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Accidentally Rewarding Unwanted Behaviors
When working with a client recently, Jodi told me how her dog, Puffin, regularly pesters her when she’s busy working at her computer. ???? No doubt, Puffin was bored and feeling ignored, so she began experimenting with behaviors to see what would get Jodi’s attention.
Pawing at Jodi worked sometimes, pushing a toy at her sometimes got a fetch or tug game going, and barking was extremely successful. Jodi’s responses to Puffin’s attention-seeking behavior were varied. Sometimes Jodi would use a mild reprimand or push Puffin away, but sometimes she would give Puffin a chewy, or toss a toy, to try to placate her. All of these responses may be rewarding to a dog, and in Puffin’s case, her pestering behavior got stronger over time. Even negative attention can be better than none at all!
Do you have an example of a consequence that accidentally reinforced an unwanted behavior, when you actually intended to discourage it? Please share!
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9 Replies
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Yes! I can relate to Jodi. It’s especially challenging when you are in a location where you don’t want your dog barking (i.e. at work, or you have neighbors close by). As soon as they bark, you immediately look at them and say shhhhhh…. and do everything you can to keep them quiet!
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So true, @sandy !
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Yes, sometimes when I walk my dog and I pass a friend and speak to them for a few minutes, my dog at times will start a short demand bark. I ignore it and keep talking and my friend will think I am crazy for not stopping it. (I always put her in a sit or down stay) I do think the talking reinforces the barking even though it is not directed at my dog. I always try to take treats on our walk to reinforce a good sit or down behavior as I quickly catch up with a friend, throwing the treat in front of her if she is still and quiet.
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Thank you for sharing that example, @jcongdon . If you’re proactive about using treats when you stop to chat with a friend, does that reliably prevent any barking?
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Treats usually tend to prevent the barking but it isn’t often I stop to chat with someone since we are still in training mode with walks. I try to avoid anything that may distract and reinforce any behaviors I don’t want. My dog is highly treat motivated.
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Ah, totally understand!
What do you think of the idea of practicing the “stop and talk” sequence, initially with an imaginary person, in order to begin laying a foundation for this skill…?If nothing else, it’ll keep your neighbors guessing about your quirky behavior. ????
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I’ll admit to continuing to walk forward while my dog pulls me along… so much so that I finally just got her a sled dog harness and a bungee leash. She’s only 45lbs (Joy) so, I just let her pull when she wants to.
????♀️
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That’s the beauty of having dogs — we get to make our own rules with them, and determine what behaviors are important to us, or not.
I readily permit my 10 lb and 12 lb dogs to jump on me when greeting joyously after I’ve been away from home for a while. -
I find loose leash walking is so hard to get consistently in every environment. It’s the most unnatural thing for dogs. If I were ever tied to someone – good luck to them! ????
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