Friday, July 14, 2017

Counter Conditioning and Baby Steps

🙋🏿‍♂️🙋🏽Who here is trying to counter condition their dog to something, and isn't seeing success?
If that's the case, it's user error (those pesky humans again!). Repeat - USER ERROR. Counter conditioning always works. It's how brains work!
Understanding the process of Counter Conditioning/Desensitization will make you a better owner, whether it's nails, dogs, people, skateboards or thunderstorms. If you are trying to work on your dog's nails, please join Nail Maintenance for Dogs on Facebook!
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

When counter conditioning, it is imperative that the process is broken down into as many baby steps as possible. What we might see as 10 total steps, a dog might see as 100, especially if they have a very negative association with you, the room they are in, the clippers or file in your hand, the facility you bring them to, or all the above.
Counter conditioning is NOT about rewarding good behavior, it is freely giving food for your dog being exposed to the ______ (dremel, file, clippers, handling, etc), REGARDLESS of behavior. It is about creating an association. "When this happens, I get food, every time".
Once you begin breaking down your steps, you may notice that one step is harder for your dog, so you just break that one down further. The better you break it down, the faster your dog will make progress because you are not inadvertently raising the challenge before they are ready. It should feel smooth, as if each criteria rolls into the next without a hitch.
Things to keep in mind of steps you may need to break down:
*sound of equipment
*location of dog
*positioning of dog
*angle of arms/body/equipment/head/body
*duration
*distractions
*other dogs being around
*distance
*current stress level and pain/soreness

Rather than start at the criteria that your dog doesn't do well with; make each repetition one that your dog can win. You don't want them to practice pulling away or moving away. That breaks trust, because you are repeatedly doing something uncomfortable. Let them win by always staying where they are comfortable. Go at their pace - they should feel like a million bucks on nail day! Make them look forward to the next trim!!

Here is my breakdown that I used to condition my dog. Keep in mind that many of these steps happened quickly in a single session. But, some were a session all by themselves. Some steps took multiple sessions. Read your dog and adjust with them! Create your own steps by looking first at your goal behavior (ie standing still on the mat while I lift a paw and file one nail), and then breaking it into as many parts as possible to build to that goal.

VISUAL OF EQUIPMENT/HANDLING:
-Dremel in sight (off). (From a distance of 10, 9, 8 feet... if necessary)
-Dremel in sight presented from different angles
-Dremel in sight moving (starting with a slight movement, and moving to large ones)
-Dremel in sight + other hand briefly touching shoulder
-Dremel in sight + other hand progressively touching body in different spots, making sure there were no parts that she pulled away
-Dremel in sight + touching paws
-Dremel in sight + picking up paws (I start at shoulder and then slide down to paw)
-Dremel in sight + holding paws for duration
-Dremel in sight + holding paw + separating the toes
-Dremel in sight + holding paw + separating toes + leaning over as if to concentrate
-Dremel in sight + holding paw + separating toes + leaning over as if to concentrate + moving the Dremel toward the nail in increments until can touch/hold to nail
-^doing above with all nails, and switching up your body position to mimic a real trimming, just no sound or vibration yet.

SOUND/HANDLING:
-on for 3-5 second spurts
-building incrementally to 30 second spurts
-on for 3-5 second spurts, moving from side to side
-on for 3-5 second spurts, moving along sides of body (incrementally)
-on for 3-5 second spurts, moving over head/body (including there they can't see)
-on for 5-30 second spurts, moving anywhere around body and between legs
-Dremel on (about a foot away - in my lap) with other hand touching body briefly
-Dremel on with other hand working the body the same way as when it was off
-Dremel on, short spurts, running hands down legs
-Dremel on, running hands down legs +lingering on feet
-Dremel on, running down legs + duration on touching feet
-Dremel on, running down legs + picking up feet
-Dremel on, running down legs + picking up feet, holding feet with duration/height of foot
-Dremel on, picking up feet, separating toes
-Dremel on, holding feet, separating toes, leaning over closely to "concentrate"
-Dremel on, holding feet, separating toes, "concentrating", moving Dremel small incremental distances toward nail until it is within a hair of the nail.

VIBRATION/HANDLING:
-Touch running dremel to nail for a split second, give dog heavy amounts of high value food (even if they run away! No matter what!)
-If vibration is too hard, begin with touching the back end of a running Dremel to the dog's elbow and condition THAT vibration first.
-Continue touching running dremel to each toe, and jackpotting each time. You may need to stabilize the toe with your fingers to minimize vibration.
-Begin adding in your other pieces one by one: holding feet, separating toes, concentrating, duration, etc. Remember: this is teaching, not worrying about actually getting the nail done.
-Keep on, keepin' on!! Once the pieces are all being done together, then it is continuous heavy reinforcement and you can actually begin to trim nails while you teach them how to do nails! It will be less teaching, and more trimming. But, patience, young grasshopper!! Building trust is most important, so watch your dog and listen to them if they start to feel uncomfortable.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
**if my dog freaks at any time, and moves away or jerks or is otherwise having a hard time, go back a few steps and make it easier. Once they are back on board, you can raise your criteria again. If they can't get back on board, end your session. We all have bad days!
**if my dog jumps when the dremel touches, I would alter the way I was holding the nail (either holding the nail bed more firmly, less firmly, pulled up paw vs bent back paw, less pressure of dremel, etc), changed the angle of the Dremel, change it to low vs high speed, etc.
Happy counter conditioning!!!

Check out www.positivedoghusbandry.com for more videos, tips and files on proper Counter Conditioning and Desensitization!

Good Rescues, Bad Training Choices

Recently, a rehabilitation facility was in the news because a dog they had just adopted out viciously attacked and killed a 90 year old woman.  This dog had a bite record, was highly aroused by movement and had spent 3 months being shock collar trained, in an attempt to "train out" the aggression.  The older woman fell, and despite repeated shocks, the dog continued to attack. It is proven that shocks actually create and increase aggression.

Aggression is a natural part of an animal's behavior.  We will never train it out of an animal. By shocking a dog repeatedly for doing small snippets of aggressive-type behaviors, staring, licking lips, leaning forward, barking, etc, what we actually do is suppress the aggressive display.  To our feeble human eyes and brains, "hey look! It's gone!".  But, it isn't, at all. And it will come back to bite you. Unfortunately, pun intended.

When working with dogs with unknown backgrounds, it becomes even more important and critical that we look at the dog's true temperament, not a suppressed, fabricated one using training collars.  In order for a rescue to properly place a dog, they need to know how the dog truly feels, not a suppressed version.



Without fosters and donations, a rescue cannot survive. YOU are the voice of the dogs. Support rescues that use reward-based training and science-based behavior modification techniques.
Rescues should provide or be willing to fund:
an adoption application that explicitly asks about equipment, methodology and discipline
no-pull harnesses
information and guidelines about how to integrate a new dog and teach house manners without the use of punishment. These guidelines should be clear about what is and is NOT allowed.
training with a modern science-based trainer if a foster is struggling
foster education through digital files, webinars, Skype sessions or in-person seminars with a fear-free trainer
new adopter information that follows these same guidelines

When Good Rescue Groups Make Bad Dog Training Decisions: https://positively.com/…/when-good-rescue-groups-make-bad-…/

Be the catalyst for change you wish to see in your rescue, or find a rescue that uses modern methods with dogs, and foster, support and fund their initiative. #bethechange

My dog jumps! Help!

Fan Question:

"Do you have any suggestions for getting a dog to stop jumping? On Memorial Day, a blue heeler wandered into our yard and we think he's about a year old and he has no training of any sort, so trying to train a dog with very hyper behavior. His biggest flaw is his jumping. I have 4 small kids and my oldest is scared of him because of his jumping."

Answer:

The purpose of jumping is either:
A. Energy release (it feels good)
B. Reinforcing (people pay attention to me)
C. Confusion (I don't know how else to say hi)
D. A mixture of all of the above.

To combat each of these is a multi step approach:

A. Energy release:
Give proper physical exercise, not just letting your dog in the backyard (dogs don't exercise themselves) or taking them for walks (human speed, straight line walks are not sufficient exercise). Foraging for food, flirt pole, agility, fetch/Frisbee, chasing, swimming are all great outlets for energy. If you do not deplete a dog's energy in ways acceptable to you, they WILL find other outlets, and it will probably not be something you like.
B. Reinforcement:
Teach your kids and guests, and anyone who goes anywhere close to your dog - absolutely zero attention for jumping. Don't talk to him, don't look at him, don't push him off, don't move away. Zero things happen. Turn head to the side, avert gaze, and fold arms up if the dog is nibbly. Kids like to hear this as turning a robot "off" (See "Go Crazy Freeze" below). The moment that the dog gets bored and puts four feet on the floor, you "turn on". Say, "Yes!", bend down and say a quiet hello, toss a toy or sprinkle kibble on the ground. Helping the dog be successful by turning your body to the side and only saying hello with one hand, keeping it brief and ending the interaction before the dog jumps will all help.  Management can also prevent the dog from being reinforced by people who don't know the rules or small children (or a stubborn family member). Baby gates, crates, closed doors, tethers and leashes can all help someone get in the door and after the dog settles down a bit and you've briefed them on the rules, you let your dog out.
C. Confusion:
Teach a different behavior. Doing only A and B still leaves a dog wondering, "so what am I supposed to do then to say hi to my people?" Practice when things are pretty boring around the house, and heavily reinforce (with food) a sit at your feet, or even just standing. Progress to being able to walk out and walk back in. Make staying on the ground FAR MORE LUCRATIVE than jumping is. Imagine that jumping gets $5 (because it feels good to the dog) and keeping four on the floor gets $500. The dog will quickly choose the $500 option because it makes sense to do so! Currently, you have jumping getting $500 reinforcement and the floor getting $5. Switch that! You can also ask for a "sit" if the dog is an excessive jumper, and then heavily reward that with 10-15 back to back treats!

With any breed dog, but especially a working breed, working WITH them, rather than against them is much faster. Take what they need/want and allow them to have it AFTER they do the thing you want. Don't address mistakes, just adjust to help your dog be successful. They have lots of real estate in their brain to get the things they want ... trying to stop that is an exhausting task, and it's like two steps forward, one step back. Instead, use it to your advantage:
Instead of trying to stop jumping, think of it like this:
"You love movement? Great! Sit first, and then I'll tug with you!"
"You love food? Great! Sit first and then I'll toss a handful of kibble into the living room!"
"You love love? Great! Sit first and then I'll sit on the floor and you can give me all the kisses in the world!"
Here are some links, as well as a video of my first session teaching a dog (who has super bad habits of launching herself into people). Many sessions of quick repetition of success, while making it increasingly harder while still building with food rewards: different people, number of people, strangers, different objects, carrying groceries, children crying/screaming, etc), will get you a solid four on the floor behavior. Enjoy!

Resources:
GO CRAZY FREEZE: https://youtu.be/DNr3VV1tRBQ
IMPULSE CONTROL:
DOGGIE ZEN: https://youtu.be/k1QX4iQO7IM
IT'S YER CHOICE: https://youtu.be/k9KULy1JSzs
ON/OFF GAMES WITH DROP: http://www.dogtrainergames.com/drop-it/
KIDS AND DOGS:
Body language: https://youtu.be/PNYM5lwaLmI
Activities: www.familypaws.com