|
Ditch the Bowl
I’m thrilled to have seen the hashtag #ditchthebowl blaze a trail across social media in recent months. One of the easiest ways we can ensure we are setting our dogs up for success is by redistributing their daily food allowance. We have a large amount of food that we feed our dogs every day and it’s often wasted in a couple of big chunks. Spreading it out throughout the day gives us the ability to frequently reinforce good choices, provide enriching activities to stimulate problem solving skills, create opportunities for mental exercise, and to set up solid preventative strategies to keep dogs out of mischief. There are also some wonderful health benefits to spreading their food out rather than having a few heavy meals. Some ideas for ditching the bowl:
1 Comment
We will often refer to this program when working with dogs who are struggling with impulse control, arousal concerns and some anxiety issues. It is an excellent program to follow and is well worth trying with your own dog!
When we use this program at DOGWIT we have some variations on the basic set up as so much has been learned in the animal behaviour world since the program came out in 1997! Before you get started, it is helpful to ensure you have a "Yes!" Reward Marker (a word that lets your dog know that food is on the way) and a solid skill such as a Sit or a Down. Having these already trained will help set your dog up to be successful with the program. You'll see the program is divided into 14 daily task sheets. It is important to build on success and move through the tasks at a pace that is appropriate for your dog. If they struggle with a task, see if you can break it up into smaller bits so that they can work up to it. Don't push through it; the goal isn't to make it through the program in 14 days, it's to help your dog learn to relax despite distractions, outside stimuli and sometimes odd situations. At the start of each task, ask your dog for a Sit. Be sure to "Yes" and reward the Sit behaviour. After each task is complete, again use your reward marker and deliver the food reinforcer to your dog. For example, the first task is "Sit for 5 seconds". Give the cue "Sit", then mark the behaviour and reward when your dog complies. Count to 5, then mark the behaviour and reward. If your dog stands up before the 5 seconds are complete, just say "whoops!" and set it up again. "Sit", "Yes", Reward. Then begin counting again, but maybe only to 3 this time. Work up to the full 5 seconds and help your dog to get it right; you are on the same team after all! It can be wise to pair this protocol with the Ditch The Bowl program. Utilizing your dog's regular (as well as some surprise extra tasty goodies mixed in) can keep your dog's calorie count in check, can spread out their meal so that they are not gulping it down, and can add enrichment to your dog's life. Protocol for Relaxation By Dr. Karen L. Overall Clinical Behavioural Medicine for Small Animals, 1997. This program is the foundation for all other behaviour modification programs. Its purpose is to teach the dog to sit and stay while relaxing in a variety of circumstances. The circumstances change from very reassuring ones with you pre- sent to potentially more stressful ones when you are absent. The purpose of the program is not to teach the dog to sit; sitting (or lying down, if the dog is more comfortable) is only a tool. The goals of the program are to teach the dog to relax, to defer to you, to enjoy earning a salary for an appropriate, desirable behaviour, and to develop, as a foundation, a pattern of behaviours that allow the dog to cooperate with future behaviour modification (generally desensitization and counter conditioning). This protocol acts as a foundation for teaching the dog context-specific appropriate behaviour. The focus is to teach the dog to rely on you for all the cues as to the appropriateness of its behaviour so that it can then learn not to react inappropriately. PROTOCOL TASK SHEETS The task is listed on the left. To the right is a space for your comments about the degree of difficulty of the task for the dog, how many times it had to be repeated, or other questionable behaviours that appeared during the task. You should discuss these with your veterinarian at the reexamination appointment. Remember after each task to verbally praise the dog and reward it with a treat for perfect performance before going on to the next task. Each set of exercises is designed for a day or a block of time. Warm-up and cool-down periods are provided. At the first sign of any anxiety /lips retracted, pupils dilated, head lowered, ears pulled down and back, trembling, scanning/, return to an exercise with which the dog is more comfortable or break down the exercise that produced these behaviours into smaller steps. Day 1: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit while you take 2 steps back and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 2 steps back and return Sit while you take 2 steps back and return Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you take 2 steps back and return Sit while you clap your hands softly once Sit while you take 3 steps back and return Sit while you count out loud to 10 Sit while you clap your hands softly once Sit while you count out loud to 20 Sit while you take 3 steps to the right and return Sit while you clap your hands softly twice Sit for 3 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit for 3 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 3 seconds Day 2: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit while you take 3 steps back and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 3 steps to the right and return Sit while you take 3 steps to the left and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 3 steps to the right and clap your hands Sit while you take 3 steps to the left and clap your hands Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you walk one fourth of the way around the dog to the right Sit while you take 4 steps back and return Sit while you walk one fourth of the way around the dog to the left Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 5 steps back from the dog, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the right and return Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the left and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you jog quietly in place for 3 seconds Sit while you jog quietly in place for 5 seconds Sit while you jog quietly in place for 10 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you jog one fourth of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you jog one fourth of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you take 1 step back and return Sit while you take 3 steps back and return Sit while you take 1 step to the right and return Sit while you take 1 step to the left and return Sit while you take 2 steps back and return Sit while you take 2 steps to the right and return Sit while you take 2 steps to the left and return Day 3: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you take 2 steps backward and return Sit while you jog 5 steps backward from the dog and return Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the right and return Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the left and return Sit while you take 10 steps backward and return Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you take 10 steps to the left and return Sit while you take 10 steps to the right and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the right, clapping your hands, and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you walk halfway around the dog to the left, clapping your hands, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you jog 10 steps to the right and return Sit while you job 10 steps to the left and return Sit while you jog in place for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you jog in place for 20 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you jog backward 5 steps and return Sit while you jog to the right 5 steps and return Sit while you jog to the left 5 steps and return Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 10 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 4: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you jog backward 5 steps and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you jog halfway around the dog to the right and return Sit while you jog halfway around the dog to the left and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit while you jog backward 5 steps, clapping your hands, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you clap your hands for 20 seconds Sit while you move quickly backward 10 steps and return Sit while you move quickly 15 steps backward and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you jog halfway around the dog to the right and return Sit while you jog halfway around the dog to the left and return Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the left and return Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the right and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit while you walk all the way around the dog Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you walk around the dog, quietly clapping your hands, and then return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you jog quickly around the dog Sit for 20 seconds Sit for 10 seconds while you clap your hands Day 5: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the right and return Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the left and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance, clapping your hands, and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you walk around the dog, clapping your hands Sit for 20 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you walk quickly backward, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you walk quickly backward, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while the doorknob is touched or you move into entryway and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 10 seconds while you jog in place Sit for 5 seconds Day 6: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 20 seconds while you jog back and forth in front of the dog Sit for 15 seconds Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you walk quickly backward, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit for 20 seconds while jogging Sit while you walk around the dog Sit while you walk around the dog, clapping your hands Sit for 15 seconds Sit for 20 seconds Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you walk quickly backward, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit while you open the door or go into the entranceway for 5 seconds and return Sit while you open the door or go into the entranceway for 10 seconds and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you walk quickly backward, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you go to an entrance and just touch the doorknob or wall and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway and return Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you open the door or go though the entranceway for 10 seconds and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds and return Sit for 20 seconds Sit for 10 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 5 seconds Day 7: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 20 seconds while you clap your hands Sit while you take 10 steps backward and return Sit while you walk around the dog Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway and then return Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you open the door or go through the entranceway for 10 seconds and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds and return Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway and return Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you open the door or go through the entranceway for 10 seconds and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 15 seconds and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands Sit while you jog in place for 10 seconds Sit while you jog three fourths of the way to the right and return Sit while you jog three fourths of the way to the left and return Sit while you go through the door or the entranceway, clapping your hands, and return Sit while you open the door or go through the entranceway for 10 seconds and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 15 seconds and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 8: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you jog and clap your hands Sit while you back up 15 steps and return Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair (placed 5 feet from the dog) Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you jog and clap your hands Sit while you back up 15 steps and return Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 30 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair near the dog Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, sit in a chair for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 20 seconds while you jog and clap your hands Sit for 15 seconds while you run around the dog Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you turn around Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair near the dog Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, sit in a chair for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 10 seconds Day 9: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds while you turn around Sit for 5 seconds while you jog Sit while you walk around the dog Sit while you jog around the dog Sit while you jog around the dog, clapping your hands Sit while you jog twice around the dog Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair near the dog Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, sit in a chair for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you bend down and touch your toes Sit while you stretch your arms Sit while you stretch your arms and jump once Sit while you touch your toes 5 times Sit while you stretch your arms and jump 3 times Sit for 15 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 10: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds while you clap Sit for 10 seconds while you touch your toes Sit for 15 seconds while you sit in a chair Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the right and return Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the left and return Sit while you walk approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 15 seconds and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the right and return Sit while you walk quickly 15 steps to the left and return Sit while you approximately 20 steps to an entrance and return Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 15 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 15 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 5 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit while you disappear from view, knock quickly but softly on the wall, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 11: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, knock quickly but softly on the wall, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 2 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 5 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 10 seconds, and return Sit for 5 seconds while you jog around the dog Sit while you walk around the dog Sit while you jog around the dog Sit while you jog around the dog, clapping your hands Sit while you jog twice around the dog Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 20 seconds Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 12: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 15 seconds Sit for 20 seconds while you hum Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair near the dog Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, sit in a chair for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 15 seconds Sit for 20 seconds while you hum Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the right and return Sit while you move three fourths of the way around the dog to the left and return Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds and return Sit while you circle the dog and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, knock quickly but softly on the wall, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 2 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," and return Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," wait 3 seconds, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds and return Day 13: Dog's Task Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you hum Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit while you disappear from view for 20 seconds and return Sit while you disappear from view for 25 seconds and return Sit for 5 seconds while you sit in a chair near the dog Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, sit in a chair for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, knock quickly but softly on the wall, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 2 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," wait 5 seconds, and return Sit while you disappear from view, knock or ring the doorbell, say "hello," wait 5 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," wait 5 seconds, and return Sit while you disappear from view, knock or ring the doorbell, say "hello," wait 5 seconds, and return Sit for 20 seconds while you hum Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you jog around the dog Sit for 10 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit for 5 seconds while you jog in place Sit while you jog around the dog, humming Day 14: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit while you run around the dog Sit while you walk back and forth to the door Sit while you leave the room, quickly knock or ring the doorbell, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit while you run around the dog Sit while you walk back and forth to the door Sit while you leave the room, quickly knock or ring the doorbell, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 10 seconds Sit while you disappear from view for 10 seconds, knock softly on the wall, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, and immediately return Sit while you disappear from view, ring the doorbell, wait 2 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," wait 5 seconds, and return Sit while you disappear from view, knock or ring the doorbell, say "hello," wait 10 seconds, and return Sit for 30 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," wait 10 seconds, and return Sit while you disappear from view, knock or ring the doorbell, say "hello," wait 10 seconds, and return Sit for 20 seconds while you hum Sit for 20 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Day 15: Dog's Task Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit while you disappear from view, knock or ring the doorbell, say "hello," talk for 10 seconds, and return Sit for 20 seconds while you hum Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," invite the imaginary person in, wait 5 seconds, and return Sit for 10 seconds Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," invite the imaginary person in, wait 10 seconds, and return Sit while you disappear from view, say "hello," talk (as if to someone) for 5 seconds, and return Sit for 5 seconds while you clap your hands and hum Sit while you run around the dog Sit while you walk back and forth to the door Sit while you leave the room, quickly knock or ring the doorbell, and return Sit for 5 seconds Sit while you leave the room, knock or ring the doorbell for 3 seconds, and return Sit while you leave the room and knock or ring the doorbell for 5 seconds, and return Sit while you leave the room and talk for 3 seconds to people who are not there Sit while you leave the room and talk for 5 seconds to people who are not there Sit while you leave the room and talk for 10 seconds to people who are not there Sit while you run around the dog Sit for 10 seconds while you sit in a chair Sit for 30 seconds while you sit in a chair Sit for 15 seconds while you clap your hands and jog Sit for 5 seconds For Future Repetitions • Repeat all tasks in different locations • Repeat all tasks with all family members • Repeat all tasks with only every second or third task being rewarded with a treat (Remember to continue to mark the behaviour and add praise/pets!) • Repeat with only intermittent treat reinforcement. (Remember to continue to mark the behaviour and add praise/pets!) Rewarding good behaviour is what makes it happen again and again. We can manipulate the environment to make it easier for our dogs to make good choices, giving us more opportunity to reward. Consistently rewarding these good choices results in long term behaviour patterns that fit perfectly into daily life with you.
But what about bad behaviour, you ask? Again, we can manipulate the environment to make naughty choices less likely to happen. And when that naughty behaviour isn’t happening, it isn’t being practiced and reinforced by outside forces, and does not become a part of your dog’s long term behaviour pattern. For example, let’s say we have a dog who has taken a liking to chewing shoes. We can manipulate the environment by introducing a frozen stuffed Kong toy filled with the dog’s dinner and some extra tasty morsels. The dog will very likely be interested in chewing on this item over the shoe. This activity prevents them from chewing on the shoes (or hands, or the sofa!). It’s also very rewarding to de-stuff a Kong toy so the alternate behaviour of chewing a toy instead becomes heavily reinforced. We can further manipulate the environment and ensure all shoes are put away in the closet. This makes it impossible for the dog to engage in the shoe-chewing behaviour. The naughty behaviour is difficult to engage in while the desired behaviour is made easy! Patience and Consistency are key in dog training. We must be patient when dealing with a different species as there is a large communication barrier there. Your dog isn’t trying to be naughty, they just don’t understand the rules yet. Be patient. Your training, guidance and rules must stay consistent. This will help with the communication between you and your dog. Think of our example of the shoe chewing dog. The shoes must always be put away and there must always be a better (and easier) choice the dog can make. Over time, this becomes the set behaviour pattern. If we get lazy and inconsistent though, we teach the dog that sometimes the only option for the chewing instinct is a shoe. The behaviour stays. Improve your dog’s behaviour by helping them make good decisions in each situation. Reward the behaviour you prefer. Consider a dog who jumps on people. If your dog jumps up on you to say hello, ask yourself how you would prefer them to greet you? A sit is a lovely way to say hi, you can start to teach your dog that when they come up to you they need to sit. As your dog approaches you, ask for the Sit. If they sit for you, wonderful! Give them some pets and praise or a cookie or two. If they miss the Sit cue and jump up, stay calm and turn your back for a moment. Ask again. Soon your dog will discover that the Sit works great but the jump doesn’t give them the attention they’re looking for. Teaching an alternate behaviour is a great way to improve your dog’s behaviour! Your ultimate goal in dog training is to build a beautiful companionship with your dog that is based on trust. Training should be enjoyable for you both! Have fun together, be patient with each other and enjoy the riches of a life with a well trained and happy dog! About Reactivity
Reactivity is a complex behaviour challenge. It comes with behaviours such as lunging, growling, and barking and it is important to remember that these are symptoms of the problem - they are not the problem itself. When working our dogs through reactivity challenges we want to address the underlying cause of these behaviours. In a sense, these behaviours can be good things to see. They let us know that there is something emotional happening in our dogs. It is important not to punish these behaviours. Although punishing a growl may make it go away, without addressing the reason for the growl all we are really doing is removing the warning system. It is like taking the batteries out of the smoke detector. Reactivity tends to come from either fear or frustration. A dog who is uncertain about a stimuli may put on a big show in hopes of keeping the stimuli away. And it works. No one approaches a dog who is lunging, growling and barking. Because it works we see the problem grow - the reactions seem to get bigger. It is a self rewarding behaviour. In order for these behaviours to lessen, we need to address the fear that is driving them. A dog can also develop reactivity out of frustration, although it seems to be less common in my experience. These dogs are typically over-the-top social and struggle with not being able to immediately see and play with everyone they meet. The frustration tends to come out very audibly which makes the dog owner uneasy. This dog is less likely to be allowed to say hello (or less likely to have other people wanting to say hello) and then the problem escalates as the frustration builds. In this case we need to address the dog’s impulse control in order to see a reduction in the reactive behaviour. Counter Conditioning and Desensitization Counter Conditioning and Desensitization are the two main plans for helping our dogs through fear and reactivity challenges. Counter Conditioning helps them to learn a different association when they see their triggers. Right now, the sight of a dog brings out feelings of frustration, fear and/or excitement and puts your dog into an over aroused state. With Counter Conditioning we purposely pair this stimuli with something pleasant (in this case, food). With continued pairings the emotional response begins to change. Instead of the trigger meaning something frustrating or scary, it begins to mean something good - treats from mom and dad! Desensitization has us working our reactive dogs at a distance from their triggers. We want to be far enough away that we can have success. A dog 100 feet away is much less scary than one who is 10 feet away. As you work with your dog you will see them start to feel calmer about their triggers. Once they are having some good success, we can begin to decrease the distance. We always want to wait until they are ready before moving forward, if they start to struggle it could be an indication that we went too fast. If we back off a bit we’ll have better success! Imagine you live on a planet where the dominant species is far more intellectually sophisticated than human beings but often keeps humans as companion animals. They are called the Gorns. They communicate with each other via a complex combination of telepathy, eye movements and high-pitched squeaks, all completely unintelligible and unlearnable by humans, whose brains are prepared for verbal language acquisition only. What humans sometimes learn is the meaning of individual sounds by repeated association with things of relevance to them. The Gorns and humans bond strongly but there are many Gorn rules which humans must try to assimilate with limited information and usually high stakes.
You are one of the lucky humans who lives with the Gorns in their dwelling. Many other humans are chained to small cabanas in the yard. They have become so socially starved that they cannot control their emotions when a Gorn goes near them. Because of this behaviour, the Gorns agree that they could never be House-Humans. They are too excitable. The dwelling you share with your Gorn family is filled with numerous water-filled porcelain bowls, complete with flushers. Everytime you try to urinate in one, though, any nearby Gorn attacks you. You learn to only use the toilet when there are no Gorns present. Sometimes they come home and stuff your head down the toilet for no apparent reason. You hate this and start sucking up to the Gorns when they come home to try to stave this off, but they view this as increasing evidence of your guilt of some unknown act. You are also punished for watching videos, reading certain books, talking to other human beings, eating pizza or cheesecake, writing letters. These are all considered behavior problems by the Gorns. To avoid going crazy, once again you wait until they are not around to try doing anything you wish to do. While they are around, you sit quietly, staring straight ahead. Because they witness this good behaviour you are so obviously capable of, they attribute to "spite" the video watching and other transgressions which occur when you are alone. Obviously you resent being left alone, they figure. You are walked several times a day and left crossword puzzle books to do (you have never used them because you hate crosswords; the Gorns think you're ignoring them out of revenge). Worst of all, you like them. They are, after all, often nice to you. But when you smile at them, they punish you, likewise for shaking hands. If you apologize, they punish you again. You have not seen another human since you were a small child. When you see one on the street you are curious, excited and sometimes afraid. You really don't know how to act. So, the Gorn you live with keeps you away from other humans. Your social skills never develop. Finally, you are brought to "training" school. A large part of the training consists of having your air briefly cut off by a metal chain around your neck. They are sure you understand every squeak and telepathic communication they make because sometimes you seem to get it right. You are guessing and hate the training. You feel pretty stressed out a lot of the time. One day, you see a Gorn approaching with the training collar in hand. You have PMS, a sore neck, and you just don't feel up to the baffling coercion about to ensue. You tell them in your sternest voice to please leave you alone and go away. The Gorns are shocked by this unprovoked aggressive behaviour. They thought you had a good temperament. They put you in one of their vehicles and take you for a drive. You watch the attractive planetary landscape going by and wonder where you are going. The vehicle stops, you are led into a building filled with the smell of human sweat and excrement. Humans are everywhere in small cages. Some are nervous, some depressed, most watch the goings on from their prisons. Your Gorns, with whom you have lived your entire life, hand you over to strangers who drag you to a small room. You are terrified and yell to your Gorn family to help you. They turn and walk out the door of the building. You are held down and given a lethal injection. It is, after all, the humane way to do it. |
AuthorDrae Fitchett Baker, CBCC-KA has been training dogs professionally since 2008. She lives in Calgary with her partner, Ryan, their two cats, Presley and Cash, and of course their two dogs, Slugs and Diego. In addition to working with animals, Drae spends her time gardening, cooking, reading, watching soccer and sings with her grandmother in a choir. Archives
August 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed