Rewarding Nothing!

I worked with a client last week who had described her dog as "hyperactive."  When I met them for our appointment, I found her dog to be easily over-stimulated and quick to offer behaviors that got him attention, albeit negative attention, from his owner and others. He would bark, spin, jump, vault off of guests, grab clothing and hands, etc. I was exhausted just watching him!  His owner was at her wit's end and embarrassed by her dog's "over the top" behavior.  She couldn't figure out why, in spite of verbal corrections and time outs, the "bad behaviors" persisted.  If this situation, or something similar, is happening to you, affecting your relationship with your dog, then let's get to work!

We all do behaviors and repeat behaviors that have consequences we desire or find rewarding.  So, while some people love to run and find that rewarding, there are others who find running to be a form of cruel and unusual punishment!  Running is a behavior and whether it's rewarding or not is determined by the person doing the activity.  It's the same thing for dogs.  While one person might enjoy their dog jumping up on them for attention and thus reward that behavior favorably by petting that dog, there are other people who hate being jumped up on by a dog and will yell, shove the dog, put up their knee, and squeal to get a dog to stop jumping on them.  But, here's the thing.  Both of those people are reinforcing the dog for jumping up and that's why the behavior persists.  Dogs are looking for consequences and in the case of jumping up, the dog getting loved for it and the dog getting yelled at are both receiving attention and that's why they keep jumping. 

So what should you do for the dog that jumps up?  Walk away. Ignore them.  Don't give them any attention at all.  I like to think of this as "passive training."  Basically, you are refusing to engage a dog who is doing those annoying behaviors.  This will only be successful in getting the dog to change their tune and do what you want them to do IF you reward the behavior that you actually want to happen.  In this case you will be rewarding THE ABSENCE OF THE BEHAVIOR (that is, rewarding NOT jumping up). Yes, this means you have to have treats in your pocket at all times, but really, why wouldn't you?  The moment that jumping, spinning, vaulting dog quit doing those behaviors last week, I tossed a treat for him and walked away.  I rewarded the absence of the behavior.  He was clearly flummoxed as that had never happened before!

When I asked the owner if she'd ever rewarded him for NOT doing those behaviors she hated, she admitted that she really didn't think she had; she was just grateful and relieved the times that he didn't. But, you see, that's the problem.  Rewarding the dog with negative consequences AND/OR offering neutral or no consequences when they get the behavior right (meaning they don't do what they aren't supposed to do), results in a dog who can't see the value for them in doing the right thing.  They don't see the value in lying on their bed because when they do that, you don't reward/respond/react.  Again, I'm not asking that you throw your dog a ticker tape parade, showering them with treats and praise, for simply lying quietly on their bed.  I understand that this is what they're supposed to do, but do they know that?  No.  They won't know that unless you reward the behavior of lying on the bed.  We all need to get in the habit of rewarding the absence of the behaviors we'd really like to see be extinguished. 

By the end of my appointment, the dog was no longer doing all of these annoying pushy, loud behaviors.  He was lying a few feet away from me calmly.  All I had to do to get that behavior was only reward that behavior.  I finished the appointment by shaping continued calm behavior and giving him a large chew to work on as I moved to leave their house.  So, instead of body slamming guests as they exited the house, he was there in the kitchen, chewing happily on the yummy chew stick I'd brought for him.  There were consequences, and he clearly understood.  Calm behavior would get the rewards now.  Passive training works! You can (and should) reward the absence of behaviors you don't like just as much as, if not more than, the behaviors you are trying to teach your dog. Thus, while I certainly think a dog learning to stay has great value, I also think a dog learning to stand/sit/down without being asked to stay also has value.  I can reward the stay when I ask for it, but more importantly for those easily over-stimulated dogs, I can reward the absence of frantic behaviors, in whatever form that absence takes.

I'm really looking forward to my follow up appointment with this client as she's been excited to see how fast this new game plan is working for her, her dog, and her family.  They are all feeling relieved and less stressed out which I'm sure is making the dog feel less anxious as well.  Now that her dog is calmer and can focus, when can move on to the real, active behavior training that she wants to do with him.  

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me. 

I took this picture in my office. It was dinner time and Ozzie and Desi had to come to see if they could get me moving to fix them their meals.  They didn't bark, nudge, whine, or fuss.  What they did do was lay quietly about 3 feet away from my desk and stare at me patiently until I got up and fed them, thus rewarding the absence of obnoxious, pushy hungry-dogs-in-the-house behaviors.