Hazel, a 1-year old Cane Corso, has only been in her new home for 5 months. Over that time that she has made progress, but she needs help with some leash reactivity, as well as becoming confident around strangers. Today we taught Clutch how to Wait and Stay. Wait was a breeze, but Stay was much more challenging. But we took it slow and eventually we could leave the room without him getting up. TIP #1: RATE OF REINFORCEMENT Rate of reinforcement (RoR) is the number of rewards per amount of time. A high rate of reinforcement creates a snowball effect, making it easier and easier to succeed. Successful performance of a behavior becomes habit. A high ROR adds value to behaviors and situations. You can make your dog really like to do a behavior (operant) or really like to be in a situation (classical) with free-flowing treats. Alternatively, a low RoR can reduce value to behaviors and situations especially when distractions are present. If your RoR drops too low you'll notice that your dog may "check out" or leave you. Zero reinforcement should extinguish behavior. It certainly will if you add value to an alternate or incompatible behavior. TIP #2: NOT ALL GUARDING BEHAVIOR IS INAPPROPRIATE Resource guarding is a natural, normal canine behavior. In fact it's a normal behavior for most warm-blooded animals. Even we humans guard our resources - sometimes quite fiercely. Think about it. We lock our doors. Store clerks have loaded .22 rifles under checkout counters, while homeowners keep shotguns and baseball bats leaning in the corner by the back door. Banks keep valuables in vaults. Some of us get insanely jealous if someone pays too much attention to our significant other. Dogs guard their resources as well, sometimes quite fiercely. This is most troublesome when they guard from humans, but can also get them in hot water when they guard from other dogs. That said, some dog-dog guarding behavior is quite appropriate and acceptable. As an example: In a dog park or doggie daycare, Dog A is chewing happily on a (insert any valuable resource here). Curious, Dog B approaches. Dog A gives Dog B "the look." Dog B quickly defers, saying "Oh, excuse me!" by calmly turning and walking away. No harm done. Much of the time the dogs' owner isn't even aware that this occurred. - Whole Dog Journal Meet Murphy, a 1-year old Golden Retriever/Poodle mix. Murphy loves people, so much so that he likes to jump on them! He also likes to bother the resident chickens and goats. We will be teaching him his basic manners, including much needed impulse control. We taught Josie more impulse control as she learned how to Wait and Stay. Wait at the door took a while, but she finally got it. Stay, however, she did very well right from the start, even allowing us to go out of view with little trouble. Tonight we worked on Sable's greetings at the door. It is, of course, a very exciting time when she hears the doorbell ring, so we taught her to go to a spot and wait patiently as the door is answered and the guest enters. TIP #1: MY DOG'S NOT FOOD MOTIVATED First of all, she has to be or she wouldn't be alive. But seriously, if your dog blows off your treats, try these things: 1. Significantly increase the value of the treats you offer. Don’t try dry foods, especially in high-distraction outdoor settings. Work to find a food (usually something meaty and greasy) that makes your dog go cross-eyed with glee. 2. Limit your dog’s access to his food. If your dog is constantly full, he will be less interested in what you have to offer. Avoid free feeding, and schedule feeding times for after training sessions and walks, instead of before. 3. Try something else altogether. For example, if you have a ball-obsessed dog, you may have an easier time getting his attention with his favorite ball than with the leftover chicken from last night’s dinner. TIP #2: SIZE MATTERS Your best option for finding compatible playmates for your dog is to identify your dog's play style and select dogs of similar size, energy level, and play style preference. No doubt there are dogs of significant size disparity who can play well together, but as a general rule, it's wise to keep the difference in the realm of 25 pounds or less. A playful dog can easily injure a little dog, even without intent to do harm, simply by running over or jumping on the smaller dog. Of even greater concern is a phenomenon known as predatory drift in which something from a dog's evolutionary past triggers the larger dog's brain to perceive the smaller dog as a prey object - a bunny or squirrel - instead of the canine pal he's played happily with for months or years. Often the trigger is the smaller dog running, yelping, or squealing. The bigger dog gives chase, and tragedy ensues. - excerpted from Play With Your Dog Kelly learned Wait and Stay today. For a dog that is so easily excited I was pleasantly surprised at how well she did with these impulse control exercises. For example, she is usually gated away from the front door, a place that triggers a lot of excitement, but she was able to hold a stay with the gate open as I went to the door and opened it. Well done. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
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