Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: Victoria Farrington ¤
   Title: Who's In Charge Here? ¤

	Secondly, I'd not worry that Cody was becoming dominant because
clicker training was telling him he ruled the roost and is poised for a
takeover.  I'd guess if all these things are related, it may be quite the
opposite.
	I've seen something similar in foster dogs and I think for them
it's less threatening to move into a new house where everything is
different and only gradually realize they've given up many of their old
ways in responding to people and getting what they want.
	Karen Pryor once defined a tantrum as an animal's reaction to
finding out the world doesn't work the way the animal previously thought
it did.  I brooded about this at the time we had a foster who started
grabbing things and getting over-excited in odd moments.  He'd been a
pushy shovy tyrant in his previous home and after about 4 months of
learning the ropes and settling in, he had what I thought might be a
period of across the board tantrums, as if a part of him had just realized
what he was doing and he was trying to hang on to what might have been his
authority or maybe just the way he thought the world worked: I bark, you
let me out; I mug you, you give up goodies.  So I decided this dog was
confused.  I'm not much for thinking about dominance behavior so I
concentrated on those moments when he seemed over stimulated, grabby or
confused and I called this Unconfusing Him.
	Someone I know with an out of control dachshund told me after
about 3 months, Roscoe was getting very upset all the time and I thought
maybe it was the same thing.  Part of Roscoe had accepted that he had to
hear a click before he earned anything; another part of Roscoe was coming
back--sort of a holistic extinction burst.  They just stuck to the plan
and Roscoe accepted it. (And now is practically a poster dog for the
wonders of clicker training.  His owner had been to the ER 4 times for
deep bites when she interfered with Roscoe's rules; now he's all a wiggle
waggle, sleeps in her lap and I'm embarrassed to be seen anywhere near him
with my own dogs he's such a gem of "okay, what next?!)
	You've doing so many things with Cody that are different.  You're
asking for patience and self-control and a surrendering of his doggie
plunge-ahead-ness; I don't think how you teach a dog to change its way.
Changing your ways is difficult, can be fraught with little scares and
some confusion.  SO Cody's a bit unnerved by it.  He's giving things up
and he senses it.  He's entering a new state of relationship with you.
	So try to address the behaviors one by one.  And if you're worried
about dominance, try this.
	I usually put a circle in chalk on my tile floor, a little bigger
than a bratty dog.  I'll lure them to it a few times, then let them find
it.  There I am holding something like a bowl of popcorn.  (Is this
dangerous with a dog Cody's size?!!)  And they have to drift closer to
that circle.  barking, mugging, weeping big crocodile tears doesn't cut
it.  (I'm mean about these things but most of the dogs I see--including my
own--have been manipulating people all their lives and usually got what
they wanted by making such a stink, people relented.)  The dog gets it!
Good for you!   Then move
the chalk circle in the
next training session.  WHAT?  THAT DOESN"T WORK?  No, dear, and just
because I said so.  Now you have to move over THERE. I like the moving
chalk circle because the dogs can't figure it out.  It's a meaningless
behavior.  All it really does is demonstrate to them that I control the
clicks and the treats and they can't change my decision with anything but
actually (grumble, grumble) find that damn spot I value so much.  No
matter what else I teach a tough dog, I have blind faith in the moving
chalk circle as a demonstration of how fickle and demanding I am about
behaviors, and even the ones who get sulky have always come back and tried
again.  They just can't stand to do otherwise, I think.  Part of that
blind faith is some belief I have that the sheer meaninglessness of the
behavioar makes it both easy for them to cave in and accept my authority
without losing real doggy face and is hard for them because it's
incomprehensible.  (At least to these dogs--there probably are dogs out
there who could understand the chalk as the signal to be a smart aleck.)
And it's hard for some of them.  What?  Move a few inches just because
you'll give me something??  No way.  Oh, you REALLY are stonewalling me?
Okay, but just because I want a treat...
	Then again, I could be imagining this whole interaction. :)
	Victoria Farrington