3 Training for impulse control in dogs [Anfänger]
Definition of impulse control
Impulse control is the ability not to act on an impulse. The impulse can be an innate reflex or a spontaneous action. Impulse control in dogs means that the dog can control its actions and emotions. It is therefore self-control, which is like a battery and a muscle at the same time. An exercise can only be practised a few times in a row because the battery is exhausted for the time being. This also applies to the rest of the day. The dog's ability to concentrate wanes and it becomes impatient. For your impulse control training in dogs, this means always practising short units.
If your dog has had to show a lot of patience during training or in everyday life, its battery will be empty and it will find simple everyday situations difficult. After short training sessions, your dog should be given enough time to recover.
In the blog post What is impulse control you can read more about what impulse control in dogs is and how you can influence and encourage it. Before you start, be sure to take a look at the impulse control training for beginners and the impulse control training for advanced learners.
Training tips
There are a few tricks that we can generally use to promote impulse control in our dog. You can find out more about this in the article What is impulse controlSelf-control can be specifically strengthened to make training easier and make life more pleasant for our dogs. Impulse control training is an important aspect of building and improving your dog's patience and concentration in general. Since training is much more intensive for your dog than some other training, you should implement the tips first.
Tip 1: RitualsImpulse control costs your dog a great deal of stamina and focus. Everyday life sometimes seems impossible for your dog with exhausted self-control. Banal everyday situations present your dog with a great challenge and cause him to react impulsively. In general, you should create a fixed daily routine and rituals for your dog that offer your dog security. Rituals are actions that always take place in the same way. They are important in everyday dog life because they give the dog a clear line, improve communication between you and your dog and generally lead to an improvement in the dog's well-being. If we build up ritualised actions, they will eventually become automatic. Rituals are important signposts for our dogs as to what they can expect and how they should behave. Through constant repetition, your dog can master everyday situations more easily and they no longer require a lot of patience because they are almost automatic. If impulse control is then seriously needed, your dog does not have a completely empty self-control battery. He could save the battery in ritualised everyday situations and use it for serious situations.
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Tip 2: Nerve foodSelbstkontrolle benötigt viel Energie, was man durch die Fütterung positiv begünstigen kann. Sogenannte „Nervennahrung“ ist kohlenhydratreiche Nahrung. Miller et al (2010) zeigten mit ihrer Studie, dass Hunde bei der Ausübung von Impulskontrolle einen erhöhten Energieverbrauch haben. Hunde, die einen Glukosetrank erhielten, konnten ihre Selbstkontrolle verdoppeln. Die Auswirkungen der verfügbaren Blutglukose hatte einen Einfluss auf die Fähigkeit von Hunden zur Selbstkontrolle. Die Blutglukose kann durch Kohlenhydrate im Dog Food erhöht werden. Wie viele Kohlenhydrate dein Hund verträgt, ist sehr individuell. Innerhalb der gleichen Rasse bestehen beim Hund ausgeprägte Unterschiede in der Fähigkeit der Kohlenhydratverdauung. Damit der Hund Getreide gut verdauen kann, müssen Reis, Nudeln und Co. genug lange gekocht werden, um die darin enthaltene Stärke verwerten zu können. Kohlenhydrate, die Hunde besonders gut vertragen sind Kartoffeln, Reis und Nudeln. Mehr zu Kohlenhydraten, die langket |
Tip 3: Rest and relaxationSufficient rest and sleep is one of your dog's basic physical or biological needs. an adult and healthy dog needs between 16 and 20 hours of rest, puppies or sick dogs even more. impulse control requires a lot of energy from your dog . the energy must be recharged through sufficient sleep and rest. not every dog has learned to actively rest. rest can and must be learned and is built up through blanket training. hyperactive dogs in particular must learn to rest. you can learn how to create a Use the core territory for rest and relaxation in the article The 4 most important house rules for your dog. Sleep helps your dog to cope with stress because the stress hormone cortisol is lowered during sleep. Cortisol is released in stressful situations and must then be reduced again to prevent permanent stress. If your dog does not get enough sleep, the cortisol level remains high and your dog feels even more stress. Exercise also reduces the stress hormone cortisol. Stressed dogs that do not get enough rest compensate for their stress through exercise. Stress and exercise, i.e. restlessness, promote renewed stress. The vicious circle begins and a stressed dog becomes a hyperactive dog that is stressed. |
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Impulse control for beginners Training
Pay attention to the following points during training:
- Have realistic expectations of your dog
- Start light and increase the training in small steps
- Be clear in your hearing & sight signals
- Practise for 1-5 minutes at a time and more often
- Stay patient! You are practising self-control, so keep your impulses under control too
- Give your dog enough rest
- Reward a lot (use dog biscuits made from millet, oatmeal or quinoa as nerve food, for example)
The Premack principle is a form of reinforcement in which your dog is not only rewarded with a treat, but also with permission to perform the desired action.
Only by working with you will your dog get to the food. Generalising the position "sit" not only teaches your dog to signal safely, but also that "sit" simply means "sit". The last exercise of counting treats teaches your dog that numbers have a meaning in connection with the patience you require. The training builds up a food motivation that works well for both food-loving and non-food-loving dogs. By giving your dog every single treat, the motivation always stays high.
You can download all training sessions as a training plan free of charge by registering in our member area.
Feed release
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"Seat" generalisation easy
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Count treats
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- Numbers take on meaning
- Orientation towards humans through food motivation
- Motivation remains intact
