Affection Loop Training also known in the more scientific world as Constructional Affection Training. I’m not going to try and break down what constructional means for the purpose of this lesson but you can think of it as building something, constructing behavior using affection rather than treats or play.
I’m always shocked at how much there is a need to talk about appropriate touching, petting, and affection with animals. Social animals specifically have a social and physical need for affection and acceptance into the group. So often we make these common mistakes. Now keep in mind there are always exceptions to the rules but I find this to be true with the majority of dogs.
Stroking - Extremely stimulating and some dogs find it very irritating and not rewarding
Patting - Some animals might find gentle and playful patting acceptable but if your goal is to train with affection this will likely be too stimulating or they may find it annoying, irritating, or even painful if done too rough.
Fast scratching - This is probably the most common way people interact with dogs but it is also the most stimulating! It revs them up and why many puppy owners will experience their puppies biting and pouncing at them. It can be used in play but should not be part of your affection training protocol.
Now, I want to point out that for affection loop training we are focusing on calming the dog and co-regulating emotions and big feelings. So our approach when petting our dogs should be relaxation, calmness, and comfort.
This training protocol can work wonders for highly anxious and over aroused dogs and puppies. One pet parent found that her highly anxious german shepherd dog that consistently couldn’t sleep through the night and would pace around the house all day long, began sleeping through the night and greatly reduced her barking and pacing after putting this training into practice.
Not all dogs are the same so you may or may not see dramatic changes like this with your dog but doing this definitely won't hurt!
First, you need to change your thinking about training from linear to cyclical. All day long you will be looping through this pattern.
Second, this protocol is designed to fill your unique dog’s need for affection. Dogs have different sized affection buckets. Some dogs will be satisfied with about 30 min of quality affection and ready to do other stuff. Where other dogs will need up to 2 hours of affection or more. Don’t worry you don’t have to spend 2 hours straight giving your dog affection.
Think of affection like you do your dog’s exercise requirements, daily food intake, water requirements, or sleep. It’s one of the core needs that should be met daily. Sometimes there are things that you will combine such as mental stimulation and affection, or play and affection. Other interactions will also add to your dog's affection bucket.
Third, learning the process of timing to build in the teaching element of affection training. After all, our goal is to teach the dog to be calm when greeting people and not to jump, to relax when home alone, or to not beg at the dinner table. Affection training can, when used appropriately, teaches all of these things and more. The level at which you can use affection training to teach wanted behaviors depends on the dog and your unique situation. So I mention these learned skills as suggestions not as a standard or even to say that this is the protocol I would choose for this specific dog.
Remember that there are many many ways to get to the same result. At KAS we are all about utilizing the method that is going to fit the individual best. We do this through assessment, observations, and some trial and error testing techniques to find the best match. We also always want to screen protocols for the most human and gentle approach that will be successful.
I ask and re-ask the question: Is this protocol causing this dog stress? Is there something that I can change or another approach that would cause less stress?
While providing affection to your dog make sure that you observe signs of stress, make note of what they like, or don’t like. For this training we are here to serve our dogs.
Okay, without further ado enjoy this video review all about how to do affection training.
Resources:
For more information about how to pet your dog (use TTouch method) check out https://ttouch.com/
For more examples and information about Constructional Affection check out this website: https://www.constructionalaffection.com/
Please share in the comments all questions and concerns. I would like to start a conversation around affection training and help you reap the benefits.
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