Biscuits for Thought
Guess what?
Aggression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, intelligence, motivation and dominance are NOT behaviors. They are hypothetical, psychological constructs and diagnostic labels. They are concepts, and concepts can’t cause behavior. Labels like: dominance and aggression can actually cause barriers to really understanding and changing behavior. Behavior can be measured. Try to look at behavior for what it is…. For example, a dog jumps up on your bed, you do not like this behavior, and in you’re mind, your dog is being “dominant”. No he’s not. He exhibited a behavior (jumping on the bed) and it has a wonderful consequence (bed is soft and it smells like you), and this behavior is NOT dominant. It’s simply a behavior. Behaviors increase when the consequence is good (soft bed, smells like you). Focus on what you can do to change the behavior. Figure out the antecedent (what triggers the behavior). In this case, the dog jumps on the bed when he enters the room. So keep the door closed. When you open the door, focus on teaching him to “go to his place, or bed”, by throwing high value treats onto his dog bed. Make his dog bed a more rewarding experience than your own bed. Consequences drive behavior. If you put a motion-sensor alarm on your bed, and it beeps loudly when your dog jumps on the bed, he’s less likely to jump on the bed. At the same time, strengthen his desire to want to “go to his own bed” by rewarding him for a week or two with high value reward.
An animal doesn’t approach because he’s sweet; he’s called sweet because he approaches. The human hand offers food (the antecedent), the dog approaches (the behavior) and the dog eats the cheese (consequence). The dog is not sweet. The dog APPROACHES. He approaches because there is a good consequence (cheese). Conversely, someone else offers a hand (antecedent), and grabs the dog and puts him in a crate. Here, approaching the hand results in the dog being confined in the crate, (consequence), so the dog may approach less (behavior). In fact, the offered hand could even be bitten. The biting will be reinforced by escape from being in the crate. This animal does NOT bite because he’s dominant or aggressive, rather, he’s called dominant and aggressive because he bites. Really, he bites only because his behavior of biting is reinforced by escaping the crate! How could one change this behavior? That is the question you should ask. Solution could be to teach “go to your crate” by throwing yummy treats inside the crate. Play the “in your crate” game when you are home and not leaving the house. When he enters the crate, let there just be a reward. Don’t close the door. Reward the behavior enough so that he flies into the crate on cue! One out of every 10 times close the crate door and leave. Keep him guessing, and keep rewarding, and stop labeling!
Biscuits for thought!
Aggression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, intelligence, motivation and dominance are NOT behaviors. They are hypothetical, psychological constructs and diagnostic labels. They are concepts, and concepts can’t cause behavior. Labels like: dominance and aggression can actually cause barriers to really understanding and changing behavior. Behavior can be measured. Try to look at behavior for what it is…. For example, a dog jumps up on your bed, you do not like this behavior, and in you’re mind, your dog is being “dominant”. No he’s not. He exhibited a behavior (jumping on the bed) and it has a wonderful consequence (bed is soft and it smells like you), and this behavior is NOT dominant. It’s simply a behavior. Behaviors increase when the consequence is good (soft bed, smells like you). Focus on what you can do to change the behavior. Figure out the antecedent (what triggers the behavior). In this case, the dog jumps on the bed when he enters the room. So keep the door closed. When you open the door, focus on teaching him to “go to his place, or bed”, by throwing high value treats onto his dog bed. Make his dog bed a more rewarding experience than your own bed. Consequences drive behavior. If you put a motion-sensor alarm on your bed, and it beeps loudly when your dog jumps on the bed, he’s less likely to jump on the bed. At the same time, strengthen his desire to want to “go to his own bed” by rewarding him for a week or two with high value reward.
An animal doesn’t approach because he’s sweet; he’s called sweet because he approaches. The human hand offers food (the antecedent), the dog approaches (the behavior) and the dog eats the cheese (consequence). The dog is not sweet. The dog APPROACHES. He approaches because there is a good consequence (cheese). Conversely, someone else offers a hand (antecedent), and grabs the dog and puts him in a crate. Here, approaching the hand results in the dog being confined in the crate, (consequence), so the dog may approach less (behavior). In fact, the offered hand could even be bitten. The biting will be reinforced by escape from being in the crate. This animal does NOT bite because he’s dominant or aggressive, rather, he’s called dominant and aggressive because he bites. Really, he bites only because his behavior of biting is reinforced by escaping the crate! How could one change this behavior? That is the question you should ask. Solution could be to teach “go to your crate” by throwing yummy treats inside the crate. Play the “in your crate” game when you are home and not leaving the house. When he enters the crate, let there just be a reward. Don’t close the door. Reward the behavior enough so that he flies into the crate on cue! One out of every 10 times close the crate door and leave. Keep him guessing, and keep rewarding, and stop labeling!
Biscuits for thought!
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