Tag: cat training

5 Signs Your Pet Needs Professional Help

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

I’m very much a Do-It-Yourself person– so much so that I consider it a fault. I will absolutely try to do something by myself and learn a new skill if I think that I can. I see this with a lot of my clients, too. They originally tried to tackle their pet’s maladaptive behaviors by themselves and eventually found their way to getting professional help. 

In many of those situations I wish that they’d contacted a professional sooner. Sometimes that’s because they’ve tried something that has actually worsened the behavior or because they waited until it was more serious or dangerous before getting a professional involved. But there are other times I wish they’d contacted a professional sooner simply because it’s easier to change a behavior that’s been happening for less time. Well-established habits are harder to change. 

I then occasionally get cases where someone has just adopted an animal and reaches out to our team immediately. In those situations we’re almost always asked, “Do you think it’s too soon for us to see you? Should we wait a bit?” Our answer is usually a resounding, “no, it was a great decision to involve us so quickly!” 

So, as someone who is a staunch DIY-er, who tries to tackle problems without additional help, but also recognizes that getting a professional involved sooner rather than later can be beneficial, I thought it’d be helpful to discuss some key signs that would cause me to recommend someone seek professional help for their pets’ behavior. 

  1. Safety is on the line. This could be the safety of you, your pet, another human, or another animal. If any individual’s safety is at risk you should immediately seek the help of a behavior professional. 
  2. It’s a behavior you haven’t dealt with before or dealt with recently. It’s much better to learn something from a professional the first time around instead of trying your hand at something you’re not experienced with. And, if you haven’t dealt with this particular issue recently, chances are that there are now more effective or empowering ways to work with the behavior and it’s time to update your skills. This field is constantly growing and evolving and that’s a good thing!
  3. You’re not making progress. If you’ve been working on your pet’s behavior for a few months and you’re not making any progress, it’s time to call in a professional. Save yourself the time and hassle by getting help. 
  4. You’re having to resort to more forceful tools and methods. It’s a myth that certain animals need more forceful tools or methods. We work with aggressive animals of all shapes and sizes for a living and can do so in a way that’s empowering and empathetic towards our animal learner. If you’re stuck and finding yourself reaching towards more forceful tools and training methods, it’s time to get help from a behavior professional who can keep you working in a way that is effective, ethical, efficient, and empowering.
  5. You want to make sure you’re doing something well and as efficiently as possible. There are plenty of things that I choose to muddle through myself, knowing that it would be more efficient if a professional did it. However, there are other things that I want done well the first time and don’t feel that I can afford the mistakes that come with learning (like our business taxes). If you feel that way about your pet’s behavioral and mental health, then look for a professional sooner rather than later. 

Now what?

Happy training!

Allie

November 2020 Training Challenge: Use a Relaxation Protocol or Mat Work to Prepare for the Holidays

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

When we had originally planned our 2020 training challenges last year, we hadn’t expected there to be a worldwide pandemic. Even though this month’s challenge was with Thanksgiving in mind and this year’s Thanksgiving will likely look different, we decided to keep the planned challenge and count it as a practice run for next year! Our November training challenge is:

 

Use the Relaxation Protocol or mat work exercise from the August challenge to prep for Thanksgiving festivities.

 

The situation we were specifically thinking about when we came up with this challenge was the Thanksgiving meal, including cooking and sitting down to eat. We routinely have clients tell us how annoying their pets when they’re trying to cook and sit down for a meal. Extrapolate that to an even larger, potentially more stressful meal and you can see where preemptive training comes into play!

I talked a little about this concept in this blog post about using “human food” in training. I mentioned that I taught Oso to hang out in our dining area when we are cooking so that he’s not in the way. I was pretty lax with my criteria when I taught him this (as long as he was on the hardwood and not the tile it counted) but you can tighten up your criteria by using a mat, bed, blanket, rug or something similar to create a specific spot for your pet to hang out. 

Brindle dog lying next to kitchen table and chair.
Oso demonstrating how to politely lie next to me while we eat.

Here’s how to go about doing this task:

  1. Decide what makes sense to manage and what makes sense to train during your normal Thanksgiving festivities (remember- this counts as a practice year!) Some people will choose to manage the majority of the day and that’s perfectly fine. Others will want to put more preemptive training in place. Do what makes sense for your festivities, training schedule, and desires. 
  2. Decide where you want your pet to be during cooking and/or eating. Set up a bed, mat, blanket, rug, etc. for an easy visual cue for your pet. 
  3. Start training your pet to hang out in that spot (you can use your Relaxation Protocol and/or mat work exercise from the August challenge) when you’re not cooking or eating. We’re starting in pet kindergarten first and then raising expectations as they become more proficient at this task. 
  4. Incorporate other distractions into this training exercise. You’ll likely want to include distractions like people walking around and anything else that will happen during the holiday. You may also want to practice while you’re pretending to cook a meal so you get the hang of training while cooking in a lower-stakes situation. This step is called proofing, and is one of the stages of learning. 
  5. Start incorporating this exercise into real-life cooking and/or eating scenarios. Remember to reinforce your pet as much as necessary to make it worthwhile for them to hang out in their spot!

 

One last note: dogs are opportunistic scavengers by nature. Even with solid mat work training, leaving a pet prone to counter surfing alone in the kitchen with counters full of food for an extended period of time is asking for trouble. We recommend still managing situations in which you aren’t watching your pet.

 

Now what?

  • Start training with the above steps!
  • Let your trainer or behavior consultant know if you’re getting stuck. That’s what we’re here for, after all!
  • Send us pictures and videos of you working on this month’s training challenge to us @petharmonytraining on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

Happy training!

Allie

The Human Side of Animal Behavior

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

The past couple of weeks I’ve been talking about warning signs, like growling. I’ve been talking about warning signs from the perspective of our pets and why we should be respectful– not punishing– of those body language signals. But one thing that I’ve left out of the previous posts is all of the human emotions that happen as a result of those particular behaviors. That’s what today’s post is for. 

When I meet a new client and they start telling me about their pet’s behavior, I often hear things like:

 

They’re really quite sweet. I just want everyone to see that, too.

They’re sweet 95% of the time. 

They’re a good pet, just scared.

I’ve been telling you all of the bad things about them. Let me tell you some good things, too. 

 

I chuckle internally when people tell me these things. I know that they’re trying to convince me to not judge their pet, or them, too harshly. That they don’t have a “bad” pet. But here’s the secret: I know that! We as humans are the ones who attach morals (I.E. good or bad) to certain behaviors. Our pets aren’t thinking about if something is right or wrong. They’re thinking about if a behavior works for them or not: what the outcome of that behavior is.

It’s a false dichotomy to say that someone is all good or all bad. Individuals, including our pets, live in a grey area. That’s why good pets can sometimes do bad things and why bad people can sometimes do good things. I don’t need to be convinced that a pet who’s biting is also sweet. My job is working with good pets who sometimes do bad things. 

 

The less-lighthearted part 

I try to keep our blog posts relatively lighthearted and optimistic. That style is what I enjoy writing and what I enjoy reading. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on the less-lighthearted parts of human emotions in relation to pet behavior. 

The animal behavior consulting field is incredibly emotional. On a daily basis folks reach out to our team, often on the verge of tears, because they’re scared of their pet’s behavior. It’s easy for me to say in a post that all behavior just is and that we’re the ones who attach morals to them. The water muddies when those behaviors are at the expense of mental health (for both the pet and the human) and/or safety of others. There very much are “bad” behaviors– as deemed by our society– that result in the euthanasia of animals. 

Now, this post is not about the many sides of behavioral euthanasia. That’s an enormous discussion and one that I don’t currently have the bandwidth to write in a way that does the topic justice. One day I’ll tackle it, but not today. This post is specifically about human emotions, like:

 

I’m scared they’re going to hurt someone. 

I feel like a prisoner in my own house because of their behavior. 

It’s really difficult to live with this. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. 

It’s embarrassing when they’re reactive on walks. 

 

Embarrassment. Frustration. Helplessness. Shame. Defeat. Regret. Remorse. Fear. A whole lot of fear. There are a lot of really big emotions that come into play when you have a pet with maladaptive behaviors. And, yes, it’s our duty to help the animal we chose to bring into our home and we should be doing our best to meet their needs but that doesn’t negate the human element, either. 

Your feelings are also valid. 

I think the human side of animal behavior consulting is often swept to the side. We put such a large emphasis on animal emotional states and making sure they’re comfortable, but can sometimes forget to tell people that it’s okay to be feeling however they’re feeling about their pet’s behavior. Sometimes good pets do bad things and that’s scary. We’re allowed to be scared by that. But the good thing is that you don’t have to be alone. That’s what behavior consultants are for. 

 

Now what?

  • Have you stopped to truly take stock about how you’re feeling in relation to your pet’s behavior? Take a moment to do so. 
  • Are there certain aspects of your pet’s behavior that are taking a larger toll on you? Focus on tweaking your management plan for those behaviors so they’re less likely to happen (like putting up a baby gate around the front door to lessen the chances of door dashing.)
  • Not sure where to start? Check out our Setting Yourself Up for Success: Behavior Modification Basics course to take the first steps in your pet’s behavior modification plan.
  • Get help from a professional. You don’t need to do this alone. Our team works with people all over the world. Email us at info@petharmonytraining.com to schedule your first appointment.

Happy training!

Allie

Why I Like Warning Signs & What to Do with a Growling Pet

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

I’m going to say something that sounds weird, so hear me out. I like warning signs. I like pets who growl. I appreciate when a pet chooses to growl. So in a society that has a lot of feelings– usually negative feelings– about growling, why am I going against the norm?

 

Why growling is okay

Growling is a form of communication. It’s not necessarily good or bad, just like other forms of animal communication like ears forward or backward or tail up or down are not necessarily good or bad. They just… are. It’s us humans that attach a moral “good” or “bad” tag to animal communication. We, as a society, have deemed growling as a bad thing and that causes us to treat it like it’s a bad thing instead of what it really is– normal communication. (Note: I’m not downplaying the role that language plays in the oppression of groups of people. There are certainly real moralities and pain attached to human language and communication. I’m solely talking about animal communication here, which does not have the moral implications that human language does.)

Again, growling is a form of communication. It’s a way for our pets to say, “Hey, I’m uncomfortable. Please give me some space.” It’s a way for them to try to diffuse a situation instead of escalating straight into biting. And, between those two options, I’d take growling over biting any day of the week. Far fewer incidents happen when we respond to and respect this warning sign. Communication should always be appreciated, even if you don’t like what the individual is saying. Communication– these warning signs– are what keep us safe. 

 

Don’t punish growling

When I was little, I thought just as many people do: growling is bad and we should punish pets who growl at us. Now I know that that’s not the best option. What happens when we punish pets who growl, is that we change their communication, but not the actual reason why they were growling in the first place. A common example in the dog training world is equating punishing growling to taking the batteries out of a fire alarm. There’s still a fire, you just don’t know about it anymore. Punishing growling only changes the growl, not the fact that they might bite if pushed farther. This is one of the ways to create “bites that happen out of nowhere”.

 

What to do if your pet growls

In the moment, the answer is to provide relief for your pet. If they’re growling at you, that means you should go away. If they’re growling at something else, that means removing the thing or your pet. We should give them the space they’re asking for. 

The question that always arises when I say this is, “Aren’t I rewarding him for growling if I go away?” My answer is a hearty, “Yep!” Because, again, far fewer incidents happen when we respect our pet’s communication. My primary goal is always first and foremost safety: making sure my clients and other individuals don’t get bitten. The best way to do that is to give an animal who’s asking for space the space that they’re asking for. We can then discuss how to keep those situations from arising in the future so we don’t need to worry about what happens when they growl. We can set up the environment and work through behavior modification plans so the pet doesn’t feel like they need to do so; they feel more comfortable or aren’t put into those situations. 

 

How can I keep my pet from growling in the future?

The first suggestion will come as no surprise to those of you who follow this blog. Learn their body language, especially subtler signs of discomfort. Unless growling occurs because of a true startle response, there are signs of stress and discomfort that happened before the growl. It may be that they were small and easy to miss, but oftentimes people don’t know what they’re looking for when it comes to signs of stress. We need to learn more about body language before we can see it in our own pets. Then, when we are able to see those subtle stress signals, we can intervene sooner so that the animal doesn’t escalate to growling. 

The second suggestion is to manage the environment and situations your pet is in. I talked a bit about this in the post “What Should I Do If My Pet Growls When I Try to Move Him?” If we know the situations in which the animal is uncomfortable, we can avoid those situations and not have to worry about what to do when they growl. They won’t do it if they’re not in those situations. Sometimes this is easier said than done; a behavior professional can help you suss out those scenarios and triggers if you’re having trouble figuring out the common threads surrounding your pet’s behavior. 

Finally, we can work through a behavior modification plan to help your pet feel more comfortable in those situations. This is a case where you should work with a behavior professional. It’s easy to make these behaviors worse and a behavior professional can help you get on the right track. 

 

Now what?

 

Happy training!

Allie

October 2020 Training Challenge: Assess Your Home Alone Activities Efficacy

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

Part of me can’t believe it’s already October and part of me reminds the first part that this has been the longest year ever. Regardless, it’s time for our October training challenge!

List enrichment strategies you employ while you’re gone and objectively go through the list to determine if those strategies are effective. 

Not only is this training challenge dedicated to the “Independence” chapter of our book, it’s also a great exercise in taking a descriptive vs. prescriptive approach to your enrichment plan. (Note: we decided what the training challenges were going to be well before Covid hit. While you may not be gone at work all day at the moment, this exercise still applies for shorter outings!)

 

Descriptive vs. Prescriptive

For those of you who’ve heard us speak this year, you’ve heard us talk about taking a descriptive approach to your enrichment plan.

Descriptive: “I see a change in my animal’s behavior because of the activities we’ve done or provided.”

Prescriptive: “I provided an activity for my pet therefore he’s enriched.”

With the descriptive approach, we observe behavior to determine if the activity was effective instead of assuming that it was. Did it actually meet the animal’s needs as we intended? If it did, great! We can keep doing it. If it didn’t, well, then it’s back to the drawing board. Emily wrote a great blog post about this here. It’s not enough for us to just assume that our pet’s needs are being met while we’re gone, we need to actually observe that that’s true. 

 

How can I tell if those activities are effective?

There are a few ways we can tell if these activities are effective:

  • They’re being used. If you leave a stuffed Kong for your pet and it’s untouched when you return, that’s not an effective strategy. 
  • Watch your pet on video. Want to know if the window film you put up for your pet’s reactivity is actually decreasing reactivity throughout the day? It’s time to break out a recording option and see what your pet is up to during the day. 
    • Recording options can be high-tech, like Furbo and Nest (these are affiliate links), or low-tech, like Skyping or Zooming yourself or setting up a laptop to record shorter absences.
  • Observe your pet’s behavior when you come home. Providing activities while you’re gone can be the determining factor between having an adolescent dog who’s bouncing off the walls when you come home vs. one who’s excited but not uncontrollable. 

 

Now what?

  • Make a list of the enrichment activities you utilize while your pet is home alone. 
  • Make a list of desirable and undesirable behaviors that you’re hoping these enrichment activities address.
  • Observe your pet’s behavior. Are those activities effective in increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable behaviors?
  • Adjust your enrichment plan accordingly. 
  • Share your findings with us on social media! @petharmonytraining on Facebook and Instagram. 

 

Happy training!

Allie

PSA: Don’t Lure Uncomfortable Pets Closer to People

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

Today’s post is really more of a PSA:

 

Don’t lure uncomfortable pets closer to people. 

 

We get a lot of requests from people who are struggling with their pets showing aggressive behaviors towards new people, kids, other pets, or sometimes themselves if it’s a new adoption. And while I love when people take the initiative to start getting their pets comfortable with scary things by using food, we have to be really careful about how we do it. 

 

The danger of using food incorrectly

A phrase that I wish I heard a lot less than I unfortunately do, is, “I don’t get it. He is clearly uncomfortable but approaches people.” While there are a lot of reasons why that behavior can crop up, one of them is that we can teach our pets to approach people they’re not comfortable with by luring them closer with food. 

For example, let’s say a creepy van pulls up to the sidewalk as I’m walking and offers me $1000. The driver’s arm is outstretched with a stack of cash. Let’s be real; I’ll probably approach the van and try to take the $1000. That’s a super valuable amount to me and worth the risk. However, I’m definitely not comfortable. If the driver makes a sudden movement I will absolutely go into fight or flight mode. If I safely get the $1000 and nothing bad happens, I’ll be more likely to approach other strange vans handing out free cash. But, again, that doesn’t mean I feel safe doing so. 

Now, let’s replace the creepy van with a person your pet is uncomfortable with and the $1000 stack of bills with a super delicious treat. It’s the same scenario. Your pet may approach the person and take the treat from their hand, but probably doesn’t feel comfortable doing so.They may stretch their neck as far as it’ll reach to grab the treat. They may flinch or startle (or worse) if the person makes the slightest move. It’s absolutely possible to teach an animal (or me, apparently) to put themselves in an uncomfortable position for a high-value reward. And, by doing so, we can teach animals to approach people who they’re not comfortable with, which I often see leading to bites. 

 

Decreasing distance is a side effect. Comfort is the goal

When I’m working with a new client and their pet is exhibiting stranger danger or leash reactivity, I often have to remind them that distance– getting closer to the person or other animal– should be a side effect but not a goal. As illustrated above, it’s very possible to teach an individual to move closer, but without comfort, we’ve forfeited safety and can be inadvertently teaching a dangerous behavior. Distance in and of itself should not be the goal. It should not be the sole factor by which we measure success.

Comfort, which can be observed in the animal’s body language, should be our goal. When an animal is more comfortable, they’ll typically, naturally move closer to the person. The getting closer part isn’t something we really need to teach. Decreasing distance between the pet and the new person is a side effect of them feeling comfortable, not the other way around. 

 

What to do instead

I’m going to be intentionally vague here because realistically if your pet is exhibiting aggressive behaviors you should seek professional help. Safety is serious. We can (and usually should!) use food to build a desirable association with the new person, but start by using food at a distance. This can take several forms and, preferably, we should be setting up the environment to keep the pet from feeling like they have to exhibit the aggressive behaviors. Again, a professional behavior consultant can help you with all of the nuances of that. 

 

Now what?

  • If you’re currently using food to lure your pet closer to individuals they’re afraid of, discontinue doing so. 
  • Pair scary things with treats from a distance with the help of a professional behavior consultant. We offer remote sessions locally to internationally; email us at info@petharmonytraining.com to schedule your first session.
  • Need help now? Check out our “Setting Yourself Up for Success: Behavior Modification Basics” course to get immediate help. 

 

Happy training!

Allie

How to Work with Multiple Pets at a Time

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

Last week we discussed the pros and cons of working with pets individually vs. with multiple at the same time. Check it out here if you haven’t yet read that post. Now that you’ve considered if you should be working with an individual pet vs. your whole crew, let’s get into the details of how to make that possible. 

 

Working individually

I observe body language for a living: canine, feline, and human. Often when I make the recommendation to someone to work with one of their pets individually, I’m met with a look of apprehension. Sometimes that apprehension stems from time or worrying about not being fair to another animal, but sometimes it’s because they’ve tried it before and it didn’t work well for them. In those cases, the client usually describes to me that their other pet– the one left alone– spent the entire time barking or scratching at the door. I can understand the apprehension of trying it again if that was the case before!

When this happens and it’s not a matter of separation, isolation, and/or confinement anxiety, then I recommend to my client to give the other pet something really awesome to work on while they’re alone: stuffed Kong, bully stick, food puzzle, etc. If that doesn’t work, we can work on building duration with the other pet in the separated room. If it is a matter of separation, isolation, or confinement anxiety we can work through a behavior modification plan to address those more serious behaviors. 

 

Working with multiple pets simultaneously

There are a number of ways to be successful at this task and each situation may look a little different depending on the specific needs of the animals and what you’re working on. Here are some tips for working with multiple pets at the same time (but know that there are other options out there than just these!):

 

Many hands make light work

So often I hear that people are worried about two animals trying to take the same treat at the same time and a fight ensuing. In that case, if your pets don’t yet have a great “wait” behavior, treat each simultaneously from two hands like in the picture below. 

 

You can also get additional help from others. Have 4 animals? Get 4 hands into the training mix. This can help with letting you focus on your particular task, too, if you’re working on growing your animal training skills. Many hands really do make light work in this case.

 

Baby gates can help improve safety

As I mentioned in the post about how Covid-19 is impacting behavior (read it here), I have a lot of clients at the moment currently working on dog-dog interactions within the house. I’ve seen a significant uptick in dogs having trouble living with one another and I know some of my colleagues have mentioned seeing the same trend. In those cases, we will eventually need to work with the dogs in relatively the same space. We’ll also need to make sure we do so carefully and safely. 

We can absolutely have both dogs on leash (and for those of you working on dog/cat relationships, we often get the cat comfortable wearing a harness and leash, too!) with two handlers. That said, it becomes trickier when we need to rely on multiple people’s schedules to work on the pets’ relationship. This is where baby gates can be incorporated. 

Set up a baby gate so that you can work with one pet on one side and one on the other. This usually brings some peace of mind to the humans as well which can make the session more fun for everyone. If having pets on just one side of the baby gate is still too close for them, then you can set up two gates with however much “dead space” you need in between, kind of like an airlock:

 

 

Stationing

The last technique we’ll talk about here is stationing: teaching a pet to go to a particular place and hang out there. Sometimes trainers will refer to this as place work, mat work, or something similar. With stationing you can have one animal on a mat or bed out of the way while working with another, then switch them. This is a more advanced approach in that you need to be able to focus on the animal in front of you but also keep whoever is stationing in mind and reinforcing each appropriately. I tend to give a treat to the stationing animal whenever I treat the one I’m currently focusing on.

This is a regular technique used in zoos where it’s more challenging to separate animals for training. Regardless of your feelings about zoos, many do a wonderful job of training their animals– usually to safely participate in husbandry and medical procedures– and can be a good place for inspiration of what’s possible with training. 

Check out this video showing crocodiles training and stationing from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Bronx Zoo:

 

It’s often easier to teach animals to station separately before bringing them together. A professional trainer can help you with this process; it will need to be well-proofed, especially if you have trouble keeping a high rate of reinforcement (aka how frequently you treat).

 

Now what?

  • Try your hand at training multiple animals at once. Choose one of the above options to start with.
  • Practice whichever option you choose before bringing your pets into the mix. Practice doling out treats single-handedly. Teach stationing separately. Practice splitting your attention between observing multiple individuals at a time. Whatever you choose, it will be easier for you and less frustrating for your pets to practice without them first.
  • Start short and sweet. Work with your pets just a minute or two at a time. Assess how it went and how it can be improved on then try again for another minute or two. 
  • Consult with your professional trainer or behavior consultant– especially if there are safety concerns between the pets. A professional can help you fine tune your skills, your pets’ skills, and help you keep everyone safe during the training process. Email us at info@petharmonytraining.com to be paired with a consultant and set up your first session. 

 

Happy training!

Allie

 

Pros of Working with Pets Individually vs. Multiple at a Time

Posted on by Allie Bender

 

We’ve been asking y’all what you want us to talk about and a topic that keeps coming up is training in mult-pet households. It just so happens that I had planned a short series of posts for this month talking about training in multi-pet households so the timing is serendipitous! This first post is going to go into the pros of working with one animal at a time vs. multiple animals at once. The cons for each are essentially the pros of the other so I didn’t feel the need to go in-depth on those. Next week we’ll get into how to work with multiple animals at a time.

 

Pros of training individually 

For those of you who have multi-pet households and have used professional training services, you’ve probably heard at some point to separate your pets and train them individually. Here are some of the reasons why a professional trainer or consultant will recommend this:

  • It’s easier for your pet to focus
  • It’s easier for you to focus and be more effective
  • Eliminates competition between pets if there’s concern for guarding

Let’s explore the pros of working with one pet individually in more depth:

 

It’s easier for your pet to focus

Distractions come in many forms, and one of them can be in the form of other individuals. If you’ve ever been reprimanded as a kid for talking with your friend during class, you know that’s true. One way of decreasing distractions is by working one on one with an animal. This can especially help if you’re teaching something brand new or something more challenging!

 

It’s easier for you to focus and be more effective

Unless you’re training with a multitude of different animals every week, chances are that training is still a skill that you’re actively developing. That means it will require you to focus more on the task at hand and will be more challenging to split that focus between multiple animals. Here’s an example of what I mean by having your focus be split being more challenging:

You’re driving down a route that you’ve driven many times before. You know exactly where you’re going so you have the music cranked and you’re singing along to a song you know well. You’re able to do both of those things because both activities are well-versed and fairly habitual. 

Now let’s say you’re driving to a place you’ve never been before. Your GPS says that you’re getting close. You turn the music down so you can find the place better. Finding this new place requires more of your focus and attention so you prioritize it by taking away the distraction of the music.

 

 

It’s absolutely possible to train multiple animals at once. The question is, though, are you currently proficient enough at training to do so? Can you observe and make quick decisions on multiple animals behaving in different ways at the same time? Can you continue to keep a high rate of reinforcement with multiple animals so nobody gets frustrated working in this environment? 

 

Eliminates competition between pets if there’s concern for guarding

While there are many other benefits to working with your pet solo, the last one we’ll talk about here is resource guarding. Training activities can have a lot of resources associated with them: treats, toys, your attention. If we’re not careful about how we’re going about the training, it’s possible for pets to guard those resources and end up in a fight. Training pets individually is a good way to mitigate this issue or potential issue. 

 

Pros of training multiple animals at a time

Although pet parents likely hear that they should work with their pets 1 on 1 more often, there are also pros to training multiple animals at a time:

  • Saves time
  • Provides distraction more similar to real life for a multi-pet household
  • May be necessary for certain goals

Saves time

This is one of the main reasons I hear pet parents asking about training their pets together. If we have multiple pets and a busy schedule, it makes a lot of sense to work with everyone all at once. I also find many people tell me that they feel bad for sequestering one of their pets to another area while they’re working with another individually. Sometimes it’s less to do with time and more about the guilt we place upon ourselves.

 

Provides distraction more similar to real life for a multi-pet household

Wait… didn’t I just say that limiting distractions can be a “pro” of training individually? Yep! Distractions can be either desired or undesired depending on where your pet is in their training! If your pet is on the “proofing” stage of learning then it might be beneficial to have another pet around providing distractions. Learn more about the stages of learning here.

If you have a multi-pet household and want to be able to use a certain cue with a certain pet in day-to-day life, you’ll likely need to proof that cue with the other pets around. This is especially true if you’re working with pets who feed off the others’ behaviors.

 

May be necessary for certain goals

If you have, say, a dog who is getting into fights with the other dog living in your house, eventually we’ll need to work with both individuals simultaneously depending on what the goal is. This goes back to working in more real-life situations. 

We’ll get into different options for how to work with multiple animals at the same time next week. 

 

Now What?

  • Identify a behavior that you’d like to teach your pet. 
  • Looking at the pros of working with your pet individually or with multiple pets at once, where do you think you and this particular pet need to start? If you’re teaching a brand new behavior to your pet, it’s usually recommended to teach individually first. 
  • Start training!
  • Stay tuned next week for tips on how to work with multiple animals at a time. 

 

Happy training!

Allie

Shifting the Focus

Posted on by Allie Bender

“It’s not all about you.” How many times have you heard this statement? We could all probably be rich if we had a dollar every time we heard that phrase (okay, maybe not rich but could at least buy a new food puzzle for our pets). Well, I’m here to give you one more dollar; this time, in relation to our pets’ behavior. 

Others’ behavior often feels very much about us. It can feel like a slight, like retaliation or revenge, or purposefully trying to get our goat. But – here’s your dollar – your pets’ behavior isn’t about you. It’s about them. This isn’t to say that we don’t cause or influence certain behaviors to happen. It’s not to say that your relationship with your pet isn’t a factor in their behavior. It means that they’re behaving this way to meet their own needs first and foremost. 

Let’s narrow our focus a bit to look at the situations where I find myself having this conversation with clients. Common statements that start this discussion include:

He gets mad at me when I leave and pees out of spite. 

She’s protecting me whenever someone comes to the house. 

He won’t listen to me when he’s reactive; he’s stubborn.

Why is he doing this to me?

In each of these statements, the focus is on the human. What if we assumed it had nothing to do with the human? What if we put the focus on the animal? In that case, those statements could become:

This cat is anxious when left alone, and elimination can often happen due to fear or stress. 

This dog is afraid of strangers, and is protecting herself from a perceived threat.

This dog currently has “mountain lion brain” and can’t respond to you because the fear center of his brain has taken over everything else.

Your pet isn’t giving you a hard time, they’re having a hard time. 

Okay, that last one I stole from a social media meme that was going around a while ago. If anyone knows who the original source is please let me know so I can give them credit! 

When we change the stories we tell ourselves about why our pets do what they do, it can be not only eye-opening, but also relieving. I wrote about that in this blog post last year. 

Behavior serves the individual who’s doing the behavior and all behavior serves a function (except arguably for stereotypic behavior, which is beyond the scope of this post). Behavior serves to meet needs, from physical to mental to behavioral needs. Reactivity and aggression serve to tell a threat to go away. A recently declawed cat eliminating outside of the box serves to relieve the pain litter often causes on sore paws. Not coming when called from the yard serves to prolong the fun they’re having. It’s about them, not about you.

Now what?

  • The next time you catch yourself thinking about your pet’s behavior with yourself as the focus, try reframing it and put your pet as the focus instead. What need could they be trying to meet?
  • Not sure what’s included in your pet’s needs? We go in-depth into those categories in our book Canine Enrichment for the Real World. Join us in our Enrichment for the Real World Community group on Facebook for more free info, too!
  • Speak with a consultant if you need extra help shifting the focus of your pet’s behavior.

Happy training!

Allie

When Positive Reinforcement Isn’t

Posted on by Allie Bender

If you’ve been following us, even for just a short period of time, you’ve probably already heard us say, “Only the learner decides what’s reinforcing.” I talked a bit about this in a blog post last month in regards to high-value foods, but I wanted to expand on it and share one of the reasons we say it so frequently from a different angle. And, to do that, we need to rope in a common phrase heard in the dog training world: positive reinforcement. 

Now, because this blog is meant for pet parents, I try not to use too much terminology. But because I hear many pet parents use the term positive reinforcement themselves, I think it’s safe to talk a bit about it here. I’ll try to break it down as much as possible while still being accurate (because inaccuracies from watering down science can get us into trouble!) The simplest definition of positive reinforcement is: 

A consequence [to a behavior] that is added to the environment and maintains or increases that behavior in the future.

Positive = added (think math, not morals). Reinforcement = any consequence that makes the behavior more likely to occur in a similar context in the future

I get it; this can be a really confusing topic. That can be especially true because the way in which this phrase is used in reference to dog training or animal behavior has been pretty bastardized as it’s made its way into mainstream vernacular. The diluted definition that I most frequently see is something along the lines of, “I’m giving him treats that he likes so he does the behavior more in the future.”

But… Allie… isn’t that the exact same thing? Nope. There are two big differences between the real definition and the diluted one:

  1. Positive means added– period, end of story. It does not mean that we’re adding something that’s necessarily desirable, or that the animal likes (even though in most cases it is!). There are times where adding something undesirable increases behavior. (I know; it’s weird and gets confusing when we throw things like high-value vs. low-value treats into the mix. For now, just trust me.)
  2. The real definition relies on observation to determine whether the consequence was, indeed, reinforcing. We can only say that a consequence was reinforcing when the past consequence strengthened future behavior. The diluted definition makes an assumption that it will be reinforcing, but doesn’t follow through with the critical component of making sure that the assumption is true. 

Let’s break that down further with a few examples:

Example 1: Positive means added, whether it’s desirable or undesirable.

A dog is barking at a stranger. The dog has a history of fearful body language around strangers, and this is no exception. The stranger yells at the dog to stop barking (adding: yelling). The dog cowers further and starts barking louder. The next time the dog encounters a stranger, he barks loudly at them. (People frequently call this punishment, but it’s actually reinforcement: the behavior was strengthened in future scenarios & the barking increased in volume). 

Example 2a: The only way to determine if a consequence was reinforcing is to observe the behavior in similar context(s) after the consequence was presented.

A cat head butts you for attention. You pick him up, believing that you’re reinforcing the behavior (adding: physical contact). The cat does not head butt you in the future. (This tells us it wasn’t reinforcement, but punishment: the behavior decreased or stopped). 

Example 2b: The only way to determine if a consequence was reinforcing is to observe the behavior in similar context(s) after the consequence was presented

Millie is fearful of people reaching toward her, as evidenced by her body language. To help her feel more comfortable with hands in general, we start working on a “hand targeting” exercise (touch your nose to the hand). I lay my hand flat on the floor, when she investigates I mark with a “yes”, then place a treat a few inches in front of her (added: treat). Millie investigates my hand 3-4 times, then stops investigating. (Punishment: the behavior decreased or stopped). 

Example of hand targeting
Picture by Nick Djalila on Unsplash

Why is this distinction between definitions important?

As much as I try to avoid terminology in this blog, I see enough well-meaning people talking about “positive reinforcement” incorrectly that I decided that we needed to hash this out. When we think we’re doing a technique correctly, but in fact aren’t, then we think that that methodology doesn’t work. We get the mindset that “using positive reinforcement” doesn’t work in some scenarios or with some animals or even at all. When, in reality, we can’t actually “use” positive reinforcement. We can deliver a consequence and see if it actually fits the positive reinforcement criteria by observing future behavior. 

We need a descriptive observation, not a prescriptive assumption. This is why your consultant will ask you what you’ve tried to do in the past to modify a behavior and compare that to what’s happening now. They’re figuring out if that approach actually works in the way that they or you assumed it would. In the Millie example, I assumed that she would continue investigating my hand because I gave her a treat for doing so. But Millie’s behavior said that my assumption was wrong. She stopped investigating my hand. (For those curious, we tweaked how we were delivering the food so instead of placing the treat in front of her we tossed the treat behind her and that fixed it. It was then truly positive reinforcement [added: treat; reinforcement: she more frequently investigated the hand when it was presented to her].)

This is what we mean by “only the learner decides what’s reinforcing.” We need to observe their behavior, determine whether the behavior is being strengthened, and only then can we decide if the exercise we’re doing is reinforcing. We don’t get to make an assumption. We don’t get to decide that it’s going to be. Only the learner can tell us that it is or isn’t through their future behavior. 

Now what?

  • Think about a behavior that you’ve been working on for a while where there hasn’t been much long-term progress (even baby steps of progress). Is your assumption matching your observation? 
  • If you’ve been working on something for a while without any progress, it’s time to tweak! Your trainer or consultant can help you figure out what component is not working as assumed and how to troubleshoot. 
  • Need professional help with troubleshooting? That’s literally our job. Email us at info@petharmonytraining.com. 

Happy training!

Allie

P.S. Since we’re talking about consequences, I feel obligated to put in this post that a consequence needs to happen within 3 seconds of a behavior to be associated with it (technically up to 5, but it’s much less effective after 3) and the consequence is the first thing that happens after a behavior. This is why scolding a dog who potties in the house while you’re gone isn’t effective. Way too much time has elapsed and a lot of other things have happened in between. We’ll delve more into this in a future post.