Concept Training: Re-shaping Your Dog’s Brain
Concept training is a type of positive reinforcement training focusing on broad concepts to give your dog the skills needed to make good choices and thrive in any situation. Rather than teaching specific commands and behaviors, concept training works to change your dog's emotions and build critical foundation skills which ultimately re-shapes their personality and transforms their behavior.
In order to understand why this works, it helps to think of your dog’s brain as being made up of a variety of concepts or traits that guide their behavior. Every dog has strengths and weaknesses in these areas which defines their personality and impacts the choices that they make in day-to-day life. Strengthening a dog's weaknesses reshapes their brain, enabling them to behave appropriately in real life situations without being told what to do.
For example, some dogs view the world through a pessimistic lens. These dogs might come across as anxious and nervous or reactive and aggressive because they are constantly thinking that anything new or slightly different in the environment is scary and something to worry about. If you think about it, this trait likely developed in dogs as a matter of survival, and served them well when living out in the wild. After all, a pessimistic dog who tries to avoid or scare away a predator is more likely to survive than one who goes to investigate or tries to be friendly. For domesticated dogs however, pessimism leads to a variety of behavior problems that can be frustrating for their human families and sometimes dangerous for themselves and/or those around them. The good news is that with concept training, you can make your dog’s outlook more optimistic, and prepare them for any situation they may encounter.
Key Features of Concept Training​
Training takes place outside of the situation where your dog struggles to allow for stress free and force free learning
Addresses the emotional and underlying causes of behaviors
Builds foundational skills necessary for successful training
Lays the groundwork for effective traditional positive reinforcement methods
How is Concept Training Different from Traditional Training Methods?
Concept Training stands apart from traditional positive reinforcement training in several ways:
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Traditional methods rely on verbal commands and behavior protocols to control a dog’s behavior.
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Concept Training operates beyond specific situations, focusing on changing emotions and building skills for independent decision-making.
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Responsibility shifts from the handler to the dog, fostering self-reliance and autonomy.
Essential Concepts for Every Dog:
Optimism relates to how an individual responds to a new or ambiguous situation. Everything that happens throughout the day can be perceived by dogs as good or bad depending on their level of optimism. By strengthening a dog’s optimism, they will start to view all situations as good or neutral which helps build confidence and reduce fear and reactivity.
Confidence is a feeling of self-assurance that creates a willingness in dogs to try new experiences without overthinking, and an ability to recover quickly in stressful or challenging situations.
Calmness is the key to a well-behaved dog because it creates a low baseline arousal level that helps dogs to regulate their emotions and have an easier time when any situation calls for them to think clearly. Calmness allows dogs to choose quiet, relaxing activities over wild and reactive behaviors. A lack of calmness is quite often the root of most behavior struggles.
Disengagement is the ability to ignore or move away from something in the environment. Dogs that struggle to disengage may stare at distractions and get “stuck”, unable to take food or listen to verbal cues. If this is left unaddressed, an inability to disengage can lead to excessive barking, pulling on lead and more aggressive behaviors such as lunging or running towards these distractions or triggers.
Focus is the ability to keep attention on a task or activity. When properly shaped as a concept, focus is the foundation for a strong relationship between you and your dog. Great focus comes from the right combination of engagement and disengagement so your dog can easily respond appropriately to you even in distracting environments.
Thinking in Arousal: means that a dog can still think, listen to cues and respond appropriately when their arousal (be it excitement or fear) goes up.
Frustration Tolerance dictates how well a dog can tolerate being frustrated or how well they will cope when they can’t have immediate access to something they want.
Impulse Control is what allows a dog to remain calm in exciting or scary situations. A dog with strong impulse control can think before taking action, offer polite greetings, listen and respond appropriately in any situation.
Independence is a dog’s ability to be comfortable spending time alone, but also relates to their ability to make good choices without guidance or immediate reinforcement.