Dogs, Beyond Training

The importance of learning in puppyhood goes far beyond the basics of obedience skills; puppyhood sets the stage for a dog's entire life. How he interacts with humans, how she handles stress and excitement, and just how far they can go with an understanding and confident human at their side is entirely dependent on the success and clarity of this phase of life. 

​

Conyers Canines Puppy Program doesn't only provide an enriching and exciting place to begin happy lives for our students; through environmental enrichment, clear and instinctively-driven lessons and communication, and with enough love to fill their hearts and then some, CC provides our pups and dogs with everything they'll need to go home as polite, gentle, and intuitive family members. They are the dog you will always remember - the Conyers Canine every dog has within them.

​

Who doesn't love puppies? They're adorable, sweet, and constant entertainment. They can also create a LOT of stress! Between all the growing phases, new cognitive development needs, and the sometimes mind-boggling ability to get into anything they shouldn't, puppies can leave a family stressed out and tired. 

​

From 2012 to 2016, CC specialized in helping families with their current pets who were presenting troubling, destructive, or extremely frustrating behaviors. Walks were a nightmare with a young dog who charged his way down the sidewalk every day. Guests became a thing of the past for some families, as their dog was impossible to control around new people. For others, behaviors had become so insistent and severe that they were being forced to consider rehoming their beloved pet. As dozens of dogs came and later graduated from our classes, a clear trend began to show itself: 

​

Families were accidentally choosing the wrong dogs for their homes, personalities, and lifestyles. Not only that, but with busy work schedules and family routines, many were mistakenly missing important phases of cognitive development and function, leaving their dog short several vital lessons he or she needed in order to understand the human world they lived in. These two factors didn't just result in some stress and frustration - sometimes it resulted in heartbreak and disappointment...for both dog and human. 

​

In 2015, CC's founder and lead trainer Aly Conyers-Capito began developing a specialized puppy raising, training, and homing program. "It was the only way I could think of to really show others the importance of not only selecting the right dog - both in breed and personality - but the extreme necessity of teaching a dog to listen and to 'speak' in a way people would understand and appreciate," she says of the decision to add the puppy program to CC's services. "A bad dog doesn't mean to be bad. Usually, he thinks he's doing the right thing! And where does he get that idea from? A big, on-going struggle with miscommunication in his family - often through no fault of his own. Unfortunately, even though he's not at fault, it's his life at risk for the confusion.

 

"No family wants to make the decision to surrender their pet - a member of their family they'd chosen with high hopes and a lot of love. But the fact is, over 80% of surrendered pets lose their families because of behavioral problems. Our shelters and rescues are overflowing and with that astounding 80% of surrenders being absolutely avoidable through education, I knew we could do something to make a difference. So, we did."

​

Conyers Canines' Trained Puppy Program places emphasis on the importance of not only teaching dogs simple, cooperative behaviors like Sit, Down, and Stay; CC's methods prioritize the use of purposeful communication between humans and their dogs. 

​

"I'd meet a lot of dogs who didn't know the basics (obedience skills), which was one thing...But then, I met a lot of dogs who clearly didn't even know their given name. They didn't understand that the noise and movement caused when they jump on people is not the positive, interactive behaviors they truly display by instinct. But, how can a dog know what hasn't been taught? They were never shown an alternative to the jumping - No one ever taught them why it was better to sit instead of jump in the first place! But, somehow it was the poor dog who always got punished; punished for doing something that is natural to him, and for not being self-aware enough to choose an alternative behavior to try - something entirely outside of his underdeveloped cognitive abilities." 

​

Dogs do not have the same self-awareness that humans do, we all know that. But just how much do they have? No one really knows! The common belief is that a dog has the same mental capabilities as a 2-3 year old human child. So, consider this: A child around 2 years old is interacting with an adult. The child is non-verbal, but is playing nicely...But the adult isn't paying much attention to them. The child's behavior is communicating: I want to interact with you. But, the adult's is saying, "You're not doing anything of interest to me." 

​

When one behavior does not provide the rewarding result a social creature, like humans or dogs, is seeking (either consciously or subconsciously) a new behavior will arrive within the interaction. Initiated by the individual who desires a certain result - based on need, instinct, or desire - the next behavior is often slightly more intense than the one attempted previously.

 

Continuing on with the example above, the child begins to increase the physical activity she is displaying with the adult. The adult continues not to notice. Eventually, the child bites her playmate - and the reaction she gets is a big one! It's not a good one, but hey - it got the adult's attention, didn't it? Things happened as a result of the behavior! 

 

Despite the fact that the reaction the behavior got her was a "negative" one, at the age of 2-3, the concept of negative and positive is limited to a simple Yes or No. Did the toddler get more attention? Yes. Does it matter what kind of attention? No. 

 

This same behavioral pattern is present in dogs of various ages, particularly young dogs who have a whole lot of changes going on physically, mentally, and instinctively.

 

So, what happens when a young dog under the age of 1 learns that when people come through the door, they give him a whole lot of attention and reaction if he comes running wildly at them, jumping on and licking the new arrival - as opposed to the lack of attention, reaction, and interaction he gets if he were to stay on his cushy dog-bed when someone comes through the front door?

 

The dog in this example is unintentionally taught (by humans) that high energy and wild behavior garners more reaction and more energy than what he would get if he were to show calm, passive behavior. Worse yet, at under a year old, this lesson is now imprinted on his social cognitive function. What exactly does that mean? To put it simply: The behavior he's learned is now written deep down in his psyche...And it's nearly impossible to overwrite it completely through later-life training, and still a challenge to change in behavioral rehabilitation with a specialist. 

​

A dog learns on a subconscious level - what we call "Imprinting" here at CC. It's just as we humans do when we are children. Learning to speak, to tie our shoes, to get a glass of water are all behaviors largely learned in a cycle of observation, repetition, and end-result. Our dogs also learn this way, but the pattern of learning does not develop farther to self-awareness as it does with humans. Dogs remain blissfully unaware of the concept of self and other; they know only what they are exposed to, and what their instincts tell them. Nothing more. 

​

So a dog's ability to learn largely depends on how well he is taught to understand the world. And how is he taught? Not through verbal dictation. Tell a 1 year old child to grab a toy. Nothing happens. But, show that same 1 year old child the action of grabbing the toy and just see how quickly she will mirror that behavior...It is through seeing behavior, seeing language and results, that young humans learn; just like our dogs do! 

​

But then, sadly, we forget. Words take over our communication skills, and we begin to lose a very important part of ourselves that links us to the natural world - our instinctive, natural language of movement, eye contact, and presence. 

​

Through the Trained Puppy Program at Conyers Canines, you will learn more about the natural basis of communication through social species...In other words, you'll learn a lot about how your dogs understand you, our world, and their place in it. This is a vital part of a happy and balanced human-canine relationship and one that is all-too-often missed out on. 

​

​