We took a walk around Samantha's neighborhood to work on her issues with strangers. We encountered a small child, one of her biggest triggers, wearing squeaky shoes! We were able to get within 20 yards with no overreaction from Samantha, which was great. We will continue this desensitization and counterconditioning plan in the coming weeks.
We began Violet's training by teaching her Sit and Down to be used as alternate behaviors to stop her jumping. She already knew the verbal cue for Sit, so we taught her the hand signal as well. Down, on the other hand, will take more practice for her to master.
TIP # 1: ASK FRIENDS OR FAMILY TO HELP WITH TRAINING Many dogs only practice certain undesirable behaviors, such as jumping to greet, around visitors or strangers, which makes it nearly impossible to extinguish those behaviors on your own. Ask friends or family to help with training. Many, especially dog lovers, will gladly oblige! TIP #2: REWARD OR REINFORCEMENT? A reinforcer is a reward but reward implies something that is considered to be good by the giver and hopefully by the recipient as well. A reinforcer, on the other hand, is very specific. A reinforcer is good because the recipient considers it good and because it serves as "pay", in that it makes the recipient do something to receive it. I met with Samantha and her family today. Samantha is a nearly 1-year old German Shepherd Dog/Australian Cattle Dog mix. She has some anxiety issues with strangers, as well as having her herding instincts kick in around moving objects and people. In the coming weeks we will be desensitizing and counterconditioning her to her triggers.
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AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
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