Training IS Enrichment!

There is so much talk about how we should provide enrichment for our dogs. Snuffling, sniffing, licking and chewing toys are ubiquitous. People go and hide treats in tree barks for their dogs to find once they are out on walks. They provide them with velcro-ed pouches stuffed with food to rip open or paper recycling to rip.

All this might be fun and engage a dog in dog-specific activities or outlets, I would argue however that it only reinforces activities that are inherent to dogs’ natural behaviors. I am not saying that this is not fun and games. What I object to is that people are made to think that this is training. They are made to think that providing dogs with doggy friendly activities REPLACES training. Providing an outlet also can reinforce a need to rely on that outlet instead of highly reinforcing manners or communication related behaviors.

Perhaps shockingly I would argue that if we limit dogs to living in “doggyland” we are reinforcing activities that are very dog centered and not in aid of allowing them to understand what we want to communicate so they can integrate into our daily lives. If we were to follow through consistently with the “letting them be dogs” theory then we should let them bark at other dogs, we should let them eat crap from the street and put that into the category of training through enrichment.

Will it teach them to come when called? Will it teach them not to run out of the house prematurely? Will it teach them not to jump on people? Will it help them understand what we are trying to communicate to them? Will it bring them into a better relationship with us?

What does modern training then actually mean?

Arranging the environment well to make learning easy

Fun and easy success

Reinforcing with the purpose of giving information

Think of “micro”training: building habits that turn into manners

Think ahead instead of correcting

The result and the mutual engagement of “training” means that both humans and dogs learn how they can behave to achieve wanted outcomes. That in itself is rewarding, inspiring and enriching.

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