Frustration in Training with Hunting-Motivated Dogs and How to Reduce It

Impulse Control and Frustration: Two things to consider when training hunting-motivated dogs
In the second part of our webinar duet, we dedicate ourselves to frustration. In a previous webinar, we already discussed impulse control in detail, see link Impulse Control and Impulsivity in Training with Hunting-Motivated Dogs
Being able to wait and not immediately start sniffing or chasing, or to interrupt sniffing, chasing and co. by stopping or recalling, these are the declared training goals when it comes to controlling hunting behavior. But what happens on the way there? Undesired hunting behavior must be managed – the dog is put on a long leash. Absolutely necessary as a safety aspect for all involved, the long leash harbors considerable potential for frustration. The quadruped still moves in the same environment, where triggers of hunting behavior and their harbingers do not suddenly disappear. Pieces of the hunting sequence are activated, do not lead to the goal, expected rewards are absent, frustration arises! Stress and an increased arousal level are the consequence – optimal learning conditions look different. Desired behavior should be rewarded. But what does the dog do with a reward that it does not consider worthwhile itself – well-intentioned is not always well-done. Frustration and motivational conflicts do not contribute to learned behavior being reliably shown even in a "wild" environment.
Anja Fiedler explains,
• what biology intended with frustration,
• what frustration is all about in hunting-motivated dogs,
• why waiting for rewards is so frustrating,
• what frustration tolerance means and how it can be improved,
• how we can generally loosen the frustration screw and specifically make training low-frustration/-free,
• why frustration promotes impulsive hunting behavior and disadvantages impulse control.
The Speaker
Anja Fiedler is the head of the dog school "dogable – what (hunting) dogs want". With her diverse seminar program, she travels throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
More about the speaker: http://www.dogable.de/node/5
Accreditation as further training
The webinar is recognized by the veterinary associations of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony as 2 hours of further training; our certificate of participation must be submitted for this. https://www.kosmos.de/teilnahmebestaetigung
Photo credit: Anna Auerbach/ Kosmos