C.L.A.S.S.

Etiquette school for your dog!

A new national program called Canine Life and Social Skills uses positive reinforcement techniques to teach good manners, enabling owners to take their dogs with them to more places.

The C.L.A.S.S. program, taught by the association's members, focuses on using positive reinforcement when training to create a harmonious relationship between dog and owner. Through the use of fun games and exercises, some of the real-life skills participants learn include walking "nicely" on a leash, meeting strangers, and table manners. At the end of the six to eight week program, dogs are evaluated for certification.

For more information check out this website or call The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), a professional organization of individual trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education at 800-PET-DOGS

Do I Have Your Attention?

Dogs engage in a little attention getting behavior from time to time, and there is nothing particularly wrong with that – as long as the behavior stays within reasonable limits.

But what you have to remember is that your dog will quickly learn what works and what does not according to how you respond. If you always (or even worse, sometimes) cave in to unreasonable requests, you will get even more of the obnoxious behavior in the future. The principle involved is "positive reinforcement," which effectively ensures that you reap what you sow. Even telling your dog to stop, or reprimanding him, can be rewarding for some dogs. The principle here is that some attention, even negative attention, is better than no attention at all.

Does this sound familiar to raising children? Yes, it is!

Attention seeking behavior can reach serious proportions. Take, for example, a dog that is always barking in your face to maintain your undivided attention, or one that constantly jumps on you or paws you whenever you are talking with a friend. Some dogs try to attract attention by stealing things and chewing them up or even swallowing them. Your hysterical reaction, yelling and chasing the dog to get the object back, can be just what the attention-needy dog wants. The game "keep away" that results is, apparently, a whole lot of fun for the dog – especially if you wave your arms around and scream a lot.

What to Do About It

The main principle behind treating attention-seeking behaviors is to ignore the behavior. But it does not work right away. In fact, the behavior may get worse, even more intense or more demanding, before it eventually fades away. It is as if the dog is thinking, "That's odd – this used to work. I had better try even harder to make it work again."

It might go like this:

1. Owner ignores unwanted behavior, say, stealing objects.

2. Dogs steals more items, more often and dances around in front of the owner to try to get him to intervene or chase him.

3. Owner continues to ignore the behavior.

4. Dog starts to lose confidence in this attention-getting technique and performs it less frequently.

5. Owner continues to ignore the dog's charades.

6. Dogs attention seeking behavior eventually peters out.

WARNING

If you give in intermittently, or succumb to your dog's charades after a lengthy period of trying to "tough it out," you will actually reinforce the behavior even more firmly. The dog learns that if he keeps it up, attention will eventually come his way.

How to Hasten Successful Treatment

Use of a "bridging stimulus" can help speed up successful treatment. A bridging stimulus is a neutral signal or cue that heralds a particular consequence. The actual stimulus could be the sound of a duck call or clap, or click. The noisemaker is sounded at the time the dog is engaging in the unwanted behavior to signal that the owner is about to withdraw attention, perhaps even leave the room. You must follow through after issuing the cue. It must always signal immediate withdrawal of your attention or the dog will fail to make an association between its unwanted behavior and the inevitable consequence.

What the bridging stimulus does is focus the dog's attention on that point in time when attention withdrawal is imminent. It is not intended to be aversive but rather to be a consistent herald of what is to follow. Attention behavior will melt away more consistently and rapidly if a bridging stimulus is used than if attention withdrawal is employed on its own without such a signal.

Philosophical Considerations

If a dog is always begging for attention there must be a reason. It may be that the dog is being ignored at home or that he is spending too much time alone or in a crate. It may be that the dog is getting insufficient exercise or mental stimulation and has excess steam to blow off or has nothing better to do. It is important to address these issues, too, rather than just trying to stop the dog from doing something that annoys you. Attention-seeking behavior may be merely the tip of an iceberg of discontent.

Conclusion

Dogs that display attention-seeking behaviors are needy individuals that are probably under duress or are in some emotional conflict. Pretty much, any behavior can be reinforced as an attention seeking behavior: Attention-seeking components may be involved in various other behavior problems, too. The attention-hungry dog will do whatever works best to get you to pay more attention to him.

Is Your Dog an Obedience School"Drop Out"?

Is your dog an obedience school "drop out"? If not, congratulations! You've done a great job. But if your dog has failed to learn his lessons ... you are not alone.

I know lots of dogs that are obedience school flunkies, so to speak. I say this in a fun way, but if your dog is untrained or poorly trained, you know that there's nothing fun about it.

Some dog owners don't want a dog that is trained. But it is fun to have a dog that is well behaved, or one who will do tricks. If you are one of those people who would like to have this kind of dog, it is never too late to teach a dog new tricks.

The best way to teach or train a dog is to use positive reinforcement. Give praise or treats when the dog does what you want.

How do you do that?

After a "correct" response, immediately reward your dog. This should be done within one to two seconds of the command. If you wait too long to give the reward, your dog may not understand the connection between his good behavior and the treat.



For motivation and rewards, treats and praise work great.

Another great motivator is praise. A pat on the head or some cheerful words can be very effective motivators for many dogs.

Many pet stores have weekly training sessions for dogs and puppies. This can be a great way for your dog to start learning new "tricks".

But don't worry even if your dog is an obedience school drop out. All dogs are loveable! But remember - it is never too late.