Conventional advice given will say: don’t reinforce the dog’s behavior when he is “misbehaving”. This may apply to certain situations, for example: don’t pat your dog while he is clawing at your thighs. But then there are different situations that make it more difficult to decide what to do. For example: your puppy is crying…
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Featured above: One of my small breed clients Pepin, practicing polite manners She is a good girl…but she freaks out when I move the laundry cart and we can’t really vacuum because it drives her crazy. We keep her inside now because she is very nervous on the sidewalk and she barks at all…
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My dog is stubborn! He doesn’t listen! Wait….really? Maybe the “stubborn” behavior is the result of your own behavior. Maybe you have inadvertently sent out messages that reinforce the dog to be “deaf". Don’t underestimate the power of intermittent reinforcement! If you reinforce a dog’s behavior in some way, he will try that behavior again.…
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A few days ago as I was walking Zeldi (who is always ready to play with pretty much any dog) when we ran into a woman with her puppy. The puppy was happy and made overtures that clearly showed he wanted to play. But what did the woman do? She restricted the pup with the…
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Imagine how you would feel if all you were told was: “This is wrong! Try again!” If you do not give any additional information what are the chances of the next trial being more successful? The chances of getting the next attempt “right” are pretty much close to zero. I had a tutor once who…
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When teaching a new skill, we usually teach it through successive approximations. It’s like going from a rough sketch to a detailed painting. I have talked previously about comparing behaviors to a picture you have in your mind, then refining the image in successive approximations until you get the exact picture and thus ultimate understanding…
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Let me just say that the word “treat’ implies that there is something particularly special about the quality or the palatability or the salience. Remember that “treat” also can be an experience that is pleasurable. In the life of your dog that could be a great game, a cuddle or a belly scratch, a ride…
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Jumping and barking are both highly self-reinforcing behaviors. In plain English that means that the activity is something a dog really enjoys, it feels good and hence the dog will be happy to bark and jump again and again. Correcting such a behavior is very difficult, mostly because it so easily turns into a game.…
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In my mind, the definition of a reward would be a pleasant consequence for a behavior that one would like to teach or reinforce. Ok, so rewarded behaviors increase in frequency, I get it, I get it, there is no need to think any further. I hold a cookie for the dog and tell…
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In your mind you paint a picture of your dog’s desired behaviors. The things you’d like to do with your dog, the way your dog is going to interact with you and the wonderful relationship you will enjoy. When you paint a mental picture you don’t really think about all the other behaviors. But culturally…
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