realize now that I was not supposed to take him as my Padawan learner. I was supposed to meet him and bring him into the temple, but not more. My destiny had always been training Obi-Wan... I should have waited.”

“It is not too late for changes,” Yan stated calmly. “And you would do well to stay in the here and now, where your mind belongs.”

Qui-Gon huffed in amusement. “I am,” he replied. “I am doing my best to be the kind of Master that Obi-Wan deserves... so that the dark future will not take place.”

“Nobody is asking more of you.” The older Jedi settled in a more comfortable position, closing his own eyes and taking deep breathes. He needed to meditate and run his former Padawan’s idea through his head a few times.

I had someone ask me about how I use e-collars in my training. I don’t mention the e-collar much because I know a lot of people are against them and, if not explained correctly, they can be interpreted badly. I always prefer positive reinforcement training when possible, but I make an exception for e-collars with my hunting dog because I think it is a very important asset for both functionality in the field and safety for the dog.

If you don’t want to read this whole thing, then here’s a quick summary: I don’t the e-collar as a tool to teach behaviors, only to enforce already known behaviors that have been taught through positive reinforcement. I primarily use the tone and vibrate features of the e-collar as a form of communication with my dog when she is working the field and out of easy ear-shot. In addition to helping me maintain tighter control over my dog, the e-collar is also a valuable safety precaution to keep her away from dangers we might encounter while hunting.

If you’re curious about learning more, I go into more detail on each of those points below.

The e-collar I use is a Garmin TriTronics Pro 550. It’s a fairly high-end collar with a tone setting, vibrate setting, and 21 different electric stimulation levels. Having so many different levels allows each trainer to match the proper stimulation level for each individual dog. You generally want it to be just strong enough for the dog to notice it and want to avoid it, but not strong enough to actually hurt the dog. You can tell it’s too strong if the dog shows signs of pain, such as yelping or jumping, and you can tell when the dog first starts to notice it by a slight change in facial expression, like a confused look (lips moving forward, a pause in what they’re doing, etc). Generally the best setting will be somewhere in between those two reactions.

Some people use e-collars to train new behaviors through negative reinforcement (removing an unwanted stimulus when the animal performs a desired behavior). It is not the same as punishment (providing an unwanted stimulus after an animal performs an undesirable behavior). A common example of negative reinforcement would be steering a horse by pulling the reigns in a certain direction until the horse moves that way to relieve the pressure. In the dog training videos I watched, they trained a dog to “woah” by providing light electrical stimulation (just strong enough to slightly annoy or confuse the dog, but not enough to hurt) each time the dog started to move after being told to “woah”. This eventually taught the dog to stay still when the cue was given in order to avoid an annoying sensation. They would also supplement with treats when the dog performed correctly on its own.

While I don’t find negative reinforcement training to be cruel, it isn’t my preferred method. I prefer to teach with positive reinforcement, which is rewarding the animal with something it wants each time the desired behavior is performed. I taught Malia to “woah” by placing food in front of her, then putting my hand on her chest and saying “woah,” stopping her from getting to the food. As soon as she would stop trying to move forward, I would click, say “ok” and scoot the bowl forward to let her eat. I would then start moving my hand away for a couple seconds but continue telling her to “woah” before letting her eat. If she tried to move forward before I said “ok,” I would just lightly block her and start again. Once she learned that “woah” meant “stay still until I say “ok,” I started offering the cue outside in other situations. Each time she offered the correct response, she’d get a treat. Each time she didn’t, we’d stop, I’d move her back into positon, and we’d try again. All positive, no negative at all.

I used positive reinforcement techniques to teach her all her field cues. I focused mostly on “come,” “woah,” “down,” “heel,” “get in there,” and “find it.” Up until about 7 or 8 months old, the only tools I used were treats, a clicker, a whistle, and a check cord (a long training leash). If she didn’t respond correctly to a cue while we were doing field work, I would just wait and try again when I knew I had her attention, chase her down and get her attention back, or sometimes end the session and try again later. I would train her in locations that were safe and away from roads in case I lost track of her temporarily.

Here’s where the e-collar came in for me. Hunting season was starting soon, and once Malia was actually out in the field hunting, I would need tighter control because she would be exposed to a lot more hazards. At this point, she knew the meaning of all her field cues and was reliable about 70% of the time, which is great for a young dog! But not good enough to be able to actually take her hunting with me. For example, I often hunt near roads, so I needed to make sure that she wouldn’t chase a rabbit into oncoming traffic. I would also be introducing my hawk into the equation and needed to be able to stop Malia should she try to run in on him while he’s on a rabbit (that could end up traumatizing the hawk or getting both of them hurt). So I began introducing the e-collar into our training regime.

I started with the vibrate and tone function. If I said “come” and she ignored me, I would vibrate. This would confuse her and get her attention, at which point I could repeat the cue, usually with better response. The vibrate obviously didn’t hurt, but she didn’t like the feeling either. It could also pair the vibrate with an “ah-ah” or “no,” so that she learned to recognize the vibrate as a warning. I taught her that the tone (a beep emitted by the collar) meant come by beeping the collar and then saying “come,” and rewarding her.

Once she learned what the tone and the vibrate meant, I began introducing low level electric stimulation in the field if she ignored a cue. Sometimes she would get too excited if a rabbit busted out and she just HAD to chase it. No treat I could offer her is better than chasing a rabbit. So if I wanted to call her off the chase I would beep the collar to tell her to come. If she kept running, I would vibrate it. If that didn’t stop her, I would give a low shock. I would start on the lowest setting (she can’t even feel the first 5 levels) and slowly increased the setting until she noticed it enough to stop chasing. I could do the same thing when telling her to heel. If she started to wander off, I’d vibrate it. If she wandered off again, low level shock (it feels similar to when you shock yourself on a static rug or balloon). I very rarely had to go past the low levels to get her attention back on me. After a few days, she knew that the vibrate was a warning before a shock, and it was often enough to stop any undesirable behavior.

By the time she was 10 months old, hunting season had begun and I felt comfortable taking her into the field with my hawk, confident that I had enough control over her to protect her from danger and teach her how to cooperate with the hawk. I knew that I could stop her from running onto roads in case of an emergency, or from trying to steal food from my birds. And she knew that she had a job to do while out in the field. Hunting was still her favorite thing in the world, but, unlike her young puppy days, it wasn’t just all fun and games anymore. In order to hunt, she needed to stay focused on me and respond to my cues.