[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Hunter getting a little mean



At 06:21 AM 6/17/00 -0800, Deb McFail wrote:
Can you explain further for me (I'm feeling very slow today, lol) about the dishes trick? Do I understand correctly that if I've got a territorial dog to put say, for example, 3 empty dishes around his food bowl a foot and a half away or so? I'm sorry to be so dense sounding, lol, I'm the one in the group that needs pictures drawn (g)

Hi Deb and all:

On food aggression, Rogerson suggested that if you had three dogs
that you put 10 bowls of food out, with the normal amount of food divided
among the 10 bowls scattered throughout the kitchen/dining room
area.  Then the dogs can't get possessive about one dish.  There's
lots of dishes for everyone to get their food.

This is all theoretical because I haven't used this idea or seen it
implemented, but I think I'd place the dishes five or more feet
apart, but so each dog, while it is eating, has a sense of personal
space.

Personally, this seemed like going to a lot of trouble, so we did
it the old-fashioned way <s>

Angel, when she first came to us, was a pistol (still is :-)  We would
serve Iris first, and then Angel (reinforcing pack status).  Angel would
push Iris out of the way and start eating Iris' food.  Iris would back up
and look at me like...why do I deserve this?  Well, she didn't <s>

It took about four days of Perry and I serving meals together and one
of us correcting, restraining, distracting Angel to her dish, but she
finally got the idea that she ate from *her* bowl, not Iris'.   Now, she
wouldn't even consider taking from Iris' bowl, unless Iris is finished
and gone on to something else, and then she will very quietly come
over and see if there's anything to lick <s>
Also... I am thinking about behaviors that extinguish themselves after a,  well... what's the word I'm looking for here.. sort of like a crescendo of bad behavior while the person is still working through the problem and then the behavior suddenly extinguishes itself. I'm thinking about Sophie in this instance and will give you an example below.

Yes, exactly....you saw exactly what I was trying to explain.  I thought
about using the word "extinguish" to describe how a behavior will disappear
on it's own if not rewarded, and even negatively reinforced.  You and we
have both studied clicker training, so the terminology is known to us.

Those of you with puppies....I'd highly recommend that you read up on
and sign up for classes that train with operant conditioning methods...
known in some circles as clicker training.  This is not the only way to
train, but it's very useful to have in your bag of training tricks.  And you
end up with a dog with great attitude, mental prowess, and that lives to
train and work.  There's a whole lot I can tell you about clicker training...
but that's a *whole* other post! <vbg>
she suddenly circled the play yard with normal ears and wagging tail, puppy on the inside next to her the entire way walking with her, and then she dropped down into a play bow and did wild puppy yah-yah's around the area. My jaw dropped. I had never expected to see her offering this behavior to Boomer. Are we finally at the BEGINNING of being able to work on her behavior do you think? Is she maybe getting the message that the alpha bitch (me) will not accept her shoddy behavior and that I'm insisting Boomer is staying?

Isn't it a rip when the message finally sinks through their furry little heads.
I'm so excited for you, Deb!  I don't think I'd trust her alone with her new
brother yet, but it's definitely a start.  You *did* reward her profusely for
her new behaviors, right <lol>  Heck, I'd have given her a top sirloin steak
and a lamb meaty bone all at once <vbg>

Linda
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Linda Shipman
Juneau, Alaska
Linda.Shipman@chezor.alaska.com
http://www.chezor.alaska.com
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^