How to P.A.T your dog

"I'll show you a trick" the trainer said, stepping up to the dog we had been trying to teach to hold a down position. "Down" and the dog lay flat. "Yes" they marked. But now instead of handing the treat across to the dog, they slid it down their leg to the floor, then across to the dog at floor level. The dog stayed down - no longer standing up in anticipation of the treat.

Standing for Proportionate, Appropriate, Timing, (P.A.T) this is a helpful acronym to giving clear and complete feedback to your dog's behaviour while training.

By feedback, we are talking about delivering any type of primary or conditioned reinforcement, any correction, a marker, or anything which you are doing to give 'feedback' on the dog's particular behaviours.

When a dog performs a behaviour which you want to reinforce or correct, it is important that we get the three elements of P.A.T correct - regardless of how we communicate our feedback.

• Proportionate - the intensity of the feedback. Aim for a 'step or two' above their intensity for the target behaviour. Too low and they won't care, too high and it you may overwhelm them, and just a little too low (or equal) will frustrate.

  
  

• Appropriate - the direction communicated in the feedback. Reflect what you want them to do; be calm to encourage calmness, don't push them away if you want them to come near, etc.

  
  

• Timing - when the feedback is delivered. Train the conscious thought, not the resulting behaviour. When able give feedback in the moment they've thought of the behaviour and are just about to start it. If its a prolonged behaviour, then prolong your feedback.

Each of these is relative to the dog's behaviour that you are giving feedback on (the target behaviour), and so are dynamic to the situation. And how you convey each is ultimately determined by what you want to communicate to the dog. Because of this, lets look at some examples:

Example: #1 - a good correction

Your dog is playing too rough and demanding interaction at a time when they should be settling down. As they are just about to once again jump up at you and play bite, you correct them with a sharp verbal "No", avoiding touching them. (then redirect etc.)

In this example, you picked the moment they began to consider the unwanted behaviour. The intensity is a step or two above their intensity to engage in the unwanted behaviour. And you give them appropriate direction by not physically engaging in a way that may satisfy their unwanted play behaviour.

Example #2 - a good reinforcement

You're teaching your dog to hold a down position for the first time. You have them assume the desired position, and then calmly take a few steps back. Careful to avoid any sudden or exciting actions, you wait for a few seconds before reapproaching, and delivering a treat right to them from ground-level. You step back again and repeat.

Here your timing matches your dogs ability, with a shorter duration between treats happening while they perform the target behaviour of remaining in the down position. Your calm demeanour and choice of reinforcement (a treat, rather than a toy or strong praise) contributes appropriately to what we expect our dog to be doing, And the intensity of the reinforcement matches the intensity with which we want them to pursue the target behaviour.

Example #3 - a bad correction

While walking your dog, they have an unexpected outburst at another passing dog, barking and lunging at them. Taking a few moments to apologise to the other person as your dog barks at them, you tell them "No Baxter stop that now. No, now stop it! Stop. No" as they pull on the leash with their body weight trying to drag you to this other dog.

Unfortunately for all involved, you were caught off guard. Timing missed the mark , with the dog not only being able to fully engage with the unwanted behaviour, but also getting to practice it while you apologise. The intensity of the verbal correction used was far less intense than the dog's desire to react to the other dog. And the leash provided a restraint for your dog to drive into, inappropriately frustrating Baxter into pulling harder towards the dog.