Sure we have conditioning to thank for our good dog behaviors like knowing to sit at corners and teaching Miss M to put her own toys away on command.
But what about when conditioning goes bad?
This Thanksgiving, we found out how bad behaviors have been reinforced with our pooches.
But what about when conditioning goes bad?
This Thanksgiving, we found out how bad behaviors have been reinforced with our pooches.
Mr. B has been conditioned to have his stuffies with him at all times.
But just watch what happens when we try to pack Mr. B's stuffies in his overnight bag...we thought we were the ones going crazy.
(This actually has to be my all-time favorite video of the pooches)
But just watch what happens when we try to pack Mr. B's stuffies in his overnight bag...we thought we were the ones going crazy.
(This actually has to be my all-time favorite video of the pooches)
Meanwhile, Miss M has been conditioned to think that going to the suburbs means she does not have to follow our rules. The moment we hit the suburbs, Miss M awoke from a deep sleep in the back of the car to begin sniffing the suburban air. Which caused her to get 'crazy eyes'. So when we went to pick up E's Mom, Miss M was literally leap-frogging to get into her house where she proceeded to race around like a crazy dog, not listening, and even sitting on the couch.
She has been so conditioned to not follow the rules, that she gets excited before she even gets in the door.
I think it might be a long road considering she starts getting excited in the car just smelling the suburban air.
Anyone else have these types of 'bad conditioning' experiences? Or have success changing them?
24 comments:
Just yesterday we took the whole tribe to the dog park at O dark thirty. When we head in that direction Cal takes notice. When we turn on the road to the park, he stands up between the seats. When we make the last turn, he starts flapping his lips ( yes a pittie CAN do that), and "talking". Talking turns into howling. He never does this any other time in the car either!
Love that video. Okay I have a deal for you. You take the two hounds for a weekend and I will take your two pitties. I bet I have a much better weekend then you will. You will find out just how well your pooches are compared to the two wild hounds that I have. But then again you might be sorry you let them spend time at my house. The couch and beds are free game. :) Sniffs, The HoundDogs
My previous family dog had a bad case of car sickness his first year. After that, he would get so anxious at the sight of suitcases that he'd make himself sick even before he got in the car. Summer road trips were a nightmare! Thankfully he outgrew it.
Now I find that as soon as I take Milo out of his familiar environment, he's actually better behaved. This leads me to believe we have a little dominance issue in the house.
For my dogs, its their collars. I don't have them on on them all the time, I pull them out when we go for a car ride and a walk. So the moment I touch them and they hear the jiggle from the tags they just start running around, barking, howling, and just too excited to move. I have yet to figure out a way to make this less besides having their collars on all the time, but noise drives us nuts. If I figure something out I'll let ya know.
We know M, it's your pawrents fault for trying to pack those stuffies,BOL
Benny & Lily
Imagining Miss M's crazy eyes were the highlight of my morning. I almost choked on my coffee!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend regardless!
That video is fabulous. I love Mr. B.
We spent the weekend trying to catch one of the visiting grandparents in the act of feeding our pups. It was constant. Little Franklin has probably gained 5 pounds. Our rules don't seem to apply to guests!
Oh Mr B!
Bilbo unfortunately gets crazy excited whenever we go to a pet store. He's improving very, very slowly (we can now walk through the door in a calm fashion) but it's a wee bit embarrassing. Much more concerning is his behavior at the vet. He had a bad experience at the old vet and is now a bit of a lunatic during exams. Needs some serious work. Sigh.
Poor Mr B just couldn't handle having his stuffies out of sight! I'm with HoundDogMom, I'd offer to trade you and maybe you can teach my kids some rules. Moving to Florida is creating new rules and it's hard!
Two stories: I once took an adoptable blue-tick Coonhound to our Petco Adoption Day. Our table is near the ferrets, mice, gerbils and hamsters. Everyone in and near the store soon knew a Coonhound was there; Connor was normally one of the best behaved Coonies I've had (he now has a fabulous home and everyone in town knows who he is).
Walter Brennan, current old Black & Tan Coonhound adoptable resident, is my first outdoor dog - in the house, he clears my counters cause he is starving, don't ya know; so, I put him in a house crate with a food filled Kong. After two cratings, Walter goes into the crate on his own when he comes into the house, howling till I give him his food filled Kong.
Yep, I be well trained LOL.
@hounddogmom - I agree; two hounds for your two pibbles. HA. (only for a weekend; I am about 6 hours south of Chicago).
The look on Mr. B's face is priceless - WHAT are you doing with MY toys??
Mr. B, you crack me up!
That is adorable! On our road trip to South Carolina last year, Izzy who usually parks herself on my lap ventured in the back in her bag and pulled out a tennis ball. She was one happy camper until it rolled in between the seats...
Mr B's like "where do you think you're going with my stuffies!?" hahahah
I love the dramatic flair Mr B does when he rips the toy out of the bag!
As far as conditioning gone wrong, Skye used to have a ton of trouble with guests. When someone came over (especially for dinner) she'd be a mess. She couldn't sit still, kept breaking rules, and was incredibly annoying. I started teaching her 'settle' on her bed in combination with some fast massage/calming activities. Now she is excited, but settles on her own after playing with her toys for a bit.
Levi has conditioned Neptune to be a total jerk on walks. Neptune was never into constant sniffing when we first adopted him, but he learned from Levi to sniff everything in sight. It's been a total delight for Jason to have to walk them by himself for the last nearly six weeks, let me tell you;)
Hi Y'all,
Oh yes! I am so good until I get near my favorite off leash places...then I start yappin' and the closest I come to quiet is a continuous whine!
Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Haha, great video. Mr. B does a good job of diffusing Ms. M's bossiness with the bag of toys, go Mr. B!
I know it might be hard without a car of your own, but more frequent (and shorter) trips to the suburbs for practice only would be the way to go.
I love this! My dogs get excited in the car on the way to my parent's house which is out in the country. They go NUTS as soon as we get there!
oh definately the gramma always spoiles them rotten when we are at work and hides their wronggoings like we just found a hole in our leather couch :)
Mr. B has got to be the cutest, sweetest little dude. He is so funny with those toys.
Ok that is pretty funny :)
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Mr. B is too funny! What an awesome video (and I love how he yanked them out of the bag with extra enthusiasm haha).
For us, whenever my mom comes by forget it. The dogs jump on her, beg, and do basically everything they shouldn't. I go between telling her to stop it and telling them lol.
I had to do a double take I thought I was watching my sister Bella unpack that bag.
Have you tried asking fellow family members to please follow your routine for the dogs?
What about training sessions in the car and at family members homes. Maybe they have not realized that the rules in the city apartment are the same as in this new location. Kinda like a dog thinking loose leash walking only applies on pavement and not a grass or dirt path. Maybe they just haven't made the connection.
Maybe some of the family members would be willing to participate in some training sessions.
Emma
Mr. B you are fabulous in the video!
Post a Comment