Category: Advanced Stuff ¤
  Author: Victoria Farrington ¤
   Title: Making Them Regret It (the cheeseburger post) ¤

Subject: Reliability
	Whenever someone asks me, "What do you do if your dog refuses?" I 
now say: I do exactly what you do--I make him regret it. 
	My dogs are pretty hardy terriers.  One seems to believe that 
physical misfortune occasionally befalls him but its nothing personal and 
he shrugs it off.  (He's constantly tumbling down the riverbank and that 
doesn't bother him either.)  But there are things he does mind.  
Punishment need not be forceful or physical to be effective.  The last 
time he ignored a heeling cue, I had the car keys in my pocket.  I said 
so long, jumped in the car, waved byebye as I backed down the driveway, 
honked the horn and laughed at the shocked indignation on his little 
bearded face.  (He was safe in the yard, I only went around the block.)  
When I got back, he gave me an effusive greeting.  And he popped into 
heel position.  For him, this was an extremely effective punishment.  
Denying him any chance to chase squirrels is equally effective so he pays 
attention to cues when there are squirrels in the area, even in places 
where once I could barely walk with him on leash.  A dog who wants things 
very badly is telling you exactly what he would find the most 
heartbreaking to lose.  My dogs would rather be struck by lightning than 
watch me play with their squeaky toys.  And it not only decreases the 
behavior I want to stop, it reminds them how tricky and fascinating I can 
be, and hands them incentive on a platter for the next several dozen 
cues, possibly even days.  A terrier who knows you have something it 
wants isn't inclined to give up on you.
	Since I started clicker training and came to understand the power 
of -P, my husband has detected a sadistic streak in me.  I can't help a 
few snickers when I astound my dogs by showing them what they could have 
had.  Their behaviors are much more reliable when something near and dear 
to their hearts is at stake--and they never know, do they?  Sometimes the 
most responsible thing you can do is to take off the leash and eat a 
cheeseburger instead when the dog refuses a recall cue.  The greedy one 
was so shocked by that the hardest thing is getting far enough away from 
her to give a surprise cue.  Having seen one cheesburger come out of my 
pocket, she's practically glued to me for life.
	The most important thing with mine has been surprise.  They're 
already gamblers but when they don't know if I have a bag of weiners or a 
car trip up my sleeve, they're likely to regret a poor choice.  And 
unlilke the kind of +P that can confuse a dog as to what it OUGHT to have 
done, the alternatives with this kind of -P are crystal clear.  (A 
friend's dog was convinced he got shocked because of the areas in which 
she used the e-collar.  He refused to enter areas of their farm where 
she'd used it, but he still ignored recalls.  He obviously was blaming 
the wrong factor--and she spent a lot of time with the e-collar 
representative and had a lot of this training supervised.)  The first 
time my dogs refuse a cue and find out the -P is heartbreaking, I make 
sure to show them how they CAN get what they want, if they aren't already 
doing it and shouting LOOK AT ME do it NOW!  After that, I sometimes 
don't give the precious cue for days just to remind them that they have 
limited chances.
	It's a lot more fun as well.  I never snickered after I gave a 
leash jerk, but then again my dogs never wheeled around and gave an Oscar 
worthy performance of despair and repentance.  There are limits as to 
how one is ethically (and practically) able to use force and pain; the 
tragedy of an unearned bagel with a smear of cream cheese can be funny 
and much more effective.  I can't help but believe they think it's pretty 
funny too.  When I helped a friend with a dog who was knocking people 
over every time someone touched the door knob, not only did he finally 
understand he had to be lying down or the door would close, he also 
seemed to find it a wonderful joke--his eyes were bright, his tail was 
thumping the ground and when he leapt up too soon, he did that wonderful 
doggie "whoops" and slammed himself down.  Now that's punishment everyone 
can live with.
Just my two cents,
	Victoria in VA