My dog, Tuggy, likes to lounge around. His preferred position is on his tummy, with his legs tucked beneath him and his head slightly elevated on some sort of pillow. Whenever possible, the “some sort of pillow” is my wife Michele, or me. Tuggy’s favorite way to lounge starts soon after either of us lies down on the bed. As soon as one of his parental units lies down, Tuggy positions his body at a 90o
angle to the reclining human and rests his throat and chin on the person’s neck and head. This rather weighty earmuff certainly keeps our ears warm, but leaves much to be desired when we actually need to sleep. If you are wondering why we don’t put a stop to this odd way of resting, there is a simple reason – he’s so loving and cute when he assumes his position, that we just can’t bear to move him. Let’s face it, we secretly enjoy his loving nature and most often, we rub his ears and talk to him while he tries to incubate our heads.
For those of you who have read a lot of dog books lately, you might assume that Tug’s behavior is the result of wolf-like genes that create a need for him to dominate us. While this might be his motivation, a little observation suggests that he also rests his head on pillows, the arms of the sofa, folded or unfolded towels and clean clothing. Tug doesn’t lie with his head on us because he wants to rule the roost – he does it because it feels good. The key to his behavior is contained in the last part of the first paragraph – “We rub his ears and talk to him.” In other words, we both regularly reinforce this behavior.
Loosely speaking, a positive reinforcer is anything that feels good and strengthens a behavior. The process of setting up the conditions that “cause” a reinforcer, called “reinforcement”, allows a trainer to “cause” a behavior to be shaped or repeated. Over a series of experiences, the dog will start to favor behaviors that have been reinforced. If that sounds a little vague, here’s an example of what I mean. Imagine that your hairdresser suggests that you switch from blonde to red. Against your usual good judgement, you decide to see how it feels to be a redhead. When your friends and family see you, they all comment on how fantastic you look with the new hair color. The compliments act as the reinforcer, and switching your hair color is the strengthened behavior.
Even though the hairdresser was only concerned with changing the color of your hair, you received a special bonus – the new “Do” also changed your behavior. If you make the connection between the color change and the kind words, you will be more likely in the future, to do the behaviors that “caused” the compliments. Because of the reinforcers attached to your first experience, any of several behaviors might suddenly become stronger. The next time you need to have your hair done, you will be much more likely to select the “new” color, again. If the second experience also receives compliments, you may be well in your way to a permanent change. The behaviors that “caused” the compliments will be repeated.
For your dog, the process is identical. When you present reinforcers to your dog, behaviors will develop – whether you want them to or not. For instance, the owner who accidentally drops food on the floor during dinner may inadvertently strengthen “begging” behavior. Over a series of experiences in the kitchen, you can expect the dog to start repeating behaviors that “pay off”, like sniffing the carpet, rubbing against your legs or nosing your hands. If you gently push your dog away from you when he begs, he may think the mild jostling and pushing is a part of the sequence that ultimately leads to treats – and in a way, he’s right.
Surprisingly, this uncontrolled and inadvertent reinforcement is the rule of dog ownership, rather than the exception. Instead of using intentional reinforcement to maintain polite behavior, most owners ignore good behavior and offer reinforcers in exchange for absolutely nothing. For instance, many owners expect their dog to be polite when guests come to the door. The idea that a dog should be given a food reward/reinforcer for good behavior is seen as a bribe rather than a reward. The same owner is likely to give the dog a nightly biscuit at bedtime, in exchange for absolutely nothing. Regardless of how we view these events, the obvious opportunity to strengthen good behavior is ignored, while a powerful reinforcer is wasted.
Learning to control the things that affect our dogs’ behavior is an important step toward avoiding common problems. For instance, many dog owners have trouble at the front door when guests arrive. As the owner opens the door, Bruiser leaps all over Aunt Martha. The dog isn’t being aggressive, merely overly friendly. As Aunt Martha shows her obvious distress, the owner is cooing “That’s OK, Bruiser”, be nice now…” while gently trying to keep Bruiser away from Auntie. This is remarkably like having a cop cheerfully ask a mugger to stop assaulting someone, and then giving the mugger a back rub. To stop Bruiser’s overly friendly behavior, we need to control the current reinforcers and drag out the heavy artillery – treats.
Normally, after Bruiser calms down, the guest remains in the house and may even pat the dog on the head and scratch his chin. These are obviously additional reinforcers that must be redirected. To control the situation, we need to make sure that the pleasant consequences are tied to polite behavior.
To start retraining Bruiser, we must cut off the love and affection that normally follows a guest’s entry. Since Aunt Martha is already available for service, we are going to ask her to step outside and ring the bell, again. On our second repetition, Bruiser runs forward and begins his front door dance. Instead of automatically opening the door, his owner says “Sit” in a normal tone of voice and waves a treat in front of the dog’s nose. Bruiser now has a problem. The treat is really important, but so is the affection he is anticipating. He knows that it is his job to jump on guests. In this case, as long as his owner does not open the door, the treat will eventually win. Once Bruiser sits for the treat, the owner can command “sit” again, and start to open the door a bit. If the dog breaks the “sit”, the door is quickly shut and Aunt Martha stays outside. Over a series of repetitions, the owner can gradually overpower the leaping rudeness by using the treat to correctly strengthen sitting. By the end of a short five minute session, Aunt Martha can ring the bell, enter the house and sit down without having 90 pounds of Lab dancing around her.
Learning to control the reinforcers in your dog’s life is a challenging task. It is far easier to let nature take its course. While my dog Tuggy’s lounging behavior occurred without any planning, he has many other behaviors that are the result of carefully manipulated reinforcement. If you think your dog’s behavior is not as structured as it should be, you may have to examine your thinking about gratuitous reinforcement — and let your dog sleep on it.