One of the basic ideas behind “positive” dog training, as I understand it, is that you reward the behavior that you want to encourage and you ignore the behavior that is driving you insane.
I don’t think this will always work (it’s pretty hard to ignore the behavior of a dog who is tearing down the curtains or attacking the neighbor’s toddler), but I recently got the perfect opportunity to apply this approach in a relatively unadulterated way to see how well it works.
My neighbors were having a family crisis that was keeping them from providing adequate care for their 2-year-old beagle, Zoe [not her real name], so I offered to take her in until the crisis was over.
We were already acquainted with Zoe―she had been coming to my home for a two-hour play date every week for the past six months―so I knew that we might be in for a rough ride:
She’s always been big on pawing at me and attempting to climb all over me just to get my attention. A Nervous Nelly, extremely hyperactive, and very needy, you would also be hard-pressed to get her to sit still long enough to put a leash on her. But, under the new “rules,” from day one, I ignored all the hyperactivity and only petted her and praised her when she was calm and still. I only broke the rules if her behavior threatened to harm herself or someone else. And I took her for 30-minute walks in the morning. Results: After only 10 days, Zoe had morphed into a different dog! She had stopped pawing at me, and if she wanted to be petted, she sat politely beside me.
Of course, some of this was a direct result of being immersed in a normal, balanced pack of dogs. It’s hard to tell how much of her improved behavior came from that and how much came from the “positive” training, but nevertheless, I still give this method two thumbs up! The take-home message is this: Praise your dogs whenever you catch them behaving the way you want them to. Don’t take good behavior for granted; reinforce it at every opportunity and it will occur more and more frequently.
Comments ( 3 )
I was horrified to read about shock and prong collars being used on dogs. I can only assume that the dog owners who use these devices were driven to, by desperation and believe that the shock being delivered to the dog is insufficient to cause lasting physical damage,an idea no doubt being promoted by the manufacturers of these collars. Consider this then... that for deterrence by pain or what is otherwise euphemistically referred to as learning by assoiciation to take effect, sufficient shock must be delivered in order to register with your dog, so pain is being felt along with fear and distress. Here is another thought... what distinguishes man from animals is our capacity for compassion, kindness, empathy, conscience, intelligence and ingenuity. There are many more humane and effective methods to train your dog that not only makes for a well behaved animal but a loving and harmonious relationship between man and dog. Yes these methods take time, time that some may feel they cannot spare, then perhaps these people should not have had the dogs in the first place. If we willingly condone the inflicting of pain on another being, then what are we saying of our own humanity and what kind of examples are we setting for those around us.
Posted by Rosalind Charron | September 23, 2007 11:25 PM
Posted on September 23, 2007 23:25
Hi I have a similar problem with my dog. When I want to put her leash on and take her for a walk she is so happy that she starts jumping and jumping which makes it really difficult for me to put the leash on. I'll try this method and see what happens. I'll let you know if we were any lucky. If anyone else has any tips on how to train my dog not to jump like this I'll be glad to hear them.
Thanks,
Posted by Laura | September 26, 2007 4:52 PM
Posted on September 26, 2007 16:52
Ignoring an unwanted behavior is not desirable, because it allows the dog to rehearse the "bad" behavior. The behavior then can become habit,and is sometimes reinforced by the ignoring. Instead, it is best to MANAGE the dog so they can not practice the desirable behavior. For example, if a dog is jumping up, to answer your question laura, we can't just ignore the problem. It will not go away. We need to first manage the dog so they can not jump up. We can attach a 6-10 ft floor cord to the dogs collar then, when the dog is thinking about jumping up, we step on the floor cord so they can not jump up. Then, one must teach the alternate response. So, for a dog that jumps up we would manage the problem so it doesn't happen again. We would train the dog to sit. Then, we would ask the dog for a sit, before they get so aroused that they jump up. They get attention when they are sitting only.
Also, some dogs constantly need something to do. Often attention seeking behaviors are an expression of an under-exercised. Dogs need 45 minutes a day of HARD exercise. Thats, running not walking, playing with other dogs, playing with a ball. Dogs that are seeking attention also may need mental stimulation. I would try feeding all the dogs' foods in a frozen kong, if they were an attention seeker.
Posted by Gia | January 19, 2008 8:27 PM
Posted on January 19, 2008 20:27