What is the difference between desensitization and counter-conditioning?While the concepts of desensitization and counter-conditioning are often discussed as if they are the same thing, they're not. Kathy defined desensitization as lowering the intensity of a stimuli enough to enable the dog to eat or play in its presence. This basically changes the trigger from an overwhelmingly aversive stimuli into something closer to neutral. Desensitization is also about exposure only- it does not seek to change associations. Sometimes careful desensitization alone can help a dog learn that there is nothing to fear, but often, you need to add in counter-conditioning (which is about pairing the scary stimuli with something awesome) in order to achieve the results you want.
I’ve decided to start a counter-conditioning program for my reactive dog. Where should I go to do this?
One of the biggest factors that influences the success of a counter-conditioning program is the trainer’s ability to set up the environment for optimal learning. Kathy recommends scouting out a location in advance. You want to find a place where you can easily adjust the intensity of the dog’s triggers. If possible, you want to find a location where the triggers approach from only one or two directions, such as alongside a walking path. This can help prevent the dog from having to worry about what’s behind him. If you’re really lucky, you’ll find a location with “protected contact”- that is, having the trigger behind a fence or other barrier in order to ensure your everyone’s safety. Finally, there should always be an escape route available. You absolutely do not want to get stuck in a corner!
How long should my counter-conditioning sessions be?
Since conditioning does require repeated pairings, you need to get quite a few trials of see trigger-get treat in order to obtain the desired response. However, Kathy cautioned against having too many trials in a row. During a counter-conditioning session, your dog needs some downtime between pairings to relax. Ideally, your dog will alternate between feeling relaxed and a bit concerned (when he sees the trigger). He should not be feeling general nervousness when no trigger is around punctuated with periods of increased fear when the trigger appears. For that reason, Kathy recommends having 12-15 pairings over a 30 minute period of time.
My dog is afraid of men. Should I find men and ask them to feed my dog?
Although people often have the trigger person feed the dog treats, Kathy prefers not to take this approach. She said that dogs who have been treated this way learn to run to the scary person, hoping for food. Worst case scenario, if the person doesn’t have any, the dog can become frustrated, which increases the likelihood of a bite. But even in the best cases, the foodless person will inevitably touch the dog, possibly scaring him, which would be counter-productive. For that reason, Kathy really thinks it’s best for a dog to seek out his person, not strangers, when a trigger appears. And anyway- ultimately, the source of food is not as important as the timing of the food.
I want to start a counter-conditioning program, but my dog won’t take treats! What should I do?
If your dog won't eat, it's because he's stressed and you need to lower the intensity of whatever is going on around your dog. Increasing distance is the most common way to do this, but there are other options. You might start by working with just sounds (the jingling of tags, without a dog attached, for example). You can use stuffed/toy dogs for a dog who is scared of other dogs. Changing the direction that the trigger is facing can help (have that scary man face the other way). Your goal is to work at the edge of your dog’s comfort zone, wherever that might be, and to slowly make it bigger.
What should I do if my dog goes over threshold?
Get him out of the situation. A dog who has gone into the fight-or-flight mode really doesn’t have the ability to think and learn, so there’s no point in training through it. If you need to, you can use some food to lure the dog away from whatever is upsetting him. Then, take note of the situation and do your best to avoid it in the future! While you’ll still want to work on counter-conditioning him, you’ll need to work at a much lower intensity. Kathy said you should avoid exposing your dog to things he can’t handle.
But won’t that reinforce the reactive or fearful behavior?
No. The dog is in a brain state that is not conducive to learning. That said, if you repeatedly expose your dog to situations that are too intense for him, resulting in repeated reactive outbursts, you may get a dog who learns that such outbursts work to get him what he wants. This is not something you want your dog to learn, so it’s really in your best interest to prevent the outbursts in the first place, while gradually working to increase the intensity.
Doesn’t giving my dog food or comforting him when he’s scared tell him that being scared is okay?
Yes and no. You can’t reinforce a feeling, but you can facilitate it. If you are acting panicked or scared, your dog may take that as an indication that he should be upset, too. Kathy also told us about something called “limbic resonance,” which is the ability of mammals to ascertain another’s emotions by looking in their eyes. If you know that you can’t control your own feelings, Kathy recommended against teaching your dog to make eye contact with you in response to scary events. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with some calm, quiet petting or gentle verbal reassurances. So take a deep breath, relax, and tell him that you're going to protect him.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Kathy Sdao Seminar: Why That "Treat Thing" Doesn't Always Work
Classical counter conditioning is a great foundation for working with a reactive dog. It's also very easy to do: a scary thing happens, and then you give the dog a treat. Over time, the dog learns that the scary thing predicts good things, which changes his feelings. He's no longer scared, which will hopefully mean that the fear-based behavior will disappear. Still, sometimes you'll hear someone say “I tried that whole treat thing, and it just didn't work...”
And you know what? I believe those people. Classical conditioning, while pretty straightforward, does require that you get some of the details straight. Kathy shared the errors that people commonly make that can prevent progress, or even worse, create even more problems. If you're struggling with that “whole treat thing,” here are eight things you should check.
(If you aren't familiar with the basics of classical conditioning, check out this post, and then this one. Today's entry will make a lot more sense if you do.)
Make Sure Your Timing is Right
This is perhaps the area you can screw up the most. In classical conditioning, the second thing that happens is the most important because it is the one that will determine what kind of association is formed. If that second thing is positive, the association will become positive. If the second thing is scary, though, then the association will become scary, too. In other words, when you give the treat matters, and it matters a lot.
There are four basic ways to pair stimuli. Trace conditioning happens when there is a 1-2 second delay between the two stimuli. For example, if you want the dog to learn that a bell ringing predicts that food is coming, in trace conditioning, you would ring the bell, wait 1-2 seconds, and then give the dog the treat. Delayed conditioning occurs when the first stimuli is presented continuously for several seconds (the bell rings several times in a row), and then food is presented immediately. Simultaneous conditioning means that both stimuli are presented at the same time; you ring the bell and give the food at the same time. Finally, backward conditioning, like the name implies, is when you reverse the stimuli. You give the food and then ring the bell.
Although there are scientific uses for all of these, when it comes to training a reactive or fearful dog, both simultaneous and backward conditioning is basically useless. Simultaneous conditioning will simply have little to no result. Backward conditioning, however, is much worse. Instead of the bell predicting the treat, the treat predicts the bell. This can have devastating consequences. If a scary happens after the food does, then the food predicts the scary thing, and thus becomes associated with fear. When this happens, the mere presence of food can cause a dog to shut down or react. Not a good thing.
Most people don't set out to get this order wrong. We understand how it should work, but where we go astray is in assuming that the dog sees the scary thing at the same time we do. Therefore, you should be sure to give the treat only after the dog has perceived the stimuli/scary thing.
Make Sure You Avoid Rhythmic Trials
We humans are creatures of habit- when we set up training experiences, we tend to fall into patterns. Unfortunately, dogs are very talented at discerning patterns, so we need to make sure that our trials are not rhythmic. Kathy gave the example of working with a dog who is afraid of men. If she were to enlist a male friend and directed him to walk in and out of eyesight, it's likely that he would begin doing so at regular intervals. Unfortunately, what the dogs often learn in these scenarios is not that the presence of men predicts steak, but rather, that steak happens every 20 seconds or so, and if you get a positive association, it's very weak. You will get a far better result if you make sure that your trials are random and varied.
Make Sure There Are No Competing Stimuli
Since the second event matters most, we need to make sure that we know what it is. Sure, we might think the pairing is simple- see scary thing, get a treat- but dogs are highly observant. Does he know he's getting a treat as a result of the scary thing, or is something happening in between those two events? Common pitfalls include reaching in a pocket, or crinkling a treat bag as we get the snack out. Again, associations can and do happen in these situations, but they are weaker than if it was direct, with no middleman. Try to set up the situation to reduce as many competing stimuli as possible.
Make Sure You're Using a High Value Treat
Kathy advises that you use the absolute best thing you can in order to create the most intense response possible. Classical conditioning follows a pretty steep curve, which means that you'll get the strongest response possible fairly early on in training. Don't squander this opportunity by using kibble. Sure, the dog will learn that scary things predict food, and that's good... but it's not awesome. Think about it: do you want an, “Oh, yes, kibble, thank you” response, or do you want the “HOLY COW I JUST GOT RAW TRIPE” response?
Make Sure Your Treat Remains Special
Classical conditioning works best when the contingency is strong. In non-science speak, this means that it works best when the awesome thing that follows the trigger happens only when the trigger does. No matter how much your dog loves cheese, if cheese happens all the time, it becomes meaningless. For that reason, Kathy recommended that you have a treat that you use only for counter-conditioning. Actually, she said that it would be best if all food happened only as a direct result of the scary thing, but since that's pretty much impossible, practically speaking, she recommended reserving the high value treat for your counter-conditioning work.
Make Sure You Aren't Lumping Criteria
Remember what I said about competing stimuli? Well, that counts for the first stimuli as well as the second. Make sure you aren't trying to counter-condition against too many things at once. It really works best to tackle one scary thing at a time. So, if your dog is afraid of men, and he's afraid of people riding bikes, men riding bikes might be too much. Try breaking it down more if you can.
Make Sure the Trigger Always Predicts Good Stuff
Classical conditioning is not operant conditioning. As such, it is not maintained by intermittent reinforcement, and is much more prone to extinction as a result. Instead, for classical conditioning to work, the scary thing pretty much always needs to be followed by the treat. Every time the dog sees a scary toddler, a piece of chicken should follow. Every time. If toddlers appear and chicken doesn't, then the dog learns that toddlers are not a very reliable predictor. If you're lucky, the dog will still develop a lukewarm response. If you're not, though, the dog will not make an association at all, meaning that you're doing all that work for nothing.
Your job is to find a way to avoid the trigger when you're not training. This means either carrying chicken and going everywhere with your dog, or not doing certain things with your dog. And yes, this includes walks and going potty. Speaking of which...
Make Sure You Switch to an Operant Technique
Since classical conditioning requires a near 100% trigger-treat response, it simply cannot be considered a long-term strategy. At some point, Kathy said, you just have to switch to an operant training strategy. This might be something like auto-watches or emergency U-turns, or it might be something “fancier” like BAT or Look at That. The technique you choose doesn't matter as much as the fact that you choose an operant behavior for your dog to perform at some point since that can be reinforced intermittently, allowing you the ability to just relax and enjoy your dog sometimes.
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities for you to undermine the work you're doing. This is just part of the reason I advocate working with an experienced trainer when you're trying to modify your dog's behavior. I know I certainly made plenty of mistakes along the way- I never did reserve the absolute best treat possible solely for counter-conditioning, and so of course, those treats happened all the time. I'm also often guilty of lumping criteria, and I'm sure I screwed up my timing now and then. Still, we muddled through, and while my efforts could have been better had I understood this information then, we did okay. But what about you guys? Any memorable mistakes? I'd love to know that I'm not alone in my training shortcomings...
And you know what? I believe those people. Classical conditioning, while pretty straightforward, does require that you get some of the details straight. Kathy shared the errors that people commonly make that can prevent progress, or even worse, create even more problems. If you're struggling with that “whole treat thing,” here are eight things you should check.
(If you aren't familiar with the basics of classical conditioning, check out this post, and then this one. Today's entry will make a lot more sense if you do.)
Make Sure Your Timing is Right
This is perhaps the area you can screw up the most. In classical conditioning, the second thing that happens is the most important because it is the one that will determine what kind of association is formed. If that second thing is positive, the association will become positive. If the second thing is scary, though, then the association will become scary, too. In other words, when you give the treat matters, and it matters a lot.
There are four basic ways to pair stimuli. Trace conditioning happens when there is a 1-2 second delay between the two stimuli. For example, if you want the dog to learn that a bell ringing predicts that food is coming, in trace conditioning, you would ring the bell, wait 1-2 seconds, and then give the dog the treat. Delayed conditioning occurs when the first stimuli is presented continuously for several seconds (the bell rings several times in a row), and then food is presented immediately. Simultaneous conditioning means that both stimuli are presented at the same time; you ring the bell and give the food at the same time. Finally, backward conditioning, like the name implies, is when you reverse the stimuli. You give the food and then ring the bell.
Although there are scientific uses for all of these, when it comes to training a reactive or fearful dog, both simultaneous and backward conditioning is basically useless. Simultaneous conditioning will simply have little to no result. Backward conditioning, however, is much worse. Instead of the bell predicting the treat, the treat predicts the bell. This can have devastating consequences. If a scary happens after the food does, then the food predicts the scary thing, and thus becomes associated with fear. When this happens, the mere presence of food can cause a dog to shut down or react. Not a good thing.
Most people don't set out to get this order wrong. We understand how it should work, but where we go astray is in assuming that the dog sees the scary thing at the same time we do. Therefore, you should be sure to give the treat only after the dog has perceived the stimuli/scary thing.
Make Sure You Avoid Rhythmic Trials
We humans are creatures of habit- when we set up training experiences, we tend to fall into patterns. Unfortunately, dogs are very talented at discerning patterns, so we need to make sure that our trials are not rhythmic. Kathy gave the example of working with a dog who is afraid of men. If she were to enlist a male friend and directed him to walk in and out of eyesight, it's likely that he would begin doing so at regular intervals. Unfortunately, what the dogs often learn in these scenarios is not that the presence of men predicts steak, but rather, that steak happens every 20 seconds or so, and if you get a positive association, it's very weak. You will get a far better result if you make sure that your trials are random and varied.
Make Sure There Are No Competing Stimuli
Since the second event matters most, we need to make sure that we know what it is. Sure, we might think the pairing is simple- see scary thing, get a treat- but dogs are highly observant. Does he know he's getting a treat as a result of the scary thing, or is something happening in between those two events? Common pitfalls include reaching in a pocket, or crinkling a treat bag as we get the snack out. Again, associations can and do happen in these situations, but they are weaker than if it was direct, with no middleman. Try to set up the situation to reduce as many competing stimuli as possible.
Make Sure You're Using a High Value Treat
Kathy advises that you use the absolute best thing you can in order to create the most intense response possible. Classical conditioning follows a pretty steep curve, which means that you'll get the strongest response possible fairly early on in training. Don't squander this opportunity by using kibble. Sure, the dog will learn that scary things predict food, and that's good... but it's not awesome. Think about it: do you want an, “Oh, yes, kibble, thank you” response, or do you want the “HOLY COW I JUST GOT RAW TRIPE” response?
Make Sure Your Treat Remains Special
Classical conditioning works best when the contingency is strong. In non-science speak, this means that it works best when the awesome thing that follows the trigger happens only when the trigger does. No matter how much your dog loves cheese, if cheese happens all the time, it becomes meaningless. For that reason, Kathy recommended that you have a treat that you use only for counter-conditioning. Actually, she said that it would be best if all food happened only as a direct result of the scary thing, but since that's pretty much impossible, practically speaking, she recommended reserving the high value treat for your counter-conditioning work.
Make Sure You Aren't Lumping Criteria
Remember what I said about competing stimuli? Well, that counts for the first stimuli as well as the second. Make sure you aren't trying to counter-condition against too many things at once. It really works best to tackle one scary thing at a time. So, if your dog is afraid of men, and he's afraid of people riding bikes, men riding bikes might be too much. Try breaking it down more if you can.
Make Sure the Trigger Always Predicts Good Stuff
Classical conditioning is not operant conditioning. As such, it is not maintained by intermittent reinforcement, and is much more prone to extinction as a result. Instead, for classical conditioning to work, the scary thing pretty much always needs to be followed by the treat. Every time the dog sees a scary toddler, a piece of chicken should follow. Every time. If toddlers appear and chicken doesn't, then the dog learns that toddlers are not a very reliable predictor. If you're lucky, the dog will still develop a lukewarm response. If you're not, though, the dog will not make an association at all, meaning that you're doing all that work for nothing.
Your job is to find a way to avoid the trigger when you're not training. This means either carrying chicken and going everywhere with your dog, or not doing certain things with your dog. And yes, this includes walks and going potty. Speaking of which...
Make Sure You Switch to an Operant Technique
Since classical conditioning requires a near 100% trigger-treat response, it simply cannot be considered a long-term strategy. At some point, Kathy said, you just have to switch to an operant training strategy. This might be something like auto-watches or emergency U-turns, or it might be something “fancier” like BAT or Look at That. The technique you choose doesn't matter as much as the fact that you choose an operant behavior for your dog to perform at some point since that can be reinforced intermittently, allowing you the ability to just relax and enjoy your dog sometimes.
As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities for you to undermine the work you're doing. This is just part of the reason I advocate working with an experienced trainer when you're trying to modify your dog's behavior. I know I certainly made plenty of mistakes along the way- I never did reserve the absolute best treat possible solely for counter-conditioning, and so of course, those treats happened all the time. I'm also often guilty of lumping criteria, and I'm sure I screwed up my timing now and then. Still, we muddled through, and while my efforts could have been better had I understood this information then, we did okay. But what about you guys? Any memorable mistakes? I'd love to know that I'm not alone in my training shortcomings...
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Training Tuesday: CDSP Novice Requirements
Since we’ve decided to make our obedience debut in December, I’ve been reading up on what our chosen venue, CDSP, requires in the novice class. Here is an overview of what’s required, and what our progress looks like so far.
On Lead Heeling
This is your typical obedience heeling pattern, including pace changes, left and right turns, and an about turn. It also includes a distraction in the form of a steward walking towards you and your dog about 8 feet away.
Although we aren’t anywhere near a heeling pattern yet, our heeling is coming along nicely. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve really solidified the criteria of close. Maybe too close- although she still makes the occasional mistake and goes wide, most of the time she’s so close that I’m afraid I’m going to trip over her! She’s also started to “wrap” around to look at me, something I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I’m thrilled with the amount of attention she’s giving me, but on the other… well, to wrap, she must forge!
I’ve been working on reducing the forging by following Denise Fenzi’s suggestion of slowing down every time she forges. In order to receive the reward, Maisy must slow down enough to be in correct position. I would have never tried this on my own, but it's working. Maisy is quickly falling back into position, and is even offering the correct position during normal pace! In our last session, I began using the slow pace to correct and then returned to normal pace before rewarding. We will continue to do this until Maisy’s position is good.
We’ve continued to struggle with reward placement. Throwing the ball forward is easiest, but it is undoubtedly contributing to Maisy’s forging problem. Dropping it straight down doesn’t seem to be very reinforcing for her (she wants to chase). The obvious solution is to throw the ball behind us, but that’s been difficult. Every time I did, Maisy would shoot forward before circling back, making the whole thing counter-productive. Thankfully, an awesome friend saw what we were doing and then demonstrated how I should use my body to be more successful. It was a frustrating learning curve for both of us, but we’ve finally started to get it!
Here is this week's video. I'm really pleased with Maisy's progress, but feel like I'm really lacking in energy and enthusiasm.
Off Lead Figure 8
Two people stand as “posts,” and you and your dog must heel in a figure 8 pattern around them. You will be asked to halt twice. Maisy and I haven’t practiced this at all, but I assume that all of our heeling work will transfer over and create nice results here. At least, I hope so! I’m more worried about who the posts are… if they are friends, Maisy will be much more likely to approach them than if they are strangers.
Moving Stand for Exam
You and your dog heel approximately 10 feet, and when directed by the judge, you both stop. The dog must remain standing instead of sitting. You then leave the dog and move six feet away so the judge can briefly examine your dog before you return to heel position.
Maisy has actually done a stand for exam in competition- way back when this exercise was still an APDT bonus exercise. She didn’t love it, but she did it. I have been practicing the exercise with my husband, and had a friend do it as well. The moving stand part is fine, though we do need to keep working on it to minimize paw movement, but the stay part is hard. I thought she was going to dance with excitement towards our friend the other day… it was pretty cute, actually, and I will never, ever be upset if she NQs this exercise because she’s being friendly!
Recall over Bar Jump
In this exercise, you position your dog at least 8 feet from a jump, then move to the other side of the jump. Your dog should come over the jump when you call, sitting in front of you.
I was initially quite worried about this exercise, and indeed, the first couple of times, she came around the jump instead of going over it. We’ve been working on it almost every day, and she’s now pretty solid at 10-15 feet on either side. It’s a bit tougher with distractions of course, but we’re getting there.
The type of jump doesn’t seem to matter, either. In practice, I use a homemade PVC jump, so I wasn’t sure what she would do when she saw a real bar jump. Thankfully, when we tried it with proper, legal equipment last week, Maisy did just fine. So fine, in fact, that she anticipated my call front… that brat! I couldn't help but laugh I was so pleased that she knew what she was supposed to do (we can always work on the waiting part).
Honor Stay
CDSP does not do group stays. Instead, your dog can sit or lie (your choice) in heel position while another dog completes the on-lead heeling pattern.
Because of Maisy’s reactivity, this is the hardest exercise of them all. She’s motion reactive, and the other dog will be running at one point (during the fast pace). I’m also not good at stays, but we’ve been practicing tons of distance stays (that’s more interesting to me), and I’ve done some baby honors with other dogs. She’s doing quite well, and we honored a fast-moving toller the other night.
Anyway, that’s what we need to do, and where we’re at. I’m pretty pleased with my little pup. I know we won’t be perfect, but then, I don’t really care about the Q at this point. What I want is a dog who goes into the ring happy and connected with me. I’m training with that in my mind foremost, and assuming that everything else will follow…
On Lead Heeling
This is your typical obedience heeling pattern, including pace changes, left and right turns, and an about turn. It also includes a distraction in the form of a steward walking towards you and your dog about 8 feet away.
Although we aren’t anywhere near a heeling pattern yet, our heeling is coming along nicely. I’m pleased to announce that we’ve really solidified the criteria of close. Maybe too close- although she still makes the occasional mistake and goes wide, most of the time she’s so close that I’m afraid I’m going to trip over her! She’s also started to “wrap” around to look at me, something I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I’m thrilled with the amount of attention she’s giving me, but on the other… well, to wrap, she must forge!
I’ve been working on reducing the forging by following Denise Fenzi’s suggestion of slowing down every time she forges. In order to receive the reward, Maisy must slow down enough to be in correct position. I would have never tried this on my own, but it's working. Maisy is quickly falling back into position, and is even offering the correct position during normal pace! In our last session, I began using the slow pace to correct and then returned to normal pace before rewarding. We will continue to do this until Maisy’s position is good.
We’ve continued to struggle with reward placement. Throwing the ball forward is easiest, but it is undoubtedly contributing to Maisy’s forging problem. Dropping it straight down doesn’t seem to be very reinforcing for her (she wants to chase). The obvious solution is to throw the ball behind us, but that’s been difficult. Every time I did, Maisy would shoot forward before circling back, making the whole thing counter-productive. Thankfully, an awesome friend saw what we were doing and then demonstrated how I should use my body to be more successful. It was a frustrating learning curve for both of us, but we’ve finally started to get it!
Here is this week's video. I'm really pleased with Maisy's progress, but feel like I'm really lacking in energy and enthusiasm.
Off Lead Figure 8
Two people stand as “posts,” and you and your dog must heel in a figure 8 pattern around them. You will be asked to halt twice. Maisy and I haven’t practiced this at all, but I assume that all of our heeling work will transfer over and create nice results here. At least, I hope so! I’m more worried about who the posts are… if they are friends, Maisy will be much more likely to approach them than if they are strangers.
Moving Stand for Exam
You and your dog heel approximately 10 feet, and when directed by the judge, you both stop. The dog must remain standing instead of sitting. You then leave the dog and move six feet away so the judge can briefly examine your dog before you return to heel position.
Maisy has actually done a stand for exam in competition- way back when this exercise was still an APDT bonus exercise. She didn’t love it, but she did it. I have been practicing the exercise with my husband, and had a friend do it as well. The moving stand part is fine, though we do need to keep working on it to minimize paw movement, but the stay part is hard. I thought she was going to dance with excitement towards our friend the other day… it was pretty cute, actually, and I will never, ever be upset if she NQs this exercise because she’s being friendly!
Recall over Bar Jump
In this exercise, you position your dog at least 8 feet from a jump, then move to the other side of the jump. Your dog should come over the jump when you call, sitting in front of you.
I was initially quite worried about this exercise, and indeed, the first couple of times, she came around the jump instead of going over it. We’ve been working on it almost every day, and she’s now pretty solid at 10-15 feet on either side. It’s a bit tougher with distractions of course, but we’re getting there.
The type of jump doesn’t seem to matter, either. In practice, I use a homemade PVC jump, so I wasn’t sure what she would do when she saw a real bar jump. Thankfully, when we tried it with proper, legal equipment last week, Maisy did just fine. So fine, in fact, that she anticipated my call front… that brat! I couldn't help but laugh I was so pleased that she knew what she was supposed to do (we can always work on the waiting part).
Honor Stay
CDSP does not do group stays. Instead, your dog can sit or lie (your choice) in heel position while another dog completes the on-lead heeling pattern.
Because of Maisy’s reactivity, this is the hardest exercise of them all. She’s motion reactive, and the other dog will be running at one point (during the fast pace). I’m also not good at stays, but we’ve been practicing tons of distance stays (that’s more interesting to me), and I’ve done some baby honors with other dogs. She’s doing quite well, and we honored a fast-moving toller the other night.
Anyway, that’s what we need to do, and where we’re at. I’m pretty pleased with my little pup. I know we won’t be perfect, but then, I don’t really care about the Q at this point. What I want is a dog who goes into the ring happy and connected with me. I’m training with that in my mind foremost, and assuming that everything else will follow…
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Compassion Fatigue and You: Tips for Caring for Yourself so You Can Care for Your Difficult Dog
In the human world, there is a phenomenon called caregiver or compassion fatigue. It is the result of stress on either a professional or a family caregiver who feels her life has become out of balance; caring for others has taken too much of her time and energy. Compassion fatigue is also recognized in the animal world, most notably among those who work in shelters or rescues. But the symptoms of compassion fatigue- exhaustion, frustration, irritability, hypervigilance, hopelessness, isolation, feelings of incompetency or self-doubt, or a pervasive negative attitude- are possible for those of us who own difficult dogs, too.
We all know that living with dogs with behavior issues- whether that’s reactivity, anxiety, fearfulness, or aggression- is hard. As wonderful as we know our dogs are, their behavior can be perplexing and embarrassing. The resultant feelings of frustration, exhaustion, or hopelessness can even lead people to give up their dogs. Clearly, this is not an ideal situation for either the dog or the human. So, what can we do to help protect both ourselves and our canine companions? In today’s post, I have taken some of the common suggestions for coping with compassion fatigue, and adapted them to fit our unique situation.
Understand and accept your dog’s limitations.
Your dog’s behavior problems are not his fault. There is mounting scientific evidence that behavior in both humans and animals has a strong genetic component. Dogs also suffer when they don’t experience a wide variety of people, places, and things during the critical socialization period. And, of course, bad experiences, trauma, and health problems can influence your dog’s behavior throughout his life. This does not mean that his behavior is unchangeable, but making progress requires you to educate yourself on your dog’s issues.
More importantly, you need to develop reasonable expectations based on that knowledge. The dog who is terrified of people may not be a good therapy dog candidate. The dog who hates the sight of other pups may never go to a dog park. Be willing to accept what your dog is capable of, and what he’s not, even if it means letting go of some of your idealized notions of who you want your dog to be.
Understand and accept your own limitations, too.
Your dog’s behavior is not your fault, either. Yes, we can make problems worse through our mistakes, but they are just that- mistakes. Acknowledge areas where you may have fallen short, then resolve to do better. My general experience has been that dogs are incredibly resilient, and I believe that people should extend themselves as much forgiveness as their dog does.
Remember, too, that none of us are born trainers. Even those who have natural talent must develop those skills. Some of us don’t even want to undertake what might become a multi-year project, and that is okay. Figure out how much you can do, and how much you’re willing to do. Even the smallest amount of effort can improve your dog’s life, and by extension, your own.
Ask for help and create a support system.
I am a firm believer that everyone with a difficult dog should enlist the assistance of a professional trainer or behaviorist, even if it’s just for the occasional consultation. It is very hard to be able to step outside of your relationship with your dog and make an objective assessment of how things are going. Having a professional that you trust give you the feedback on what you need to improve, and what you’re doing well can prevent you from feeling stuck or hopeless.
You can also benefit from having an informal support system. I have several other friends with reactive dogs, and it’s really nice to be able to commiserate with them at times. Unlike my co-workers or even my family, these people know what it’s like to live with a dog with issues, and understand how hard it can be. From friends to email lists to other blogs, just knowing that I’m not alone in this is comforting.
Relax, play, and laugh with your dog.
The phrase “pick your battles” comes to mind here- not that I think you should be fighting with your dog, of course. The truth is, though, when you have a dog with problem behaviors, even a simple walk through the neighborhood can feel like war. Sometimes, you just need to find a way to enjoy some worry-free time with your dog.
In other words, not everything needs to be a training session. Take a day off and enjoy a romp in a secluded meadow or hike a quiet trail. Play tug or throw that ball. Or simply sit and pet your dog for awhile (assuming he likes that, of course). You both need some stress-free time to reconnect and remember why you chose one another in the first place.
Take time for yourself.
Finally, you need to make sure you take care of yourself, too. I know this isn't easy; I often feel guilty when I’m not spending time with my dog. And vacations? Forget it- even a long weekend feels impossible when you don’t know where to leave your dog.
Still, it is vital that you have some outside interests. I know, I know- your dog is the most interesting thing you can imagine. Mine too. But having some hobbies that aren’t dog related, and some friends that can talk about something other than what Fido did last night, can help you maintain the balance in your life that you need to prevent compassion fatigue.
These are just some of the suggestions that make sense to me… but what about you guys? What would you tell someone who has a dog with issues? What would you suggest they do to prevent burnout? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Information for this post was taken from:
The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project
and
Animals in Our Hearts
We all know that living with dogs with behavior issues- whether that’s reactivity, anxiety, fearfulness, or aggression- is hard. As wonderful as we know our dogs are, their behavior can be perplexing and embarrassing. The resultant feelings of frustration, exhaustion, or hopelessness can even lead people to give up their dogs. Clearly, this is not an ideal situation for either the dog or the human. So, what can we do to help protect both ourselves and our canine companions? In today’s post, I have taken some of the common suggestions for coping with compassion fatigue, and adapted them to fit our unique situation.
Understand and accept your dog’s limitations.
Your dog’s behavior problems are not his fault. There is mounting scientific evidence that behavior in both humans and animals has a strong genetic component. Dogs also suffer when they don’t experience a wide variety of people, places, and things during the critical socialization period. And, of course, bad experiences, trauma, and health problems can influence your dog’s behavior throughout his life. This does not mean that his behavior is unchangeable, but making progress requires you to educate yourself on your dog’s issues.
More importantly, you need to develop reasonable expectations based on that knowledge. The dog who is terrified of people may not be a good therapy dog candidate. The dog who hates the sight of other pups may never go to a dog park. Be willing to accept what your dog is capable of, and what he’s not, even if it means letting go of some of your idealized notions of who you want your dog to be.
Understand and accept your own limitations, too.
Your dog’s behavior is not your fault, either. Yes, we can make problems worse through our mistakes, but they are just that- mistakes. Acknowledge areas where you may have fallen short, then resolve to do better. My general experience has been that dogs are incredibly resilient, and I believe that people should extend themselves as much forgiveness as their dog does.
Remember, too, that none of us are born trainers. Even those who have natural talent must develop those skills. Some of us don’t even want to undertake what might become a multi-year project, and that is okay. Figure out how much you can do, and how much you’re willing to do. Even the smallest amount of effort can improve your dog’s life, and by extension, your own.
Ask for help and create a support system.
I am a firm believer that everyone with a difficult dog should enlist the assistance of a professional trainer or behaviorist, even if it’s just for the occasional consultation. It is very hard to be able to step outside of your relationship with your dog and make an objective assessment of how things are going. Having a professional that you trust give you the feedback on what you need to improve, and what you’re doing well can prevent you from feeling stuck or hopeless.
You can also benefit from having an informal support system. I have several other friends with reactive dogs, and it’s really nice to be able to commiserate with them at times. Unlike my co-workers or even my family, these people know what it’s like to live with a dog with issues, and understand how hard it can be. From friends to email lists to other blogs, just knowing that I’m not alone in this is comforting.
Relax, play, and laugh with your dog.
The phrase “pick your battles” comes to mind here- not that I think you should be fighting with your dog, of course. The truth is, though, when you have a dog with problem behaviors, even a simple walk through the neighborhood can feel like war. Sometimes, you just need to find a way to enjoy some worry-free time with your dog.
In other words, not everything needs to be a training session. Take a day off and enjoy a romp in a secluded meadow or hike a quiet trail. Play tug or throw that ball. Or simply sit and pet your dog for awhile (assuming he likes that, of course). You both need some stress-free time to reconnect and remember why you chose one another in the first place.
Take time for yourself.
Finally, you need to make sure you take care of yourself, too. I know this isn't easy; I often feel guilty when I’m not spending time with my dog. And vacations? Forget it- even a long weekend feels impossible when you don’t know where to leave your dog.
Still, it is vital that you have some outside interests. I know, I know- your dog is the most interesting thing you can imagine. Mine too. But having some hobbies that aren’t dog related, and some friends that can talk about something other than what Fido did last night, can help you maintain the balance in your life that you need to prevent compassion fatigue.
These are just some of the suggestions that make sense to me… but what about you guys? What would you tell someone who has a dog with issues? What would you suggest they do to prevent burnout? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Information for this post was taken from:
The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project
and
Animals in Our Hearts
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Relationship Matters for the Dog, Too
In my last post, I explored the concept that having a relationship with a dog makes it easier for the human part of the equation to cope with his issues. But as several commenters pointed out, relationship matters at the other end of the leash, too. While that wasn’t the focus of my post, I have to agree. In fact, I agree so much that I decided to write about it today.
The little shelter dog I was working with came to the rescue as a stray. We don’t know his breed, his age, or anything about his history. We have some guesses, sure, but they're just that. Where was he born? To whom? What were his early experiences with humans like? Why is he so suspicious of us? How did he learn to use his mouth?
I have so many questions, but I will never know the answers. And just as I don’t know anything about him, he doesn’t know anything about me. Am I trustworthy? Will I listen to his warnings? Can I even see them? How far does he need to go to make sure I understand he’s uncomfortable? Are all my clicks and treats an indication of my character, or are they simply empty promises?
He has no way to answer his questions about me, either; he has no history upon which to draw. Complicating matters, in the last month or so, he has had contact with so many strangers- from his caretakers at the pound, to the two separate foster homes he’s been in, to me, the unknown trainer- well, it’s been a jumbled mix of interactions that probably contributes to his overall confusion and distrust.
Contrast this to Maisy, who, despite her rocky beginnings, has learned that humans are generally okay. Certainly she knows that I, as her person, will do my best to protect her. Sure, I make mistakes. I get frustrated sometimes, and occasionally I miscalculate how stressful a given situation may be for her. Despite my failings, she seems to understand that I have the best of intentions. Just as I have developed a relationship with her, she’s developed one with me.
This relationship- that is, the dog’s relationship to the human- is clearly important. It allows him to know what to expect from the person holding his leash. Not having any history with me means my little shelter dog needs to constantly evaluate my role in his safety (or lack thereof). While Maisy has learned that I do not pose a threat, my little shelter dog has not. As a result, it is clear that, just as it matters to me, relationship matters for the dog, too.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Relationship Matters
The last few Sundays, I've been volunteering with a really cool shelter-training program. Dogs who are in a shelter or foster home can come to a free training class, where they learn basic skills like walking nicely on a leash, settling on a mat, and being comfortable with handling. Most of the dogs come with their foster-person, but since some have more than one foster dog, I've been acting as an extra handler.
The dog I've been working with is very cute. He loves to play, and he's pretty smart. However, he is not without his issues. He is fearful of new people, and while he has great bite inhibition, he's not afraid to use his mouth to get his point across. He also has an incredibly short attention span, and he's very environmentally aware, tipping quickly into reactivity.
He reminds me a lot of Maisy, to be honest. From the way he whips his head around, checking for threats, to his eagerness to earn a click, he shares many traits with her (though, thankfully, she's never been a biter). You'd think that this would endear him to me. You'd think that I'd be brimming with understanding and compassion. Instead, I find him frustrating. Despite his small size, he's a lot of dog. Like the old days with Maisy, it takes a ton of energy to manage him in order to prevent reactive outbursts, and even so, he goes over threshold quickly and frequently.
So what's the difference? My only explanation can be summed up in one word: relationship.
Maisy has always been my dog. From that first inexplicable moment when I laid eyes on her, I've known that. I didn't even really like dogs, yet I was ready to sacrifice my home in order to have her in my life, and I've never looked back. Oh, sure, we struggled during those early months. After the third time she peed on my carpet in as many hours on the day she came home, I'll admit to wondering if I'd made a mistake. But as the months went on, I learned how to potty-train a puppy, and she learned how to go outside.
Time only seems to strengthen our bond. By the time I realized that Maisy's temperament left something to be desired, I was so completely in love with her that I knew the only option was to get through it together. Our relationship meant that I wouldn't give up on her. It gave me the ability to empathize with her anxiety. It allowed me to see her as more than just her bad behavior. It somehow gave me the strength to continue on despite the embarrassment and the exhaustion.
And let's be honest: working with a reactive dog is exhausting. The constant management, vigilance, and training takes a toll on the human trainer. Although I can handle it for the hour that I'm working with my Sunday shelter dog, I'm left feeling much more tired than I ever remember feeling with Maisy. I can't even imagine fostering- let alone living with this dog.
Perhaps things would change as I got to know him better. Perhaps the benefit of proximity and time would help abate some of that fatigue. But the one thing I've learned is that- for me anyway- relationship matters.
The dog I've been working with is very cute. He loves to play, and he's pretty smart. However, he is not without his issues. He is fearful of new people, and while he has great bite inhibition, he's not afraid to use his mouth to get his point across. He also has an incredibly short attention span, and he's very environmentally aware, tipping quickly into reactivity.
He reminds me a lot of Maisy, to be honest. From the way he whips his head around, checking for threats, to his eagerness to earn a click, he shares many traits with her (though, thankfully, she's never been a biter). You'd think that this would endear him to me. You'd think that I'd be brimming with understanding and compassion. Instead, I find him frustrating. Despite his small size, he's a lot of dog. Like the old days with Maisy, it takes a ton of energy to manage him in order to prevent reactive outbursts, and even so, he goes over threshold quickly and frequently.
So what's the difference? My only explanation can be summed up in one word: relationship.
Photo by Sara Reusche
Maisy has always been my dog. From that first inexplicable moment when I laid eyes on her, I've known that. I didn't even really like dogs, yet I was ready to sacrifice my home in order to have her in my life, and I've never looked back. Oh, sure, we struggled during those early months. After the third time she peed on my carpet in as many hours on the day she came home, I'll admit to wondering if I'd made a mistake. But as the months went on, I learned how to potty-train a puppy, and she learned how to go outside.
Time only seems to strengthen our bond. By the time I realized that Maisy's temperament left something to be desired, I was so completely in love with her that I knew the only option was to get through it together. Our relationship meant that I wouldn't give up on her. It gave me the ability to empathize with her anxiety. It allowed me to see her as more than just her bad behavior. It somehow gave me the strength to continue on despite the embarrassment and the exhaustion.
And let's be honest: working with a reactive dog is exhausting. The constant management, vigilance, and training takes a toll on the human trainer. Although I can handle it for the hour that I'm working with my Sunday shelter dog, I'm left feeling much more tired than I ever remember feeling with Maisy. I can't even imagine fostering- let alone living with this dog.
Perhaps things would change as I got to know him better. Perhaps the benefit of proximity and time would help abate some of that fatigue. But the one thing I've learned is that- for me anyway- relationship matters.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Kathy Sdao Seminar: Good Foundations
Pretty much all dog training is based on some form of conditioning, either operant or classical. Since classical techniques tend to be less flashy (read: tedious and boring), most trainers choose to focus on operant ones. Kathy even admitted that while classical conditioning is a bit like watching paint dry, it's so incredibly powerful that it deserves to be the star once in awhile. And of course, Kathy did an amazing job giving classical conditioning the billing it deserves.
Both types of conditioning are built up over repetitions. The difference is that operant conditioning is about consequences, while classical conditioning is not. Operant conditioning seeks to influence the dog's behavior by pairing his actions with rewards like food. The dog only gets the food if he behaves in a certain way. By contrast, classical conditioning doesn't care about what the dog is doing at all- its only goal is to create a direct association between two stimuli. There is no behavioral criteria, and the dog gets the food no matter what he does or doesn't do.
Instead, classical conditioning focuses on the dog's feelings and his reflexes by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with something that elicits a strong reaction from the dog. For example, if everytime a dog hears a bell he gets some food, he'll soon learn to expect some food whenever he hears a ringing sound. Classical conditioning can also be used to change a previously learned association, typically from bad to good. This is called counter-conditioning.
This form of conditioning is incredibly useful when working with fearful, reactive, anxious, or aggressive dogs, but is often poorly understood or glossed over. It does take a bit of time to do it right, and people often try to cut corners, or skip over it entirely. It's a shame, really, because if you can change a dog's feelings about something, the behavior will often change as a result. After all, if children are no longer scary, there's no need to lunge and growl at them, right?
The problem with classical conditioning is that it really doesn't hold up well for the long-term. Yes, you can create associations pretty easily, and you can even change associations with a bit more work, but classical conditioning is incredibly fickle. Unlike operant conditioning, where behavior can be maintained with intermittment rewards, classical conditioning can extinguish quickly if the association is not maintained.
This means that classical conditioning is not a holistic plan. It's simply too exhausting to continually maintain the pairing of scary thing=good thing. The person will get tired, or will screw up. It's also impractical to constantly have treats (or other good things) on you. Ultimately, Kathy said, you'll need to switch to an operant technique, whether that's CAT or BAT or Control Unleashed or whatever.
So why bother with classical conditioning at all? Why not just cut straight to the chase and use an operant strategy from the start? The biggest reason to do this is because most dogs with fear/reactivity/anxiety/aggression issues are okay... until they're not. And usually, once they're “not,” they've gone over threshold, and are now in that fight-or-flight mode where they can no longer think. Then it's too late. You can't teach the dog anything. You can't reinforce an acceptable behavior because the dog isn't physiologically capable of learning anymore. Operant conditioning becomes impossible.
So, you start at the beginning. You pair the sight of a trigger with good things, over and over again, no matter what the dog is doing, so that the dog no longer sees the trigger as a scary thing, but rather, as a thing which results in chicken. You'll know this association has happened when the dog gets demanding- he'll see the trigger, and instead of reacting, he'll be obnoxiously nudging your hand or staring at your chicken pocket. And since he wants that chicken so badly, it's pretty easy to ask him to do something to earn it.
In other words, what classical conditioning does is give you the foundation on which to build those operant behaviors. It helps your dog relax enough to think. It gives you enough time to intervene. It gives you the space you need to begin training the behaviors you want instead of constantly focusing on the ones you don't.
Of course, it's not as easy as I make it sound. If it was, Kathy wouldn't have been able to spend a full day discussing classical conditioning. Indeed, Kathy shared some really interesting- and important- tips to make the most of classical conditioning. If you're going to go through all that work, you might as well do it right! I'll share that info with you in the next post.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear from other people with reactive dogs. Did you do classical conditioning as a foundation? What was your experience like?
Both types of conditioning are built up over repetitions. The difference is that operant conditioning is about consequences, while classical conditioning is not. Operant conditioning seeks to influence the dog's behavior by pairing his actions with rewards like food. The dog only gets the food if he behaves in a certain way. By contrast, classical conditioning doesn't care about what the dog is doing at all- its only goal is to create a direct association between two stimuli. There is no behavioral criteria, and the dog gets the food no matter what he does or doesn't do.
Instead, classical conditioning focuses on the dog's feelings and his reflexes by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with something that elicits a strong reaction from the dog. For example, if everytime a dog hears a bell he gets some food, he'll soon learn to expect some food whenever he hears a ringing sound. Classical conditioning can also be used to change a previously learned association, typically from bad to good. This is called counter-conditioning.
This form of conditioning is incredibly useful when working with fearful, reactive, anxious, or aggressive dogs, but is often poorly understood or glossed over. It does take a bit of time to do it right, and people often try to cut corners, or skip over it entirely. It's a shame, really, because if you can change a dog's feelings about something, the behavior will often change as a result. After all, if children are no longer scary, there's no need to lunge and growl at them, right?
The problem with classical conditioning is that it really doesn't hold up well for the long-term. Yes, you can create associations pretty easily, and you can even change associations with a bit more work, but classical conditioning is incredibly fickle. Unlike operant conditioning, where behavior can be maintained with intermittment rewards, classical conditioning can extinguish quickly if the association is not maintained.
This means that classical conditioning is not a holistic plan. It's simply too exhausting to continually maintain the pairing of scary thing=good thing. The person will get tired, or will screw up. It's also impractical to constantly have treats (or other good things) on you. Ultimately, Kathy said, you'll need to switch to an operant technique, whether that's CAT or BAT or Control Unleashed or whatever.
So why bother with classical conditioning at all? Why not just cut straight to the chase and use an operant strategy from the start? The biggest reason to do this is because most dogs with fear/reactivity/anxiety/aggression issues are okay... until they're not. And usually, once they're “not,” they've gone over threshold, and are now in that fight-or-flight mode where they can no longer think. Then it's too late. You can't teach the dog anything. You can't reinforce an acceptable behavior because the dog isn't physiologically capable of learning anymore. Operant conditioning becomes impossible.
So, you start at the beginning. You pair the sight of a trigger with good things, over and over again, no matter what the dog is doing, so that the dog no longer sees the trigger as a scary thing, but rather, as a thing which results in chicken. You'll know this association has happened when the dog gets demanding- he'll see the trigger, and instead of reacting, he'll be obnoxiously nudging your hand or staring at your chicken pocket. And since he wants that chicken so badly, it's pretty easy to ask him to do something to earn it.
In other words, what classical conditioning does is give you the foundation on which to build those operant behaviors. It helps your dog relax enough to think. It gives you enough time to intervene. It gives you the space you need to begin training the behaviors you want instead of constantly focusing on the ones you don't.
Of course, it's not as easy as I make it sound. If it was, Kathy wouldn't have been able to spend a full day discussing classical conditioning. Indeed, Kathy shared some really interesting- and important- tips to make the most of classical conditioning. If you're going to go through all that work, you might as well do it right! I'll share that info with you in the next post.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear from other people with reactive dogs. Did you do classical conditioning as a foundation? What was your experience like?
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