Conditioned responses…
Years of the same behavior being reinforced over and over and over again. Lucas thinks, If I bark and lunge and snarl at this oncoming dog, he’ll leave me alone! And it works, time and time again, and now his mind equates his particular crazed response to successfully getting a potentially dangerous dog (in his mind) to go away.
Turns out, I have my owned conditioned response that I need to change.
Lucas loves doggy daycare. LOVES. In fact, they describe him as “pumped” to be there. However, the lobby is a charged zone for him. I wait in the car until we’re the only clients there, then I take him in.
This morning, just as we walked in, the receptionist’s dog burst out from behind the counter.
Here’s where hindsight helps: I should have, in the moment, noticed that Lucas’ tail was in a neutral position. His fur wasn’t up. His body wasn’t tense. In fact, in that split second, he really didn’t react at all.
I, on the other hand, resorted to my conditioned response. I yanked him to my side and stepped in front of him.
And then he reacted, lunging and snarling.
Driving home, I thought through the scenario a dozen times. I’m fairly sure that if I hadn’t done anything, if I had let it play out, Lucas would have been fine. I can’t know for certain, of course, but he wasn’t showing his usual signs.
So it looks like both of us have a conditioned response that needs to change.
But in class he’s doing phenomenally well. He’s responsive. He keeps his attention on Easy Cheese me. He cries for the entire hour, earning him the nickname “whiny face” from the trainer… but other than that, I couldn’t ask for a better experience so far.
That being said,a part of me is a little concerned that Lucas is smart enough to know that we’re “training.” That in this room, a controlled environment, he’s going to get a facefull of cheese for paying attention to me, so why not? Will it carry over into the real world? I’m not willing to test it yet. On our walk yesterday, we spotted no less than 6 other dogs, and each time I changed course, not ready to test our progress yet.
So I guess as class progresses and he keeps learning and doing well, will his positive progress be enough of a positive reinforcer to me to change my conditioning?
Have you experienced anything like this? Does your dog’s behavior change your behavior and, thus, the outcome of a particular situation? Any magic formula for getting the confidence to change?
Oh boy have I been there! & still struggle with my conditioned responses. The most difficult part of working on reactivity with the dawgs has always been not to let my worry & stress create or worsen a situation. For me, praising my dogs whenever they saw another dog was the first step. Just like they needed to work on lowering their threshold, so did I. when I was praising them in a sing songey voice, it was tough for me to tense up. In a way, I was praising both of us for staying relaxed. And always, when in doubt, stick the can of easy cheese in your own mouth! 🙂
HA! Great advice! Really, I love thinking of lowering my own threshold… I hadn’t thought of it in that context, but you’re absolutely right. I’m going to practice with the sing songey voice. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Once you’ve had a dog react a couple of times on you it becomes extremely difficult not to react by panicking. 🙂 I always, always try and change direction but when I have no other option I drop the leash. I know much of Delilah’s frustration comes from feeling trapped and that I’m passing my stress on thru the leash.
I’m lucky because normally she’ll come right back but on the off chance she doesn’t I’d much rather chase her down then deal with a dog fight.
That’s definitely something to think about… I don’t know what Lucas would do if I dropped the leash? I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try yet, at least not in an un-controlled situation. But maybe I can get a friend with a calm dog to test it out with me? Hmmm… You got my wheels turning! Thanks, Jodi!
I just adopted a dog 2 weeks ago and have realized that my responses make a difference in how she reacts with dogs. The first week she would cry and lunge to see other dogs on the street and I would get all scared assuming something *might* go wrong because she is a pitbull and she might become aggressive, as soon as i loosened up and started distracting her with treats everytime we crossed a dog, rather than get all wound up, she is now much calmer when we greet dogs because i am calmer as well and she has associated seeing new dogs with good stuff. Keep it up!
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Thanks for sharing your experience, Roberta! Dogs definitely respond to our emotions, and that’s something I really need to work on with Lucas. I have so much history with him that it’s been difficult for me to get past that. I would definitely encourage you to focus on her behavior rather than her breed. Worrying that something might go wrong because she’s a bully is probably exacerbating the tension you’re already feeling when, in fact, the breed is irrelevant to training!
There have absolutely been times when my reaction to a possible approaching dog has instigated Bella’s reaction. It’s a tough balance. You need to do something and it’s very easy for an especially sensitive dog to pick up on any signal you give, even a positive one – it’s still a signal that gets them thinking.
Time and practice will go a long way to changing Lucas’ feelings about seeing other dogs. Remember when you do start taking what you’ve learned out of the classroom, that you are still practicing and give yourself and Lucas space to train. Don’t expect him to be perfect in new areas just because he’s been a champ in class.
That is a constant argument I have with my husband who gets so frustrated with Bella when we are out and about – that she’s not as perfect there as she is in class. Well, we haven’t worked with her out there as much as we have in class.
Practice. Always and everywhere.
“Practice. Always and everywhere.”
LOVE it! I’m trying to focus on incremental progress. Like, we’re definitely not ready to go to Petco, but I think our next step is to hang out at a bench in the park FAR away from the popular areas and reward like crazy. I’m sorta like your husband, too. He does perfectly in class. Sails right through it. Then the very next morning he reacts at a dog a mile away! But, as you said, practice!!
I’m so glad you guys are seeing good progress. I definitely have a conditioned response when we see another dog with the boys – I tense up, which is not something I want to be communicating to my dogs! It’s a process for all of us, I guess. We are all getting better using the “where the doggy” game and lots and lots of treats. In some situations when it’s safe (perhaps in the lobby of the doggy daycare?) I’ve started dropping Buster’s leash when we’re confronted with an off-leash dog. Buster goes into “off-leash mode” and can interact nicely with the other dog and I can use both hands to fill Ty’s mouth full of treats. 😉
Hey, I just read that you’re moving to Louisiana! Congrats, and good luck. I hope the move goes smoothly and that you guys enjoy living down south. I’ll update your location on my internal map and let you know if we’re heading in your direction.
Thank you, Amy! You are actually the second person to suggest dropping the leash, so I definitely think I’m going to have to give it a try. I think in the scenario at doggy daycare, that would have been a PERFECT solution.
And please, please do let me know if you’re heading toward LA! I’d love to catch up with you guys. Are you going to Bark World or any other conferences/expos this year?
In my reading of experiences of military dog handlers, the idea of your emotions running down the leash is quite common. They often say they have caused their dog to react to just the slightest tension in themselves, not just the leash. It becomes a “train-the-trainer” thing.
I wonder if the dog offered us M&Ms once THEY get it right we would come around sooner. 🙂
HA! I think that would work for me!! 🙂
It sounds like you’re making GREAT progress! The fact that he didn’t initially react is good. You realizing that it’s your reaction that now needs work is good. You’re both learning and changing. That’s awesome!
Thanks!! It’s just such a strong reminder that we both need a lot more practice!