- 3 -
magic! It distracts the animal but the
actual training is up to you.
4. How to use
MasterPlus®PRO?
For the best results, follow these
guidelines:
1- Let the dog get used to wearing the
collar without the battery for a few
days (a week), so that it becomes a
part of his usual environment.
2- During training, make sure the collar
is ready to work at all times.
3- If the dog is not already wearing the
MasterPlus®PRO collar, put it on at
least 20 minutes before the exercise
session, so that he does not
associate the collar with the walk or
the exercise.
4- Whilst training your dog, have one or
two daily sessions of no longer than
30 minutes each, so that neither you
nor the dog becomes stale. For
retraining, you can either organise
sessions during which the behaviour
to be discouraged is specifically
“provoked”, or you can wait
for the misbehaviour to occur
spontaneously. In either case, the
collar must be ready for use at all
times.
Surprise and reward
5- The collar has different settings of
spray. Use these variations to
surprise your dog, so he does not get
used to them. However, if the dog is
difficult to distract, use a stronger or
longer stimulus.
6- Using the “tone” button
- The tone can be used as a pre-
signal: when your dog is about to
commit a discouraged behaviour,
press the tone button immediately
followed by one of the two spray
buttons, this way the dog will quickly
associate the sound with the spray.
After a few sessions, he will react to
the TONE button without your having
to use the spray as well. Indeed, the
dog will understand that if he doesn’t
change his bad behaviour as a result
of the tone, he will be sprayed.
- Just as the tone can be used as a
signal for impending punishment, so
can it also become a rewarding
signal. Of course you need to decide
in advance which role you want to
assign to the signal: as a warning that
the animal is about to be punished by
a spray, alternatively as a signal that
the dog has performed the correct
behaviour.
To train the reward association,
follow the same principles that are
now well-established in the world of
clicker training. This is to offer a
treat, and at the moment he takes it,
activate the signal on button number
1. Repeat five or more times, offering
food from your hand.
Now move back and toss the treat
towards your dog, each time pressing
the signal button as he picks up the
treat. After 20-50 such pairings of
the signal with the treat, your dog will
reliably associate the signal with
reward.
You can now apply this learned
association by linking your dog's
obedience to easy commands such
as to "sit" or "down" by sounding the
tone, and again offering a titbit. Later
you can use more difficult or
problematic obedience commands
such as "come" (which from time to
time dogs ignore). When you have
gained your dog's attention and he is
running towards you, sound the
signal as he is moving closer towards
you. Repeat two or three times as he
makes the journey in your direction.
You now have a device that can
provide pleasure to match the
punishment of the gas.
7- When you trigger the spray, try to
ensure that the dog does not see you
holding the remote control. It is
better he forms the impression that
the burst of spray comes “out of the
blue”. Otherwise, he could think that
he has to behave only when you are
there. You can achieve this by
keeping the remote control in a
jacket pocket, looking away from the
dog and ignoring him when you
trigger it. Do not always adopt the
same pose, because dogs are very
sensitive to body language and will
soon be able to predict when you are
about to press the button! The dog
should not know that you are
activating the collar. s
8- Activate the spray as soon as you
see the dog beginning the chain or
sequence of misbehaviour. The
earlier you act, the easier it will be
to distract the dog and interrupt the
chain. When your dog pauses, get
his attention straight away by
calling and enthusiastically
encouraging him to play with you.
Your demeanour should suggest
fun, so produce special toys that
you have brought along as a play-
reward. Play with him for a few
minutes and then go back to the
area where he is prone to
misbehave.
9- If the stimulus was not strong
enough to completely distract your
dog, increase it to the maximum
setting, and distract him with
another game.
Improve your dog’s behaviour:
10- As your dog’s behaviour improves,
you should take him to places where
he is more and more prone to
misbehave. This way, you will be able
to control him in the worst situations,
and to go anywhere with him.
5 - Why should you want
to change your dog’s
behaviour ?
Rather than punishing your dog, a
disruptive stimulus distracts him for the
moment and makes him receptive to a
new, alternative activity. However,
unless you take full advantage of this
brief moment to put him back on the
right path, he may go back to his
previous misbehaviour. In other words,
dogs learn not to misbehave if there is
a desirable alternative available.
This alternative is generally a behaviour
desired by the master. To encourage
him, you will have to reward this good
behaviour frequently. There are several
ways of rewarding a dog.
Enthusiastic congratulations or games are
the best, but it may be necessary,
especially with a young puppy, to combine
them with treats and physical attention. If
the choice of food rewards has been
made, it is advised to give them out after
the rewarded action progressively so that
your “authority” does not become totally
dependent on them.
In any case, do not forget: if the reward
is given immediately after the action,
your dog will establish the relation
between his behaviour and your
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