Modern Training Methods
Since the 1990s, the dog world has seen many changes in how to train dogs of all breeds. One of the biggest influences on canine training methods came from knowledge gained in training sea mammals such as dolphins and killer whales. After all, the trainers could not force or compel certain behaviors out of mammals as large as whales, so they had to figure out how to get the whales to perform voluntarily. The most effective methods used rewards. The trainers would reward the whales or dolphins for doing certain things by feeding them fish.
The big sea mammals did what they were asked and got paid in food. Behaviors could be shaped or induced, by using food as a lure. Once trained, the whale or porpoise could then perform for audiences of hundreds — jumping through hoops, playing basketball, and all kinds of behaviors that had previously not been associated with marine mammals.
The implications of this type of training for dogs was profound. It changed training dogs from pop-and-jerk or force to systems of an inducement and reward. The result was that many dogs were far happier to perform when given the option to learn in a clear and humane way than when they were physically forced into behavior they didn't understand.
Clicker training, or the method of clicking and treating when a dog does a correct or desirable behavior, became popular in training for obedience and agility competition. In clicker training, the absence of a click and treat was the correction to the dog that meant that he had made an error, or had failed to do what was required correctly. This and other inducive methods produced dogs that worked more happily and, in many cases, more confidently, and with more problem-solving ability.
Many people who do compete in obedience are hesitant to put a spirited young show-prospect boxer through obedience training. They remember when the old methods of harsh corrections were the only way to correct or to train a dog, especially for obedience competition. Many young boxers who were corrected too harshly came to dislike and fear anything to do with training, including leashes and dog shows in general.
This was a result of being corrected in harsh ways when the dog had no understanding that a particular behavior was wrong. A prime example of this, for instance, is the forced sit or down. Many dogs, and especially boxers, will struggle mightily against the force of being pushed into a sit or down, while they will comply readily when induced with a treat or toy and praise with clear direction. Many boxers learned to hate obedience training because it seemed unjust and unclear. As a breed, boxers are quite sensitive, especially to what they perceive as injustices.
Once you find a training regimen that works for you and your boxer, stick to it, and keep him out of mischief!
Consider this example. Say that while learning to play the piano, you hit the wrong notes. A good piano teacher will not hit you for your error and yell, “Wrong!” or call you bad names. If this did happen, you'd probably begin to hate the piano very quickly. It's much the same for dogs and some of the old training methods. If you gave a dog a harsh collar correction for making an honest, untrained mistake, it would not be surprising if he never wanted to do that activity again.
