In dog training is it best to “add” or to “subtract”

This is indeed an interesting question.  By adding I mean presenting a reinforcer as a consequence for behavior. By subtracting I mean removing a reinforcer as a consequence for behavior.  In my view, the answer is that both modalities are of use when teaching our dogs. But today, I want to concentrate on adding a reinforcer instead of removing it.

Take the example and often the case of dogs jumping up on people when they greet.

Dog trainers have been teaching their  clients to ignore the dog until the dog offers or responds to a cue for an alternative behavior- such as a sit. However, I will argue that this particular method of ignoring the dog is not very practical.  Yes, it does work with some individuals, but I have also seen that it is too nerve wracking for dogs and people to implement. Folks get frustrated and now they are yelling at the dog and the dog is wondering why we are so nasty and refuse to say hello!

These days, I’d much rather teach people to give the dog what the dog wants, so that it can then stop jumping in an effort to reach our faces.  Let’s look at the function of this behavior.  Why do dogs jump to greet?  We believe that it has to do with part of their genetic make-up. Other canids like wolves, greet and request food in this manner.  The young pups lick the adult’s mouth to instigate regurgitation from the feeding parent.  This need apparently came along with domestication. While the actual desire to reach our faces (hence the jumping!)  has remained intact, our dogs are not requesting or even expecting to be fed but, to be greeted – in essence social interaction. The social component of this behavior  is relevant to this post. So, what if we acknowledge this need in our dogs  and we respond in kind instead of ignoring them?

 

Experiment a little with your own pup and your greeting routine and see what you think works best.  I do not have  only one way of teaching my clients  on how to  interact with their dog while greeting; instead I want to find out first what the dog finds reinforcing and that could double up as a greeting routine.  Here are a few of my favorite ways of giving the dog what it wants and needs, while keeping the humans happy.

If your dog loves to retrieve you can keep balls by your front door. The minute you walk in, you will throw the ball for your dog to fetch. That will be your greeting.  Your dog will be delighted not only because he is happy you are finally home, but also because you interacted with him.  In no time your dog will expect to have you (or your guest) throw the ball for him.  I have noticed that after the initial throw or perhaps after a couple of throws, the dog decides he has said hello plenty; that you are both okay and will decide to go lie down or engage in any other behavior besides a greeting behavior since that need has been met.

In my household, our dogs do come to the door to greet (okay, they might pass on greeting when is nap time) but they have been taught not to jump by requesting that they “go get their toy” – or a ball in the case of Deuce, from their toy basket.  They rush to get the item and come back to us to have us throw the ball or play with the toy.

Alternatively, one can interact by throwing a piece of kibble or non-perishable treat that is kept out of reach from the dog and near the point of entry, so that the dog has to find it.

Most of the training scenarios that I teach my clients take less than a minute to perform and are highly effective.  The trick, of course, is to be consistent so that we teach our dogs what to expect as we walk through the front door.

Ideally your guests will be clued in to the simple routine prior to entering the home or at least prior to engaging with the dog. Dogs do not generalize well so we must make sure they learn that the greeting procedure includes everyone (guests, cleaning crew).  When folks take shortcuts, things get confusing and training plans fall apart. If instead of short cuts, we have a plan and we work the plan when greeting our dogs, we will find that they begin to relax around this social interaction. I am all for adding to what the dog wants and needs instead of always thinking of subtracting.

Managing Greetings at the Front Door

Our dogs do not shake our hand or hug us when they want to say hi. Instead, they jump on us because they want to access our faces and mouths. This goes way back to their wolf past. Wolves regurgitate food to give to their pups so pups learn to lick their parent’s mouth to request food. This is a trait that was passed down to our dogs even after domestication.

Your dog is not being naughty, he is just being a dog and saying hello as dogs do. The problem becomes even harder to manage when the dog is allowed to greet at the front door - especially -
people your dog does not see on a regular basis and likes. The novelty amps up most dogs. Another factor is tight quarters at the front door. We proceed with our dog following in tow to answer the front door from a much larger area: the foyer, living room, etc; dogs are very sensitive to space feel and uncomfortable when they now find themselves sort of cornered. This can readily escalate into feeling threatened because he does not have a lot of room to maneuver.

At times, when it comes to more than one dog exchanging pleasantries with your friends at the front door, the reduced space can make the dogs compete for access to a resource (visitor) resulting in some form of redirected aggression. Nice! Your dogs are fighting for access and your friend(s) and you are caught up in the middle. So at all costs avoid, avoid, and avoid having your dogs rush to greet anyone at the front door.

You can most definitively teach them appropriate manners at the front door so that they also learn that no rowdy behavior earns them the chance to greet the person. If following this route, you will need to make sure each dog has learned how to greet politely before having them practice together with a family member and eventually once the behavior(s) are solid take the leap to practicing with volunteers that have nothing else going on in their lives than help you train your pups. :)

When it comes to an over enthusiastic dog that is super friendly and thinks, of course, that everyone is there to see him… (LOL) follow these steps to teach your pup that he can say hello and in the process not jump on your guests. The recommendations below are for dogs that are friendly to people and welcome newcomers into their home. Please do not follow the protocols below if your dog is fearful or might aggress in any way.

If your guest is interested in helping you train your dog you can practice as described here:
You will bring her out on a leash after you have said hello to your guests and they have settled in the living room, etc.

For this, you will need to keep your dog in another room preferably with a chew toy or a few treats scattered on the floor for her to find, while you are greeting your guest at the front door. In other words, avoid at all costs, having your pup saying hello at the front door!

Welcoming your friend and training your dog at the same time is nearly impossible. Best to have a plan in place and work your plan when you have people over to visit.

Saying Hello On A Leash:
Once your guest is sitting down you can bring your dog out to say hello. If you think she might still jump at the person while seated, have some really good treats to throw on the floor close to your guest’s feet before she gets a chance to jump up. You might have to do this a few times for your dog to learn that instead of jumping up, she gets to look for the treats on the ground.
What I like about this protocol is mainly two things: Your dog is getting some access to the visitor – which is what she wants in the first place by being in close proximity and having an opportunity to sniff. As such, we are giving the dog what she wants which always makes for a more successful and fair (to the dog) behavior modification plan. However, because we are feeding at the feet, the dog learns with multiple repetitions to avoid accessing the person’s face because we have also been reinforcing having four legs on the ground.

Keep your dog on a leash until she has completely calmed down. It is perfectly fine to remove your dog momentarily from the interaction if at any time your dog fails to look for the treats and attempts to say “hi” doggie-style.

To do so: You will calmly, without jerking your dog around, give your dog some distance from the guest by redirecting where you throw the tasty treat (think small and high value here). Continue to yo-yo your dog close and far from the guest until the novelty of the visit has worn out a bit.

Once your dog is under self-control remember, this will become easier and easier with more practice, you can give her something interesting such as a chew bone or a favorite toy that comes out for occasions like this, so she can hang out with you guys but not be a pest. Do not expect success right away… for dogs just like for people learning requires many opportunities to practice and the right conditions.

Practice with family members so that when non-family members come over, you both know exactly what to do and can more easily overcome the novelty factor.

Work Your Plan at the Front Door

This is the second installment of front door chaos or lack of it - hopefully.

The following advice is for people whose dogs tend to get over excited when someone comes to their home because they love interacting with people and not because they are concerned about who is in their home or dogs that are apprehensive about interacting with a “stranger”.

From my perspective there are a few options to try. Or it is also possible to mix and match depending on your dog. Let’s get started, shall we?

I like to categorize people that come to my home based on their reason for being there. Are they friends? Clients? Contractors of some sort? This will determine how I deal with the front door. So I suggest my clients do the same.

Dogs jump on people because they want to access their faces - their mouths in particular because this is how dogs say hello! It is hard-wired. The idea then is to give dogs what they want, which is social contact and once that need is met, they can move onto something else.

So… if you think your guest will be on board to lowering herself/himself to allow your dog to have contact with their face then suggest this. The person should gently hold on to your dog’s collar to prevent the dog from potentially jumping up and hitting the person on the face. You and your family can try this too. You will see that it only takes a few minutes to assure your dog that you both are “okay”.

I have found that this strategy stops jumping in its tracks because there is no need to do so since you are lowering yourself to the dog’s level and satisfying their need to access our mouth/face. Their interest in accessing our mouth/faces is a result of their genetic past. Wolves will come back to the den and regurgitate food for the young pups. The pup will lick the adults in order to solicit the food. So this is why our dogs jump up to say hello.

The second idea works also very well if your pup is keen on chasing a ball or playing with a toy with you. Place  a basket with toys or balls as the case might be next to the front door so there is always a ball or a toy.

As you come into the home ask your dog to go get his ball or toy. As he does, you can set anything that you might be carrying down and engage in playing with your pup. Once again, you will see that it only takes but a few minutes of this interaction for your dog to feel you have politely said hello to him. It is possible that you might have to face in the direction of the ball or toy if this is the first time you try something like this with your dog. You can also walk a bit in the direction of the basket so that your dog has a clue that you want him to interact with some object kept in there.

Now, if your dog jumps at guests and your guest is not eager to allow face contact or even play ball with your dog, the best advice I can give is to make sure that your dog is put away as the guest comes in through the front door.

Front doors are magnets for arousal because the physical space is reduced from a more spacious room leading to the front door. Dogs are very sensitive to space and their use of it. It becomes with a doubt a “double whammy” if you have more than one dog since there is less space and competition to access the guest.

Once you have said hello to your guest, have them enter a larger area and then go get your dog. Bring your dog out on a leash to meet the guest. You have previously coached your guest to remain neutral: No reaching for the dog, bending over, talking to the dog. Just ask them to stay put while you and your pup walk in their direction.

If you have a dog that tends to drag you on leash to say hello do not permit this. Instead throw treats in front of your dog as you say something like find it.

Practice this a bit first without a guest. Once your guest is home, do the same and walk towards the person, as your dog is keen in finding the kibble or treats. Again, you will see that once your pup has had an opportunity to smell and greet your guest, he will relax and move on.

Practice makes permanent so be consistent and practice every single time you want your dog to greet a guest. If you go back and forth between letting your dog approach at all cost and managing the situation you will not reach success. Instead you will have a confused dog, which will only lead to more frustration for both of you.

Some Kind of Barking

I am back with Deuce from sheepherding and back at work in my office when I hear a “strange” bark coming from Deuce. I ask John if Deuce is with him in his office, which is on the opposite side of the house, and he tells me no. So I get up and go towards the bark to find out why he is barking. I find Deuce standing next to where their water bowl normally is and realize that I forgot to place the bowl down after having cleaned it.

Now, I see why Deuce was barking! How else can he let me know that I forgot the water bowl and that he really needs a drink? Dogs bark for a variety of reasons. Their barks (and other vocalizations) are in effect communication.

Barks sound differently and one can learn to identify the purpose behind a particular bark. We are all familiar with the “someone is at the door barking”. The kind of barking that people hate the most. I guess (most) dogs missed-out on the memo that said that a couple of barks would get the job done! And that if we are not rushing to the door is because we can't! However, in part, the reason why barking can become excessive at the front door is because most people do not have a specific behavior for their dog to engage in once they have warned them about the visitor to the home.

Recently we have been changing our tune: Whenever Rio goes on alert mode because someone is at the front of our home, we try to acknowledge her as soon as possible. We then proceed for us; the routine is that when Rio (for the most part) makes us aware of someone at the door consists in attending to her for a job well done. And depending on who the visitor is will determine how we proceed to ask her to move away from her post and direct her to the bed in the kitchen. Once she is there she will get a tasty treat or if we are just finishing our meal the opportunity to lick clean our plate - an A+ reward for her.

We continue to treat the dogs occasionally for staying put on their beds until released to continue with their daily doggie activities of naps, barking at an occasional crow - who is perhaps taunting them - and more napping as they await the last play/training session of the day, followed by dinner and a chewy for dessert.

I have noticed that since we have been taking the time to first acknowledge Rio for alerting and then removing her from the window it has become much easier for her to fully relax after seeing someone outside.

It is important that we acknowledge that for most dogs not barking excessively when someone is at the door is a very difficult behavior to master.

Helping our dogs tone down their routine requires following our plan of action consistently and calmly since yelling will just agitate the dog even more. Clearly this is one of those occasion in which we need to teach by example: by keeping our cool when someone is at the door as we follow our plan of action. As a result, we will experience less barking from our pup and less frustration for everyone involved.