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Injury creates fear of trainer!
I had a fascinating (and briefly frustrating) case of classical conditioning affect my training relationship with a two-year-old cockapoo recently. When I first started working with the client, Willy was eager and willing to work with me for treats. Very friendly and engaged.
Upon arriving for our second lesson, the client informed me that she noticed he was limping shortly before I got there. I did see that he would pick up his right front paw when standing still, too. He was obviously hurt and therefore ran away from me and didn’t want to train or even take treats. I advised the client to call the vet and we wound up rescheduling. He wound up being diagnosed with a pulled muscle and, after a few days rest, he was back to normal.
When I returned to the house a week later, upon seeing me, he ran away from me and picked his paw up in the air again, which the client was confused by because he’d seemed completely recovered. It hit me that he was associating ME with his injury because the last time I’d been there he was hurting. For that lesson and the next, he continued to avoid me. To keep the learning on track, I just talked the client through the training and advised from a distance. It wasn’t until the next time back (three weeks or so after the injury) that he finally was OK to approach and train with me again.
I explained the concept of classical conditioning to the client and that he was likely associating me with his injury and that’s why he was afraid of me. I’m glad he eventually dismissed that memory and we got a lot accomplished. But it was definitely an unusual experience!
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6 Replies
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WOW, @Shari what a profound experience!! For anyone sitting on the fence about using aversives (which of course you didn’t, but the dog made that association!), this is such a compelling warning story.
Just goes to show you how first impressions can be so very lasting!
You are to be absolutely commended for navigating this with empathy and science for the dog and the owner. Well done!
I wonder if anyone else has had something like this happen with a client’s dog?
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Thanks, Catherine. I’ll certainly never forget the experience!
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And now, neither will we! Thank you for sharing it!
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Thank you for sharing that! That is a good end to what seems to have been a speed bump in learning progress. Poor dogs don’t always understand cause and effect the scientific way. Amazing and I love that this client has YOU instead of a trainer that would have pushed to have the lesson and not reschedule…and then you coaching the training from a distance. Way to be empathetic and fabulous!!! ????
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Thanks, Paula. I’m proud to say that the client was thrilled with the training and the dog’s progress. It was definitely a success story despite the speed bump.
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Fantastic!!! ????
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