Reinforcing a Behavior

Reinforcing negative behaviors is a topic for a book that I could write for all the time I’ve seen it done (and done wrong). People yell at dogs for doing the wrong thing, thinking it will fix the problem, when it only “reinforces” the wrong thing.

I stumbled across a super sweet Shepherd /Malinois mix at the shelter in West LA. One of the most beautiful dogs I’ve seen in a long time, just my kind of dog. If you walked by his kennel, he would launch at the door. Everyone was afraid of him, and because of that he got very little attention. I stayed at his kennel for some time and observed him. As long as he barked, I wasn’t gonna leave. I put my hand to the door and he looked puzzled. This is not a suggestion to anyone else, but I could see what his behavior was like. After a few minutes I went into his kennel, put a rope around him and brought him out. He bolted, with me in tow, to the grass to relieve himself: this dog is obviously housebroken. We got into the yard and I watched his behavior and it was all good. I summoned some of the great volunteers at the shelter and gave them a quick lesson in how to deal with this guy.

Today I went back for the third time to see him. Out in the play yard he is a super happy guy. He gets along with other dogs; male and female. He knows several basic commands and will do them for a treat or praise. Someone did work with this dog before, but I feel in an incorrect way. He shows some signs of fear, but this can be so easily corrected with proper handling.

I’ve enrolled him in the k9 connection program that I work with: I handle screening all of the dogs that are used in the program. With some socialization and handling he will do great, but I have a feeling he will have a home before then. Everyone who saw me handling him in the shelters play-yard stopped and asked about him. Charla, the volunteer coordinator was so impressed by him that she said he won’t last long, someone will snap him up.

The point for this post is that behaviors are often not what they seem on the outside. This guy was about to be given up on because every time he would bark, people moved away from the front of his cell. This made him learn that barking makes people leave, which in his mind creates an association that they must be there to hurt him. He barks, scares them, they leave. When I opened his door and stood there, he was perplexed. Now that others are doing the same, his behavior has totally changed. Today, when I arrived, I was floored to see him curled up at the front of his cell. This is the first time he’s done this. I have to thank all the volunteers at the shelter for listening and learning this valuable lesson. If everyone would always go away, he would only have gotten worse. Eventually he would become so protective over the kennel, he may have bitten. But since he now has “relearned” that people actually are a good thing, he can be saved.

When a dog does something that we don’t like, we should not “re-act.” Often times, the best thing to do is to do nothing. If you walk away its something, if you re-act with dominance its something. The best thing is to wait for a behavior that you want and respond to that. This works perfect in a situation like this, it would not have worked if the dog was dominantly aggressive. How to tell the difference is the key, I’ve learned to do so by working with hundreds of dogs at the shelters. To me its second nature, I don’t suggest guessing at it. However, if you know, then you can go with the solution, which is working with the dog to better his behavior. I have a lot of hours invested in this dog and can’t wait to see the great people that adopt him, he will be a perfect pet and friend for a long time. I named him Lucas.

So, if you wonder what I do when I’m not training dogs or writing my blog, I’m at the shelter trying to give a chance to a beautiful dog like Lucas who had no hope!