Miley, a 3-year old Boxer mix, has only been with her new family for about a month. She has definitely had some prior training but still needs help with impulse control and coming when called, as well as learning how to get along with her new brother. Jethro enjoyed playing recall games in order to learn how to Come When Called. Even with the distractions of being outside with his brothers he did very well for a 4-month old pup. Shadow concluded his basic manners training by learning how to Come When Called. We played puppy ping pong and hide and seek and reinforced him with high value treats and praise. I hope to see him again when he tries for his Canine Good Citizen title. TIP #1: IF THE DAMAGE IS DONE Behaviors that are reinforced will be repeated, even if they're unwanted behaviors. So if your dog has once managed to gulp down a loaf of bread while you fetched the mail, chances are you now have a hard-core counter surfer on your hands. What’s the answer? Think of it from your dog's perspective. If your dog is counter surfing, what's in it for the dog? Every time he gets food he is receiving a positive consequence. If we remove food from the counters the behavior will eventually become extinct (cease to exist) because getting on the counter is no longer rewarded (it's now a negative consequence, i.e. punishment). TIP #2: ARE YOU DOING YOUR DOG'S HOMEWORK? Dogs who are persistently manipulated with verbal commands, equipment, and physical prompting to perform behaviors (such as pushing them into a sit) become reliant on their pet parents to do everything for them. This is equal to doing a child's homework for him or her. A child might get better grades if an adult did his homework, but he or she would not learn the skills needed to function successfully in the world. This same concept is also true for your dog. If you have been doing his "homework" via constant reminding or demanding obedience, telling him, "No," all the time, and/or using leash manipulations and physical prompts to keep him in line, he will not have learned the skills needed to function calmly in life. Don't do your dog's homework. Teach him what you want him to do. - excerpted from Chill Out Fido! Little Jethro is so smart. He picked up Leave It in no time, so we practiced with different items, including food, and he did great. We wanted to practice with the one thing that he really wants, but the cat wasn't having any of it! Wade did a good job of learning Leave It tonight. He is starting to be left out more when his owner is absent, but with that has come some instances of Wade getting into things. Learning a good Leave It will help with that. Today we taught Shadow how to walk nicely on a loose leash. He gets excited when meeting people, in particular a man who uses a walking stick. We recreated that and it turns out Shadow really wants the stick! We practiced, using Leave It, and he did really well. TIP #1: TRAINING REGRESSIONS People are terribly mystified by any change in their dog's behavior and go on a lot with the "why?" as though there should never be any variability whatsoever in this living organism's behavior. Training regressions are a frequent occurrence and no big deal. It is so important to remember that behavior is always in flux, constantly subjected to whatever contingencies there are in the environment as well as being influenced by unknown internal events. - excerpted from The Culture Clash TIP #2: PREVENTION: FIRST, LAST, AND IN-BETWEEN The best protection against counter surfing is to prevent the habit from forming in the first place. If the behavior pays off once, it is very hard to change - because of the double whammy reward of food and a challenge - so don’t let your new puppy or dog develop a taste for it. Follow these rules from day one: First, make sure your dog isn’t actually being fed too little. Second, make sure your dog gets enough exercise and mental stimulation. Many dogs become counter surfers out of sheer boredom. Third, scavenger-proof your kitchen: Put the food away! |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
Categories |