New Research Challenges Dominance Based Training Techniques For Dogs

ScienceDaily (2009-05-25) -- A new study shows how the behavior of dogs has been misunderstood for generations: in fact using misplaced ideas about dog behavior and training is likely to cause rather than cure unwanted behavior. The findings challenge many of the dominance related interpretations of behavior and training techniques suggested by current TV dog trainers.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm#

But What's REALLY Going On When Your Pet Is Suddenly Phobic?

Studying behavioral analysis and positive reinforcement in behavior modification has completely changed my relationship with my pets - and how I look at behavior all together. What my teachers, mentors and friends in the animal training world have taught me is that far and away the most effective way to teach and modify behaviors (in any animal) is using the most positive and least intrusive way possible.

A couple of years ago I devoted one of my Hyde Park Living pet columns to talking about sudden fear exhibited by pets. I thought I would share it on my blog to help more people. Below is an exerpt...

With birds especially, I’ve often heard people talk of their pet’s sudden neurotic, phobic behaviors. Out of the blue, for no apparent reason, their loving companion will scream, lunge or try to escape the hands that up until that moment had only been associated with positive things.

I know about this, unfortunately, from firsthand knowledge. My loving Barnaby Timneh African Grey, who normally would be very happy spending his entire day with his face pressed against mine (of course it would have to be with the occasional play break), would suddenly ‘out of the blue’ panic when he stepped onto my arm. He’d scream with horror in his voice, breathe heavily, and then take off. If you’ve ever experienced the unconditional love of an animal, you can probably understand it is completely heartbreaking when you are thrust into the portrayal of some evil monster – and you don’t even know why.

Each time it would happen with Barnaby, I’d have to go through a systematic desensitization plan to help him overcome his anxiety. Because we have a long history of trust, we were able to work through this fairly quickly, but my training taught me there had to be a reason for this reoccurring behavior. And there also had to be a way of eliminating or minimizing the frequency of it. Behavior, I know, doesn’t ever happen willy nilly. It is always triggered by something in the environment. And the consequences of that behavior are what either maintains, builds or extinguishes it.

Hmm. Actually it became fairly easy to figure out once I put on my behavior analysis hat.
There is a window in the birds’ room that faces the street. On sunny days, when a car drives past, the light that reflects from the metal and glass makes a brilliant pass from one wall to the next. A pretty scary demon to a Timneh teddy bear no longer than a ruler. If my neighbor parks her car in a certain spot at a certain time of day and Barnaby happens to be way up high, that same evil light hovers. Each time that Barnaby jumped on my arm, only to be terrified, that same ‘trigger’ light just happened to be coming from the street.

My mentor and teacher, Dr. Susan Friedman – a respected psychologist and behaviorist - helped me to understand. Purely based on my poor timing, in Barnaby’s mind, I got associated with the light. And that was not a good thing to be paired with.

Barnaby had two types of behaviors going on. One was an automatic, involuntary response to a bright light (panic scream, escape). In scientific terminology, this is called an unconditioned or respondent behavior because it wasn’t something that Barnaby learned in the way that he came to know stepping up generally meant only good things would follow. On the other hand, his stepping up behavior is most definitely learned. Scientists call that operant learning.

Now, think of the use of a clicker. The clicker in and of itself is meaningless to an animal. It only acquires value to that animal when a good trainer repeatedly pairs the sound with a treat. Then the click acquires reinforcing value.

This same type of association was going on with Barnaby, only it was a negative one. Being on my arm – something that had always given him positive reinforcement in the past – when the light (remember, something that causes an unconditioned fear response) came through the window, was being paired with that fear response. Just as the words ‘good boy’ have become associated with safflower seeds, his being on my arm had become associated with that awful light.

Once this became clear, working toward a solution really wasn’t that difficult. What I learned from Susan (and so many great people on Susan’s international parrot behavior listserve) is how to modify Barnaby’s environment so as to set him up for success. When I’m working from home, I try to remember to close their shade at a certain time. But if the shade is up, and there is that dangerous light outside (at least in his eyes), I absolutely will not pick him up. Instead, he’s learned to go inside his cage at that time. That one small adjustment has meant the difference between a pet who became instantly phobic of me – on a more frequent basis – to one who hasn’t exhibited those behaviors once since I figured it all out. So, it really wasn’t just some irrational fear after all.

This isn’t to say that something else in the future may pop up, that will cause that same fear response. Barnaby is a living being, and, as life goes, behaviors evolve all the time to adapt to the environment. But next time, I’m going to be better equipped to send those awful monsters packing so Barnaby can just focus on having fun.

Meet Oscar, One Happy American Cocker Spaniel

Yep, only looks sad. Truth be told, his housemate Helen Dinshaw, says he's one happy little trouble maker. Anything is fair game to this nine month year old. His favorite toy is a stuffed vulture but what he really likes to do is play with one of Helen's cats. They roll around, wrestle and chase each other bouncing off the bed, couch or even Helen - whatever gets in their way.

By the way, I met Helen at the International Association for Avian Educators and Trainers Conference that was held in Cincinnati earlier this year. She is a trainer at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York. Maybe in the future I'll post some pictures of her with her co-workers.

Wow...A SHOE!

Wow...A SHOE!
Originally uploaded by goodthingslisa

Sam's all time favorite toy. He's got them inside and outside, front yard and back. Just move everything fragile and watch him go! We all should have so much fun.

When You Want To Stop A 'Problem' Behavior, Set Your Pet Up For Success

In the days before Barnaby joined our flock, there was just Chester, Dreyfuss and me living together in a large two bedroom apartment. It actually was a wonderful place with many of the rooms being larger than those in my house and the large sliding glass window in the dining room made for a scenic view of the woods in the back. Pink floor length curtains hung from its side with a hand made valence (made by me) stretching across the top.

Chester and Dreyfuss stayed in the dining room, their cages arranged on a wall at either end of the table. It made for some interesting meetings (I work from my home) and dinners with the family. Whoever thought only dogs begged for food has certainly never met my guys!

That was long before I had ever heard of behavioral analysis, and creating an enriching environment, well, that meant putting some acrylic toys in their cages, right??? I got them at the pet store, and they were labeled ‘bird toys’ after all.

I did a lot of things differently back then, and, as a result, so did the guys. Take for example those flowing, opaque pink curtains that were no longer transparent to the sun’s afternoon rays by the time I bought a house. If you’re ever looking for an awesome playgym for your parrot, I’ve got a suggestion. To Chester, they were the greatest thing next to safflower seeds. He’d slide down his cage stand, waddle across the floor and climb to his heart’s content. Up, down, right, left. If he was on the outer edge, he could swing it around so that only his head would stick out. And, if I didn’t find him while he was playing monkey on the curtains, he’d make it all the way up to the valence. I can’t tell you how many times I’d walk out to find him hanging upside down. When he’d see me, he’d tilt his head up as if to say ‘look mom, look at me!’

I was so frustrated because I couldn’t stop him, but at the same time, if you’ve ever seen an Alexandrine hanging upside down with such a comical look about him, you can’t help but laugh. It’s just so funny.

Then there was the time when I was on the telephone in a back bedroom and suddenly I heard
C*R*U*N*C*H. That was the sound of a dining room chair being disassembled by a beak that didn’t have anything better to chew on.

Needless to say, I was determined when we moved, that history was NOT going to repeat itself. And thankfully now, I have the knowledge to prevent it. (at least so far – and it’s been nine years)

It’s easy to look back on the situation now and see how Chester’s environment wasn’t setting him up for success, at least success through my eyes. With a behavioral analysis hat on, let’s look at his curtain climbing antics. (If you need a refresher on behavioral analysis, please scroll down and read Dr. Susan Friedman's article.)

Background: Chester is activity and Lisa deprived.

Antecedent: curtains were in view
Behavior: Chester waddled over and climbed the curtains
Consequence: sensory feedback – stimulation from his having to use his beak and feet
activity – he was busy and engaged
social – if I came out, he’d get my attention

Probable Future Behavior: When Chester is activity and Lisa deprived, he’ll continue to climb the curtains to gain sensory, activity and social stimulation.

So, what have I done differently to set him up for success? Well, honestly, I really just needed to do some antecedent changes to prevent him from destroying things here and it has solved our problem. I have created a much more enriching environment. I even keep their cage doors open while I’m working in my basement and the only reason Chester will come off his cage is if something scares him. But I’m prepared for that too.

Chester, and all of my birds, have a lot to do during the day to keep them busy. I spend time each week making strands of knotted hemp and beads that I hang all over the inside and outside of their cages. I wrap almonds in cloth or a box or paper cup for Chester and Dreyfuss. I have portions of a phone book curled up inside a plastic ring on the cage floor of Chester’s cage and hanging toys for Barnaby, my Timneh Grey, to hang from. The list goes on but you get the picture. They are busy if they want to be, and if they want to nap, that’s fine too.

But in the instance that Chester should come to the ground (and now I put him there too when I’m cleaning cages or watching tv), I’ve made some play stations for him. I got a mirrored toy from a human baby store and he can spend hours with it, so much so that I got a second one for the television room. (Scattering some beads or resting a tub of activity items next to it makes it even more reinforcing.) I bought a cheap plastic round snow sled and placed an Orbit play gym on top, tying strands of beads to it. This is also in the television room, next to the mirror toy. Chester receives such positive sensory and activity reinforcement for playing with these toys that there’s no reason for him to search out a dining room chair or curtain.

And I’d much rather laugh at him rolling his mirror toy around than hanging from my hand made valence any day!

NOTE: This is a past pet column of mine from Hyde Park Living that is being reprinted with their permission. A modified version also ran in Good Bird Magazine.

Agility Training Isn't Just For Dogs

Meet Milo, An Equal Opportunity Follower

In this difficult time, when we all could use a little inspiration, I thought I’d introduce you to Milo Maggenheim. Milo is a Portuguese Water Dog who, on about his seventh birthday, is just now coming out of puppyhood. “He’s so sweet and happy,” said Katie Magenheim, who shares her home with the bushy haired ball of energy and Robert, her husband.

Just how happy is Milo? Well, he actually sprained his tail one time by wagging it too much. No kidding.

They had been looking for a hypo-allergenic breed, a real in-your-face kind of companion and that’s exactly what they found when they brought Milo home. Definitely NOT your lay-at-your feet, cuddle-up-by-your-side kind of dog, Milo is much more about playing and running and chasing. Portuguese Water Dogs after all are working animals which means they are very active and require a lot of exercise. They are not recommended for working adults who look forward to enjoying a relaxing evening after a long day at the office.

I had actually researched the breed long before news of the First Family bringing one into the White House. I felt compelled to write about them because I wanted to educate people about the responsibility they would be taking in, should they want to adopt the same type of pet as the Obama’s. As with any animal you bring into your home, please take the time to consider your lifestyle and what would be the best fit.

NOTE: You can read more about Milo in my pet column in the next issue of Hyde Park Living.