I have a pretty mindless job, which I know I've mentioned before. Anyway, it gives me a lot of time to contemplate and cogitate about what is going on in my life and naturally much of that contemplation and cogitation is about Gimme, the Cutest Puppy on the Planet.
While working today I had another thought about how Gimme is progressing. At class she spends a lot of time in her crate getting what some people call "free food for doing nothing". Likewise, when we are working or just hanging in a challenging environment, she often gets more of that same "free food for doing nothing".
Yet, when she is mentally ready for the environment, she essentially comes out of the crate on her own. Likewise when we are hanging, she makes it clear that she's ready to work. I do give her an attitude check, but if she really was just there for the free food, wouldn't she just stay in the crate and get some more? I've always thought she had a really good work ethic and this is more support for my belief in her (and belief in this process).
Recently I've had a couple of discussions with people who just don't understand and are convinced I'm making her into a mentally and emotionally lazy dog by doing what Ursula, Control Unleashed, Jean Donaldson's books and the Pigs Fly book, all agree will teach a dog how to function in environments that they find difficult.
I think the proof is in the pudding. Gimme is getting better at this and able to handle more distracting and stimulating environments all the time. Her progress is undeniable. Letting her learn to deal with these things in a gradual and systematic way, means that she is able to have the experiences, learn to work amidst a level of chaos that she can handle and get rewarded for it - all without feeling bad or in any way overwhelmed. Bad feelings mean negative associations and no matter what happens later, most of those negative associations never go away completely. So, if all Gimme's experiences have a positive and rewarding outcome, then she will become mentally and emotionally stronger and more resilient, not less so.
She really does love to "work"... or else she's just phenomenally determined to get me trained - no matter what the personal cost...
2 comments:
Carla,
Think about parents that give their children pacifiers, it is a coping mechanism and when we are relaxed we are more open to learning and remind me that I said this when I am getting up tight.
When we are at trial with the little Gunner. I used to keep feeding Gunner whenever he wanted to bark when he was anxious. As he matured we changed that if he barked we would leave and he didn't want to leave. I still resort to it depending on the circumstances in home depot example when he see kids he gets treats and his incidence of barking at children is decreasing. I just need to take him there more often.
Keep doing what you are doing you can always change later. Have you thought about clicking her when she does come out?
Keep at it.
I think what you are doing and what Ursula taught me is the right approach. Its just that there are sooooo many trainers (and people in general) who don't understand. So the post was more about self-affirming than anything else.
I don't click her for coming out of her crate. But I do find MANY things to click her for when she does come out. We usually start with check-ins, which is why I've used it so much when we are distraction training. Its a pattern that she understands leads to "work time".
Wish I could think of something else to call it besides "work", since she really doesn't view it as work.
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