Category: Common Problems ¤
  Author: Shirley Chong ¤
   Title: Food Stealing - A Novel Approach ¤

Julie Shaw wrote to ask about teaching Faith the Wonderdog
(really--after her most recent post to the other list we're on, I'm
convinced Faith is a wonder) not to countersurf.
   Considering Faith's mission in life (to help Dylan), I wouldn't teach
Faith never to get on the counter--there will be times when she has to
get something for Dylan off the counter. This means that using a Scat
Mat or using a Conditioned Positive Punisher coupled with an actual
Positive Punishment is out--you don't want to suppress the behaviour of
getting on counters entirely, you just don't want her to help herself.
   You also don't want to rely on keeping an eye on Faith all the
time--after all, her purpose is to let Dylan become more independent and
that eventually means being away from Mom's concerned, loving, but very
maternal eye (after all, a kid has to do what a kid has to do and they
want to imagine Mom hasn't the faintest idea about it! <G>).
   Now there are probably lots of options I'm not thinking of--but the
one I come up with is teaching Faith to come ask permission when she
spots something tempting. These would be tempting things anywhere--not
just on the kitchen counters. Victoria Farrington wrote a WONDERFUL post
about this a couple months ago. I'll go over how I'd teach it, but I
strongly recommend reading Victoria's post (and maybe, just maybe, the
spirit will move Victoria to contribute her comments to this
discussion).
   First, if this were me, I'd teach Faith a signal that would be used
solely for asking permission. Victoria uses a foot tap--her dogs tap her
foot with their front foot to ask permission. This sounds very clear and
unmistakeable to me, so I'll assume you will decide to use a foot tap as
well (but it can be ANY signal). Some dogs naturally use their feet a
lot--for these dogs, all you have to do is capture them whacking you
with their foot with the clicker, then work it down to a civilized foot
tap. Other dogs do not naturally use their feet. If Faith is one of
these, I'd teach it by having her sit in front of me. I'd use a target
stick to shift her weight to one side or the other, then click the
tiniest movement of one of her front feet. Not even an actual pick up,
I'd click the instant she shifts her weight off the big pad in the back
of her foot to the little pads just in back of her toenails. Another way
to lure the dog into using a front foot is by getting down on the floor
and playing with a treat--sort of zoom it along the floor towards the
dog's foot, then zoom it away. Most dogs will eventually slap the hand
with the treat.
   Get the foot tap on cue--get it to the point where Faith can actually
be in the next room and when you call out the cue for a foot tap, she
comes zooming in and taps your foot.
   Next, what you want to do is add on the category of "something
tempting to Faith" as a cue for the foot tap. To do this, I'd start out
with things that SMELLED like food but weren't actual food. One
possibility would be to get the very large unfinished wooden doo-hickies
they sell in craft stores (in the shape of apples, large balls, etc).
You want the doo-hickies to be large enough so that Faith cannot swallow
them! Wood is wonderfully absorbent of scents--you can scent them with a
cut clove of garlic, or marinate it in juices from a roast or even buy
essential oils (Bidge's father was once fooled by wooden apples scented
like apples). Another possibility is perforated metal teaballs (you can
tuck actual food inside or you can scent a cotton ball). Another
possibility is PVC pipe that's been drilled in several places (you can
stuff the food inside, close off the ends, and the dog can smell the
food but can't get to it). Another possibility, IF she is somewhat
choosy, is to be cooking and "accidentally" drop something you know she
won't eat willingly--most dogs will rush over to investigate, but if
she's picky, she won't eat it. This last one is one that I could not
use, BTW--my dogs really will eat anything. You can no doubt think of
other stuff that will smell like food but be something Faith can't
actually eat.
   Then you set it up--put the food-like oject on the floor nearby, let
Faith come in and discover it, then give her the cue to tap your foot.
Her reinforcer is either that you open the object and give her the food
OR that you provide her with something better. For instance, if you have
some of her ordinary kibble in a metal teaball, you could either open
the teaball or you could give her a nice sized chunk of roast chicken.
   Work with Faith with as great a variety of food-like objects as you
can devise, in as many places as you can imagine. You'll know she's on
her way to understanding when she starts to anticipate your giving her
the cue to tap your foot--she comes over and taps your foot before you
can say anything.
   Once she's anticipating the cue to tap your foot, you can progress to
food-like items that are not quite so secure as the above--for instance,
kibble in a cordura pouch (can be purchased from camping stores) or
truly boring food at the bottom of a coffee mug. Be alert--you may have
to go back to giving her the cue for the foot tap. Progress to food-like
items that are less and less secure--until they seize being food-like
and become actual food.
   Now, you might be thinking "this is all very well, but what if she
starts doing a foot tap in the middle of doing something else for Dylan?
for instance, what if she's supposed to be retrieving something for
him?" This is where teaching Faith a Conditioned Negative Punisher comes
into play--a CNP is a signal that means "what you did just then will NOT
get you a cookie." Condition the negative punisher by having someone
else hand Faith bits of food; when Faith is taking the treats readily
from the other person, have them give her the signal for the CNP and
grab the food away from her and ignore her for a few seconds. Then
repeat--other person hands Faith the food, when Faith is taking it
readily, person gives her the CNP and grabs the food away from her. The
reason I say have someone ELSE teach this to Faith is that most dogs
find it somewhat upsetting and the commonest reaction I see in them is
to become deeply suspicious of the person doing the conditioning. When
you (or Dylan) uses the CNP, first of all, she has a long history of
positive reinforcement to compare it to--secondly, you will immediately
direct/cue her to do what WILL get her reinforced.
   Once you have a CNP, then if you tell Faith to do something and she
decides to come and tap your foot instead, you can give her the CNP and
immediately re-direct her into what she should do. Continue to work on
foot taps at other times--Faith needs to know that it isn't the foot tap
that gets her in trouble, it's the timing (don't take vacations from
working). 
   Having said all of the above, you may very well NEVER run into that
situation. Faith's primary motivation seems to be to work for Dylan--I
doubt she goes countersurfing when she's busy doing something for Dylan,
it's just when she's not doing anything that she starts to think about
that stuff.
   I think it would also be a good idea to teach Faith to retrieve
edible items to your (and eventually Dylan's) hand without eating them.
This will come in handy if Dylan drops a loaded fork, for instance.
   And finally, considering how strong a drive Goldens have to have
something in their mouths, I would recommend that you give Faith raw
beef bones at home. Yep, raw ones! Go to a meat locker or private
butcher and get the large bones (ribs and leg bones and pelvic bones and
stuff I have no idea what it is). For one thing, raw beef bones clean
teeth better than anything (I have two almost eight year old dogs whose
teeth are as white as puppy teeth--one has NEVER had a dental cleaning,
the other had one four years ago. One of these dogs is a tartar former).
Keeping her teeth clean will do a lot towards keeping her in good health
all her life (and it will also keep her breath nice and fresh). Plus,
having raw beef bones will give Faith an outlet for some of her
instinctive need to chew--she's such a good girl, she deserves that fun.
<smile>

M. Shirley Chong
The Well Mannered Dog