Animals
Dog Training – Counter Conditioning To Overcome Fear
NOTE: I have a new pet behavior blog located at http://www.SoMuchPETential.com/blog. Thanks!
It was the Fourth of July and everyone likes a good fireworks show on the Fourth of July, right? Wrong!
Not Sam, my parents’ dearly beloved four legged companion who loves playing outside ready to greet every passerby with a tail wag. Sam has even learned to ask to go out by ringing a bell or running to find my mom or dad, nudging them and running toward the door. It happens pretty often…but stopped briefly after my parents’ neighbors thought it be fun to have their own fireworks 
show on the holiday. At least it stopped at nightfall.
Suddenly being outside in the dark became a trigger for panic (rapid heart rate, tense muscles, running away). No matter what my dad tried, he couldn’t get Sam out the door willingly as soon as darkness descended. And, if he could get Sam outside by pulling Sam on a leash, the little guy would run charging back to the door. By day two, my parents let Sam stay in at night (he’s young and luckily can hold things until morning) until I could come over and work with him.
What did I do? I put my education to the test by using the most positive, least intrusive strategies I know to re-teach Sam that being outside after dark can be pretty darned fun. And in one night, that’s what he learned.
I used what is called systematic desensitization, a process of gradually exposing Sam to the fear-eliciting stimulus (outside darkness) WITHOUT unexpected loud noise, in small, incremental steps. The criteria for advancing to the next step was watching his calm behavior and only moving forward at a pace that did not elicit even the mildest of his fear responses. The beauty of systematic desensitization is that Sam was always in total control. His body language dictated whether we moved forward or stepped backward. And I don’t know about you but I like knowing I have the power to control my situation.
Here’s what I did. Starting far enough from the door where he was calm with his tail wagging, I gave him a treat, petted him and was silly with him. We slowly moved toward the door. If I noticed any sign of escape behavior, we backed up to where he was comfortable again. Then we started over. In the first session, we got to within about five feet from the door. We stopped and came back to it a half hour later.
By the next session Sam stood at my side as I touched the door, then opened it slightly without his showing any sign of tensed muscles or looking like he was going to run away. Fifteen minutes later we tried again and this time he touched his front feet outside the door before he backed up. That was time to stop for a half hour and start again. The next time we started with him at the door. He walked all the way through the doorway and I held it open so that he knew he could run the other way if he chose to. The choice was always within his power of his own body language. However, once he was outside, I raised the bar by grabbing a squeaky toy.
Suddenly all he could think about was playing. We got down the steps and I took off running. He charged after me and the thought of running to the door was furthest in his mind.
Sam had just re associated being outside in the dark with play because he had the power to decide when ‘he’ was ready to move to the next step and because I paired being outside with some of his favorite activities. That’d be eating, playing and getting attention. In scientific terms, that re association is counter counditioning a fear eliciting stimulus into a feel-good eliciting stimulus. Systematic desensitization on steroids my teacher likes to say. In other words, I drained darkness as an elicitor of rapid heart rate, tense muscles and running away and helped counter condition darkness into a predictor of good things for Sam.
And hey, I’m all for good things!
My Thoughts On Taming A Pet Parrot
NOTE: I have a new pet behavior blog located at http://www.SoMuchPETential.com/blog. Thanks!
(one of my past Hyde Park Living columns)
Alright, I’ve got to speak my mind this month. I have heard so many people and seen so many web sites talking about ‘taming’ birds.
Knowing what I know about behavior and being as compassionate as I am about other living beings, I hate that phrase. It makes me cringe actually because taming to me infers dominance and force. And dominance and force in no way helps build a relationship of trust and foster quality of life.
Let me share some excerpts of ‘taming’ tactics suggested on web sites.
“If you make a fist and bend your wrist as far as it will go, you’ll notice that the skin on the back of the fist becomes very tight. Bring your fist up to the bird very slowly, finding out where its striking range is….The Fist, brought slowly toward the bird’s beak, can be used to control the bird, move it away from you, hold it off and let it know that you are not about to be driven out of the territory.”
“If your bird is so aggressive that you cannot safely place your hand inside its cage, try wearing thick oven mitts on your hands. If your bird bites the mitt, gently push in towards his beak rather than pulling away. This will eventually teach him that no matter how hard he bites you, he cannot make your hand disappear.”
“You have to expect the bites and be prepared to take them if need be..reacting to those bites is just about the worst thing you can do. Once the bird discovers that his bites WILL NOT back you down..he will stop trying.”
Let me repeat that with a BIG question mark. “Once the bird discovers that his bites WILL NOT back you down…he will stop trying.” REALLY? Some months back I devoted an entire column dispelling the reasons people use for why parrots bite. I’ve pulled a paragraph from it below.
Why then do birds bite humans? Well, for one humans who get bit generally aren’t very good listeners when it comes to watching their bird’s body language. They don’t allow their bird to nonagressively warn them to back off. Instead they push the limit and they have their body parts where they shouldn’t be (that’d be too close to a bird’s beak when the bird doesn’t want you there). They teach their birds that nonaggressive body language just doesn’t work in communicating to aggressive, grouchy or dominant humans.
I used to get bit, and bit hard, by Dreyfuss until I began studying behavior with Susan Friedman, Ph.D. about 10 years ago. Since then the only rare bites I have gotten have been when “I” have not paid attention to her body language.
My compassionate side shutters to think of that poor bird who has to come face to face with a person’s fist in order to learn how to be calm. In science, they call this ‘learned helplessness.’ It is when an animal is subjected to an aversive stimulus from which it cannot escape and it eventually stops trying because learns it is utterly helpless to change the situation. A great example of this is Jaycee Dugard, who stopped trying to escape her kidnapper, abuser and father to her children, after she realized it would do her no good to try.
Think about under what circumstances you are most eager to learn and you are most likely to succeed. Think about your favorite role model or teacher growing up or a favorite boss who inspires you to do your very best simply by believing in you and letting you learn from your own experiences.
That’s the type of person we need to be to our pets – a partner, friend and cheerleader, not a dictator and punisher. Instead of thinking about ‘taming’ your pet, think about setting your pet up for success. Your role should be to evoke joy in living, to make learning pure fun, and to make being with you the best choice ever because only good things come when you are around.
Dog Training – Putting The Unwanted Behavior On Cue
NOTE: I have a new pet behavior blog located at http://www.SoMuchPETential.com/blog. Thanks!
I found this video on YouTube posted by trainer Donna Hill, whose background includes a degree in zoology and a teaching degree, and over 20 years experience as an educator and trainer. What I love is her positive approach to working with people and their animals.
This video demonstrates how instead of punishment, first rewarding for the unwanted dog behavior and then putting it on cue is an effective approach that not only serves to teach but also serves to strengthen your relationship and enhance quality of life for your dog.
Below is Donna’s description from Youtube of the how and why of her dog training tactic of putting an unwanted behavior on cue.
Lucy developed an annoying habit of jumping up at the food dish as I carried to the back door. I wanted to get rid of it but for the longest time I was afraid to put it on stimulus control (on cue) as I worried she might do it more often instead of less often (add it to her repertoire).
I decided it couldn’t get much worse and so tried putting the unwanted jumping behavior on cue. These are the steps we did and the outcome. I had a pleasant surprise by the end of training.
Generalizing the new cue out of context first was important so she had a strong understanding of what I was looking or before I ever re-paired it with the food dish.
Training for stimulus control works on behaviors that are (ideally) not self-reinforcing but may also work on some that are, depending on the severity of arousal level and how controllable the environment is. (It may work on some barking if the dog is still able to acknowledge/respond to you but may not if the dog is frantic when barking in the situation). Arousal level and awareness of their own behavior is key. If you can control the environment (move the person or dog that triggers barking) further away so the animal’s arousal level is lowered, success will be greater. Then you can increase the level again, no different from training an animal to function amid distractions. In this case, the trainer can control the key aspect of the behavior, – the value of the food. Start with a lower value food then as the dog shows she can control herself, increase the value of it while using the cue. In this case, I put cheese in the bowl and worked our way up to what she considered more valuable as she succeeded.
Considering the definition of ‘self-reinforcing’ is important as well. Laying down can be self-reinforcing if the dog is tired of standing. This approach is often used in training horses. Stopping for a rest after trotting for a time is self-reinforcing for horses.
Part of the definition of ‘stimulus control’ not often acknowledged is that the animal only does the behavior when cued-DURING TRAINING SESSIONS. This does not mean the animal cannot do it when the trainer is not interacting with it. Take the case of sit or down on cue. If they are under stimulus control, during a training session the dog will only do these if cued. However, when not in a training session, the dog is free to sit and lay down whenever she wants to.
The same applies to barking etc. If the trainer starts interacting with the animal, it should stop doing the behavior unless cued to do so. However, for some behaviors, it is also helpful to train an ‘off switch’ cue such as “quiet” that is paired with ‘bark’.
Donna’s website is: www.onlineclickertraining.blogspot.com
Dog Training – Positive Strategies For Curbing Guarding Problem
Note: I have a new pet behavior blog at http://www.SoMuchPETential.com/blog.
Thank you so much to trainer Therese McClain for letting me publish this article she wrote in 2000 about working on object aggression in dogs. You’ll see that she does not use any type of force, but rather worked from the perspective of…How can I set my dog up for success?
By Theresa McClain
I have a now 5 year old golden, who I adopted as a almost 2 year old. She had a serious guarding problem which we have overcome.
This is what I did.
When she would be laying on the floor chewing a bone, I would walk up to her, stop, smile and speak cheerfully and then drop a treat and move on. I tried to do this several times a day.
It didn’t take too long, before she stopped growling when I came near. She began to actually look forward to me coming near her and even got to the point of letting go of the bone to look up and smile in return..( she is a golden)
I then started stooping, speaking cheerfully and placing the treat on the floor, getting up and moving on.
After that, I would stoop, touch her rear (I wasn’t stupid), smile, speak cheerfully and place a treat on the floor.
It wasn’t long before I could stop, stoop, smile, pet her head, and place the treat on the floor.
I knew I was home free then. I then proceed to touch the bone, place the treat etc.
And finally, take the bone, give her a treat and then give back the bone.
She is a sweetheart and I can trust her with my grandchild now.
Now my question would be, how did you proof and escalate that to include someone swooping down and grabbing an item away from the dog? (setting up ability for people to reach down — including child or acquaintance — and take item away from dog safely?)
I think the last step I mentioned in my post was…taking the bone, giving a treat and giving back the bone.
After that I did a lot of trading, bone for treat, bone for another bone, bone for a a highly valued toy. etc.. ( always something of the same or better value in the dogs eyes) I always spoke to her first, smiled and petted her head before any trade.
This speaking, smiling and petting actually became a signal (in a way) that I would be trading.
At first, she was very reliable with me, but not trustworthy with others. I gradually added other people she knew and liked. They had to follow the rules of course. They had to trade and they had to speak, smile and pet her head first.
She, of course was highly reinforced for this….lots and lots of praise and sometimes a jackpot of treats instead of just one.
This just took time…that’s all. She was better with some people than others at first. For instance, she was wonderful with my 9 year old grandson right off the bat, but gave his father (my son) a warning growl at first. When this happened, I took the bone, gave her a treat and praise, (for giving up the bone to me), gave the bone to my son to return to her and then he petted her.
One thing, I did not move from one step to another until she was comfortable relaxed and happy at that step. My criteria was not just that she was accepting of the step, but that she would look up at me in anticipation and smile. (Oh here comes mom and she’s got something good.)
I do not have to trade or treat now (it’s been three years), but did so for at least a year. She does not guard her bones now from anyone and anyone can take an object from her.
I never corrected her or used an NRM. I set her up to be successful and broke the whole thing down into very small steps…reinforcing the good stuff.
What precautions did you take when introducing additional people (did you talk to them in advance, give them direction on approaching dog, etc.)? How did you manage the environment so that dog was not faced with inappropriate grabs of objects too soon?
Yes, yes, yes. I decided who I would introduce and yes I did talk to them in advance and gave them specific instructions. I would even set it up by doing a trade first and then having the other person do a trade.
I did not do this when my home was busy and full of people etc. I did it when the house was calm and everyone was relaxed and in a good mood…dog included..
When my house was busy and full of visiting relatives, I simply warned everyone to “Don’t bother Kayla when she’s chewing a bone, she might bite!” and believe me the moms and dads and I made sure the kids didn’t bother her.
I have always supervised my dogs and set rules for my visiting nieces and nephews as to what they can and cannot do with the dogs. Even the best of dogs need a break from the chaos.
It probably would have been a good idea to put bones up when I had company but I never did. We have a whole basketful of them, and she would immediately run and get a bone when company came…. and just lay there smiling and chewing..
I also want to add that I (and eventually others) would sometimes just pet her when she had a bone and then move on. We didn’t always trade..sometimes just a kind word and a pet. I didn’t want her to become tense or anxious every time I approached her and she had an object. (bones were the major source of contention…rawhide was not allowed)
And so a lot of times, I would just have people pet her with me right there and then I would give her a treat for being such a good dog.
I should also mention that Kayla is very people friendly and simply loves people and children. She just had this serious guarding problem LOL.
The home she came from, she was loved, but handled very roughly. She was used to being yelled at and hit and having things thrown at her. She did not know how to play with people or retrieve.
I also took the time to teach her a food induced retrieve. I believe that this helped too. It helped with the concept of giving up an object and getting a treat in return. (of course, the dumb bell did not have the value of her chewing bones)
I used absolutely no correction with Kayla. I helped her get things right and then I reinforced those things.
If someone made a comment about her guarding problem, I simply told them “We were working on it”.
I believe the major turn around though was in the beginning steps. The rest just took time.
But it is getting to be a problem, so much so that I sometimes cannot even remove the empty bowl from her crate after she is finished to wash it or wipe down the crate floor.
I helped a friend with a dog that guarded her food bowl.
The first thing I would do is walk over to her bowl while she was eating and dropped a really yummy treat into it (or as near as possible if her head was in the bowl.) Remember to be pleasant and smile and talk sweetly.
You want to continue to do this at feeding times until you see her back up from her bowl to let you drop the yummy treat in.
We want her to realize that you don’t take, that you add and only good things happen when you approach her eating.
When she is backing up for you to add the yummy treat and seems happy at your approach, you can then stoop down and add the yummy treat….or…. better yet… add more of her food. In fact, you can give her only 1/3 and then add the other two thirds a third at a time.
I bet she will love for you to come over to her bowl then.
When all is going well, you can touch the bowl and add the food and eventually pick up the bowl, add the food and put it back down.
As for digging up her buried bones in the yard, I would do a little managing with that for awhile and make sure she is not around. We don’t want do undo all the work you will be doing with her bowl.
Power Of Positive Reinforcement To Solve Parrot Screaming
NOTE: I have a new pet behavior blog located at http://www.SoMuchPETential.com/blog. Thanks!
This is one of my past Hyde Park Living pet behavior columns. Sadly Chester is no longer with us but I thought this information was important to share.
Every once in awhile you get to read about one of my own personal stories. This happens to be one of those times. I felt like I needed to write this for all of those people out there who think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks - or for that matter, birds - and for everyone, who blames their pets’ behavior issues on their pet.
This is the story of my dad and my birds, Chester and Dreyfuss in particular. Three totally different living beings, all of whom I care very much about, but until recently didn’t care much for each other. In fact, it would be a fair argument to say that description was being polite.
In case you’re new to my column, I’ve got three beautiful birds – Barnaby is my Timneh African Grey, Chester is my Alexandrine Ringneck, and Dreyfuss is my Maximillum Pionus. Of course, everyone loves Barnaby, my little grey talking teddy bear. But for the 11 plus years that I’ve had Chester, my dad has never been fond of him. It’s actually kind of been a mutual thing. My dad would walk in the door and Chester would scream. Then the minute Chester would scream, my dad would say, “I can’t stand that scream.” And shy little Dreyfuss would just run to the farthest corner of her cage and sit totally erect until danger left the room.
I’ve been a student of animal behavior for many years. I consider myself very fortunate to have met and learned from internationally renowned behaviorist Dr. Susan Friedman and trainers who use only positive reinforcement techniques – Steve Martin and Barbara Heidenrich. Through them I’ve learned that it’s not only possible, it’s most effective to change behaviors in the least intrusive, most positive way – without the use of punishment.
Earlier this year, armed with my new found knowledge, I was determined to change that unhealthy relationship. And, you know what, it not only worked, we were able to correct a problem over a decade old in less than a week.
Before I explain our plan, let me explain my thought process. Number one was that in any modification plan, it’s very important that you always progress at the pace and comfort level of the bird. In other words, my dad was to stop moving toward any of the birds as soon as he noticed a sign of distress (like feathers puffed, leaning away, etc.). In giving a bird a seed, he was to stand arms distance away waiting for the bird to ‘invite’ my dad into his space with body language (leaning toward him, etc.) Number two was that it was very important to not reinforce Chester’s screaming behavior, while also immediately and consistently reinforce Chester for being quiet every time. And thirdly, was to keep in mind that for the time being anyway, I was much more rewarding to the birds than my dad.
Here is a condensed version of our plan. When we walked into the birds’ room, both my dad and I had seeds. We walked toward Barnaby’s cage (me on the side closest to Chester), completely ignoring Chester who started to scream, while lavishing Barnaby with attention and seeds for his being quiet and willingly accepting seeds. The second that Chester stopped screaming *I* turned around and gave him a seed. If my dad turned around and Chester screamed, we’d both calmly turn our backs and continue doting on Barnaby. Eventually we wanted to phase in my dad being able to turn around and give Chester seeds.
Chester’s a pretty smart guy. Because of the immediacy with which I reacted to his either being quiet or screaming, he was able to develop a relationship in his mind fairly quickly that *if* I scream, *then* Lisa and her dad will ignore me but *if* I am quiet *then* I get seeds. Within a matter of 10 minutes in the very first session, my dad was already able to give Chester a seed (from an outstretched arm). Chester also did his *stand tall* and *wave* for me in front of my dad.
The second day went even better, and by the third day, a magical thing happened. For the first time in more than 11 years, my dad walked into their room and not only were none of them displaying any level of discomfort, they were actually showing signs of eagerness. Chester immediately began *standing tall* and *waving* and Barnaby just kept turning round in circles (one of his tricks). Even Dreyfuss, was at the front of her cage leaning forward toward my dad. And, not one single scream. Instead of relating my dad to negative experiences, they were associating him with positive reinforcement. It was absolutely an amazing moment. I never thought I’d see the day that my dad would ask to feed the guys seeds – or the day that the guys would be eager to see my dad. But it has definitely happened.
I hope that my story will serve to inspire other pet owners, especially those who believe in the power of punishment because it’s the power of positive reinforcement that we should focus on instead.
