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I have a strong commitment to positive reinforcement. This
does not mean that I am permissive. Far from it! But I do not
use choke chains, prong collars, shock collars, shake cans, or
anything that employs fear or force to "make" a dog do or not
do something.
Dogs do what works. Pat Miller, of Peaceable Paws, has a
wonderful three-step solution to solving a dog problem.
does not mean that I am permissive. Far from it! But I do not
use choke chains, prong collars, shock collars, shake cans, or
anything that employs fear or force to "make" a dog do or not
do something.
Dogs do what works. Pat Miller, of Peaceable Paws, has a
wonderful three-step solution to solving a dog problem.
- Envision the Behavior you DO want.
- Prevent the Behavior you DON'T want.
- Consistently and Generously reinforce the behavior you do
want.
It's a deceptively simple solution. It requires imagination and
vision on our part. For some reason, it's much easier to put
things in the negative and say what we DON'T want. As in, "I
don't want my dog jumping up on people." For some reason,
it's much more difficult for us to say "I WANT my dog to sit
politely while people come over to pet him."
We have to imagine and envision the behaviors we want our
dogs to perform in lieu of obnoxious ones AND we have to have
the vision to "catch" them doing the right things.
Imagination is required again in the second step, preventing
our dog from doing the obnoxious. After much thought,
hand-wringing, and lamentation, some annoyingly simple solution
almost always comes to mind. How did I prevent Fred from
jumping up on company as soon as they walked in my house? He
learned that if he went to his crate, then company would come
inside and make a fuss over him! Once I hit on this solution,
Fred was easy to train...my friends were a little more of a
challenge.
My Beagle is even easier to manage, she is tethered to her spot
in the kitchen. My friends are instructed to ignore her until
she has all "four on the floor." Beagie has learned that sitting
still and looking adorable gets her TONS of attention and
LOADS of baby-talk. She no longer has to flip back and
forth between jumping up and groveling.
And how do I manage Callie the Kitty--to prevent her from
jumping on people's laps while they're having dinner at my
house? Pure and simple: she's banished to her den where
there's food, water, a litter box, and more cat toys than you
can shake a stick at!
With every client, I look for the rewards that each dog values
in a particular situation and then look for management
solutions so that the dog and owner both get what they want.
vision on our part. For some reason, it's much easier to put
things in the negative and say what we DON'T want. As in, "I
don't want my dog jumping up on people." For some reason,
it's much more difficult for us to say "I WANT my dog to sit
politely while people come over to pet him."
We have to imagine and envision the behaviors we want our
dogs to perform in lieu of obnoxious ones AND we have to have
the vision to "catch" them doing the right things.
Imagination is required again in the second step, preventing
our dog from doing the obnoxious. After much thought,
hand-wringing, and lamentation, some annoyingly simple solution
almost always comes to mind. How did I prevent Fred from
jumping up on company as soon as they walked in my house? He
learned that if he went to his crate, then company would come
inside and make a fuss over him! Once I hit on this solution,
Fred was easy to train...my friends were a little more of a
challenge.
My Beagle is even easier to manage, she is tethered to her spot
in the kitchen. My friends are instructed to ignore her until
she has all "four on the floor." Beagie has learned that sitting
still and looking adorable gets her TONS of attention and
LOADS of baby-talk. She no longer has to flip back and
forth between jumping up and groveling.
And how do I manage Callie the Kitty--to prevent her from
jumping on people's laps while they're having dinner at my
house? Pure and simple: she's banished to her den where
there's food, water, a litter box, and more cat toys than you
can shake a stick at!
With every client, I look for the rewards that each dog values
in a particular situation and then look for management
solutions so that the dog and owner both get what they want.
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| The Happy Hound Havin' Fun with Tricks & Good Manners Peg Dawson Harrington, Trainer & Behavior Consultant Member, Association Pet Dog Trainers #63215 12/08 Member, International Association of Dog Behavior Consultants AKC CGC Evaluator #27443 615-383-2476 Copyright © 2008 Peg Dawson Harrington All rights reserved. |