I watch dog owners in public, and so many owners are reactive – I don’t think they realize it. And they wonder why the dog is reactive. People are always trying to do something to “fix” their dog. Problem is, your dog is not broken – stop trying to fix the dog. You cannot fix behaviours – you focus on what’s causing the behaviours in the first place. Once you apply the understanding of the behaviour – the behaviour will vanish on its’ own.
Lets talk about doing nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the best course of action. And Positive Reinforcement needs to be tied in here – animal desires. When you do nothing, then you’re putting the onus on the dog to make a choice over how they behave. And that is right way to handle things.
I’ll use leash reactivity cause it’s likely the number one issue for dog owners in general.
If your dog is barking at the end of the leash, stop and do nothing. Hold and block, be calm and say nothing – let the dog do their thing. Stop trying to change the dog. At some point, the dog is going to realize that they are the only ones freaking out. When they calm, you squat down and have the dog come to you. Wait the dog out, it might take time – if the dog doesn’t come to you, then there are trust issues. They need to choose to trust you. Don’t talk, just relax and be calm.
The first time your dog comes to you is the start of the dog changing their operant conditioning – and it has to be the dogs choice. You will be becoming the positive consequence for the dogs choices. It’s the consequences of their choices good or bad that the reinforcers – positive and negative – that shape our behaviors. That’s the real definition of operant conditioning. The dog needs to choose to change their Positive Reinforcement from one of fight or flight – to one of indifference. . This is an exercise in you telling the dog that nothing is a big deal to you. Why are things a big deal to the dog? When nothing is a big deal to you and the dog? That’s called socialized.
Be the change that you want in your dog and let them choose to join you.
I’ve had dogs that flipped out once early on first walk, Cody and Minnie are great examples on video. At some point, they looked back at me wondering why i’m not freaking out – and that’s generally when things begin to change. I want the dog to calm down, and choose to operantly condition themselves to me – the environment at the end of the leash. I am not making a big deal out of anything, I’m focused on being a positive consequence. I’m just out for a walk with a dog that’s choosing to become my friend. Usually doesn’t take long before they have no reason to be scared – cause they are with someone that’s showing confidence.
Humans are animals, that’s long proven. When you enter a fearful state for any reason – and you see someone that isn’t scared, they are confident? That’s pretty attractive when you’re in a fear state isn’t it? It’s attractive to your dog too. That’s what they want – that’s what they need – and those are positive reinforcements. Be the thing that the dog desires – be their positive reinforcement.
Owners need to realize that the only environment that the dog really cares about is the one holding the leash. You. If you’re scared, unsure, frustrated or other – this is you being vulnerable. Think about that. When I take a dog for a walk for the first time, I am calm, I don’t carry emotions, it’s just me and the dog and I’m not making anything a big deal. I’m watching the dogs fear melt away as they learn to trust me – and moreso trust my judgement. With some dogs, the fear goes so deep and it takes time for them to make the right choices. But every choice the dog makes to move forward is a choice on overcoming that fear.
Monty was a trainwreck when I got him, went for the kill on moving targets. He’s only 10 pounds, when I seen a target coming, I squat down, held him by the collar and stayed calm. He can do as he pleases, I’m just being the example for him to follow. It took a bit of rinse and repeat, but gradually he calmed down and stopped doing it.
Self management of behaviours is what you’re really looking for in your dog. But in order for them to self manage their behaviours – they need to be given choice to change them. It’s funny with Monty, once in a while he still gets that urge to chase a moving target, he will charge a foot or two then stop and act like nothing happened. It’s like a dark memory that appears once in a while. He never follows through. Would that be considered self-management of behaviours? I do believe it is.
Fear at it’s core is lack of trust and understanding. That’s not something you can train. Fear is the biggest negative reinforcement there is – and trust is the biggest positive reinforcement that any animal can get. They are polar opposites. Yin and Yang – positive and negative – one can’t exist without the other. How can you know what pleasure is if you haven’t experience pain?
If you want to understand your dog, go take a long hard look in the mirror at the reflection of the animal looking back at you. What scares you? What makes you reactive? What makes you angry? What makes you aggressive? It’s no different from the dog – and B.F Skinner proved that. Would treats, or an e-collar or a prong etc have any positive effects on you when you’re in an emotional state? But people are always asking “why isn’t this working!?!”
It’s trust that conquers fear. Remember that.
Rob.