Talk about Pavlov and associate conditioning! Bells and everything! Okay, first let me give you some background information about the state of affairs. After having injured my foot at the beginning of the month, now I have a heavy duty brace that by just one look at it I get queasy. I think to myself "how am I going to get this thing on and off?"
I just got it yesterday afternoon. I am suppose to wear it all the time (except when showering and sleeping) for 3 weeks. Okay no problem, I can do that if it means not having to have my tendon get worse where I need to face an operation.
So here I am tucked in bed, half asleep. All dogs happily sleeping on their beds-Louie (our foster) in his crate. When suddenly at 3 freaking am (why is it always 3 am when these things happen? Why do dogs get injured on Sundays when your “regular” vet is closed and you have to go to the ER vet? Why? Why?) the motion sensor in the house goes off! OMG!! It is soooo loud. Why is it going off? The alarm is not even activated? We just moved into our new home in Feb. There is still a lot about this home that I don’t yet know. Like where to “deactivate” this stupid alarm. John out of town… of course, just the same - when it is three in the morning something happens and dogs always get injured on Sundays.
Deuce, Laika and Louie are all freaked out… Do something mom, fix it! I am hoping out of bed, remembering not to put weight on my right foot. Trying to decide what to do next: put on the brace or take the dogs outside… I limp half-naked to get the dogs outside, I forget Louie duh! So, I go back into my bedroom and open the crate: Louie let’s go outside as I put my brace on so fast I cannot even believe it!! Ahh, that powerful adrenaline, you gotta to love it.
As I walked now around my home empowered with my super brace on, I pray to all my mighty powers (and I really have some SUPER might powers) to help me deactivate the never activated alarm. Laika has come in and is now following me around shaking with her tailed tucked. Deuce is M.I.A., I guess still outside with Louie. The alarm finally goes silent. I call Deuce and Louie and began (cheerfully as if this is what I looovee to do at 3 in the morning) dispensing calming treats in the shape of bones to all the dogs as if they were cheap flyers and my dogs being passer-byes on a busy street corner.
I think this will do it. These calming doggie aids are strong… I should have one too! I am kind of still raddled inside. But here you have it. The dogs want NOTHING to do with their beds, which is where they were laying when the alarm went off. Not even Deuce, my matter-of-fact, always cool and mellow Border Collie. He will not go into his favorite comfy-doughnut shape bed. Laika is not having it either. No happy voice is making her go back to her bed. And Louie? Where the heck is he? I (sort) of walk around the house looking for him… I call out just to find him laying in the bathroom that has the doggie-door and thus immediate access to outside. He is half way snuggled into a ball and is not budging. Perhaps the smartest of the lot, he is not going to risk going back to the scene of the crime.
Classical conditioning works by pairing: a stimulus (in my case and Pavlov’s) a noise. In his case, food after the bell in my case: most likely the dog beds. So here you have it: Dogs laying on their beds (Louie inside his crate) and all hell breaks loose… now they won’t go near their beds- as if electrified! I say most likely because Pavlov- who was working in a lab setting, could control very nicely the pairing: Bell rings, dogs get food and after whatever amount of pairings… viola the dogs are salivating (in anticipation of the food) once the stimulus of the bell is presented.
In “real” life, the pairings are not so clean. One of our biggest problems when wanting to modify behavior (counter-conditioning) is that we must be diligent in establishing this strong pairing. There are so many competing stimuli in the environment that who knows half the time which is the most salient stimulus for the animal.
What I do know is that neither one of the dogs is wanting to rest on their beds. Instead, Deuce and Laika are giving me this look and I know they want to crawl with me on mine. Ah…. I love my dogs but when it comes to sleeping… the bed is mine! Louie is still laying in the same place… “no freaking way I am going back to that crate…”
Once my dogs are on my bed and dosing off, I lay awake- on a sliver of bed that I get. I dare not too move too much afraid the motion sensor will go-off again. I am thinking: I sure hope I can “fix” the problem of the dogs having associated the beds with the scary alarm. Darn too because Louie was now going inside his crate on his own accord- even putting himself to sleep when he was tired in the evenings. Just before the alarm fiasco, I didn’t have to coax him to go in by throwing some tasty treats inside the crate. I was so happy that I could pass him on to the best suitor with his fabulous crate training skills. Take note, this is a dog that could not handle any sort of enclosure when he first came to our home…
As I lay in the bed I am also thinking that why on this am did the alarm had to go off when I had such a busy day… two trainings sessions: one with an aggressive dog that was trying to nail me shall I make the wrong way, the other a new client… oh no… And then I am thinking also about placing delicious slivers of chicken and hot dogs all over the beds… come find it… look what just fell out of the sky…. here on your bed, inside your crate…beep, beep, beep.
I just got it yesterday afternoon. I am suppose to wear it all the time (except when showering and sleeping) for 3 weeks. Okay no problem, I can do that if it means not having to have my tendon get worse where I need to face an operation.
So here I am tucked in bed, half asleep. All dogs happily sleeping on their beds-Louie (our foster) in his crate. When suddenly at 3 freaking am (why is it always 3 am when these things happen? Why do dogs get injured on Sundays when your “regular” vet is closed and you have to go to the ER vet? Why? Why?) the motion sensor in the house goes off! OMG!! It is soooo loud. Why is it going off? The alarm is not even activated? We just moved into our new home in Feb. There is still a lot about this home that I don’t yet know. Like where to “deactivate” this stupid alarm. John out of town… of course, just the same - when it is three in the morning something happens and dogs always get injured on Sundays.
Deuce, Laika and Louie are all freaked out… Do something mom, fix it! I am hoping out of bed, remembering not to put weight on my right foot. Trying to decide what to do next: put on the brace or take the dogs outside… I limp half-naked to get the dogs outside, I forget Louie duh! So, I go back into my bedroom and open the crate: Louie let’s go outside as I put my brace on so fast I cannot even believe it!! Ahh, that powerful adrenaline, you gotta to love it.
As I walked now around my home empowered with my super brace on, I pray to all my mighty powers (and I really have some SUPER might powers) to help me deactivate the never activated alarm. Laika has come in and is now following me around shaking with her tailed tucked. Deuce is M.I.A., I guess still outside with Louie. The alarm finally goes silent. I call Deuce and Louie and began (cheerfully as if this is what I looovee to do at 3 in the morning) dispensing calming treats in the shape of bones to all the dogs as if they were cheap flyers and my dogs being passer-byes on a busy street corner.
I think this will do it. These calming doggie aids are strong… I should have one too! I am kind of still raddled inside. But here you have it. The dogs want NOTHING to do with their beds, which is where they were laying when the alarm went off. Not even Deuce, my matter-of-fact, always cool and mellow Border Collie. He will not go into his favorite comfy-doughnut shape bed. Laika is not having it either. No happy voice is making her go back to her bed. And Louie? Where the heck is he? I (sort) of walk around the house looking for him… I call out just to find him laying in the bathroom that has the doggie-door and thus immediate access to outside. He is half way snuggled into a ball and is not budging. Perhaps the smartest of the lot, he is not going to risk going back to the scene of the crime.
Classical conditioning works by pairing: a stimulus (in my case and Pavlov’s) a noise. In his case, food after the bell in my case: most likely the dog beds. So here you have it: Dogs laying on their beds (Louie inside his crate) and all hell breaks loose… now they won’t go near their beds- as if electrified! I say most likely because Pavlov- who was working in a lab setting, could control very nicely the pairing: Bell rings, dogs get food and after whatever amount of pairings… viola the dogs are salivating (in anticipation of the food) once the stimulus of the bell is presented.
In “real” life, the pairings are not so clean. One of our biggest problems when wanting to modify behavior (counter-conditioning) is that we must be diligent in establishing this strong pairing. There are so many competing stimuli in the environment that who knows half the time which is the most salient stimulus for the animal.
What I do know is that neither one of the dogs is wanting to rest on their beds. Instead, Deuce and Laika are giving me this look and I know they want to crawl with me on mine. Ah…. I love my dogs but when it comes to sleeping… the bed is mine! Louie is still laying in the same place… “no freaking way I am going back to that crate…”
Once my dogs are on my bed and dosing off, I lay awake- on a sliver of bed that I get. I dare not too move too much afraid the motion sensor will go-off again. I am thinking: I sure hope I can “fix” the problem of the dogs having associated the beds with the scary alarm. Darn too because Louie was now going inside his crate on his own accord- even putting himself to sleep when he was tired in the evenings. Just before the alarm fiasco, I didn’t have to coax him to go in by throwing some tasty treats inside the crate. I was so happy that I could pass him on to the best suitor with his fabulous crate training skills. Take note, this is a dog that could not handle any sort of enclosure when he first came to our home…
As I lay in the bed I am also thinking that why on this am did the alarm had to go off when I had such a busy day… two trainings sessions: one with an aggressive dog that was trying to nail me shall I make the wrong way, the other a new client… oh no… And then I am thinking also about placing delicious slivers of chicken and hot dogs all over the beds… come find it… look what just fell out of the sky…. here on your bed, inside your crate…beep, beep, beep.
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