Professor Boo likes to collect articles, information, and occasionally contribute his own material to this page in the hope that folks will browse and learn or be reminded of things they may have forgotten.
If you have a question that you would like to ask Professor Boo, please feel free to contact him at professorboo@threedogstraining.com.
Positively Confused Leadership Aggression Toward Babies Skunk Wash Formula Proper Leash Use
Q: What’s the difference between positive reinforcement and positive punishment?
A: If Professor Boo had a time machine he would go back in time to find B.F. Skinner and his cohorts and have a stern talking to them about the naming of the four quadrants of Learning Theory. Positive Reinforcement (shorthand for Positive Reinforcement is PR or R+) and Positive Punishment (shorthand for Positive Punishment is PP or P+.) are just two elements of the four quadrants of Learning Theory. The other two elements are Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment – we will save those for another day.
Positive Reinforcement means that we are offering a timely reinforcer to the subject to insure the behavior is repeated – YIKES!
Okay let’s try again -
Positive Reinforcement is offering a reward (or something the dog likes) immediately after any behavior we want or like so we will get more of that behavior. When we reinforce the behavior by following it immediately with a reinforcing event like a food reward, a great game, the butt scratch of a life-time or anything that makes the dog vibrate with JOY the dog will repeat the action that earned him that great reward. Generally we also add in a praise word, or “marker word,” or clicker to mark the good behavior and predict the reward is coming for the dog. This eventually allows us to fade out the food (or other added reinforcer) so that we don’t always have to be strapped with hot dogs to take our dog for a walk.
Positive Reinforcement allows us to build our bond with our dogs while we are teaching them good behaviors. It helps the dog to enjoy and look forward to learning, and to be more creative and confident in general. Neurological studies have shown that all of us (human, dog, cat, etc.) learn better when our brains are bathed in the kids of neurotransmitters associated with positive emotions.
Positive Punishment means that we are offering a punisher to the subject to insure the behavior will stop. – YIKES again!
Okay let’s try another way –
Positive Punishment is offering a punisher (or something the dog does not like) AS* the dog is producing a behavior we don’t like/want so that the dog will stop doing it. When we want to punish a behavior we must apply the punishing event AS* the dog is still in the act of the unwanted behavior (otherwise we run a big risk of actually punishing the dog for stopping). Traditional punishing events have included yelling, pulling on the choke collar or pinch collar, subjecting the dog to any kind of pain from a shock collar to the more severe methods of drowning, flipping, rolling, scruff shaking, or kicking, and worse. Studies have shown us that most of the time when punishers are faded the unwanted behavior returns because remember in PR – we are looking to have the animal repeat the behavior to EARN the reward. In PP we are simply looking for the animal to stop the behavior in the face of the punishment. This means you will always have to punish or at least threaten to punish if you choose this route.
*Note – because human timing in training is relatively slow in comparison to our dogs when using P+ one has to aim for “AS” in terms of the timing of the punisher so that one actually gets even closer to the event to be punished. With R+ we have a little more wriggle room in terms of timing – maybe a quarter of a second, but that’s a lot in training terms.
Positive Punishment breaks our bond with our dog and our dog’s trust in us. It teaches them that learning is at the very least no fun and at the worst painful. It does not build confidence – it breaks it. It all too often leads to more aggression from our dogs. Neurological studies have shown that punishment acts quickly to suppress a behavior because of the survival instinct of avoiding pain and threats; but it comes with baggage in the nature of fears, re-directed and learned aggression, and shut down behaviors based in chronic stressors that can lead to a host of physical illnesses. In summary positive punishment not only carries a host of fallout, it has make you ask the following, “Did I get this dog so I could cause him or her pain and fear?”
When using Positive Reinforcement you must know what your dog likes and doesn’t like. If you have a dog who is head-shy then patting them on the head when they do something you like is a PUNISHMENT not a reinforcer. If you have a dog with gastric issues then food rewards may not be a fun thing for your dog. You have to know what your dog loves (remember: makes your dog vibrate with joy) in order to offer him/her that for a reward.
The biggest trick to Positive Punishment is TIMING and being ready to break your bond with your dog while you actually discourage your dog from wanting to learn. Using Positive Punishment could shut your dog down leaving them living their lives like a hostage never knowing when the next scary thing will happen to them. Or you could make you dog more aggressive – studies have shown that one of the biggest contributing factors to aggression in dogs (and people, too) is using harsh (aggressive) correction on them. You might be told or be thinking that your dog is not feeling the pain from the shock collar because they are not responding, but in fact your dog is not responding because he/she is actually overwhelmed with stress and cannot comply. All you will be doing is making their stress bigger.
Transport yourself back in time to when you were in school and answer this question: Would you learn better if someone smacked you in the head every time you misspelled a word or made a math mistake or would you learn better if someone showed you where you made your mistake and then rewarded you each time you overcame each one?
There is nothing that can be taught by positive punishment that cannot be taught by positive reinforcement. In fact, there is more that can be taught by positive reinforcement. The choice of how you wish to treat the animal in your care is up to you.
Boo prefers PR!
Leadership, or Who Let the Dogs Out First?
Most social organizations have levels of hierarchy to make them run smoothly. When we emphasize humans as “Leader of the Pack” vis-à-vis their dogs this does NOT involve force or physical control. Traditionally, in most canine and human societies, the leader is the one who controls all goods and services – food, play, toys, outside, social activities, etc. AND the Leader is the one who takes care of the family/pack.
We hear a lot about showing our dog that we are their leader by being dominant. The behavioral definition of “dominance” refers to hierarchy in a social organization, not an implicit personality trait or forcefulness. Example: your boss is dominant in the workplace because he/she is in charge of working hours, your tasks, what you get paid, time off, etc. However, it could be illegal or just unpleasant if your boss used force to support the hierarchy of the workplace. The good boss that has a good leadership relationship with his/her employees explains the order of the workplace at the beginning then he/she uses incentives, bonuses, and commissions to reward employees for work well done. Yet, even with this kindness and guidance this good boss remains in the “dominant” leadership position.
To build a good leadership relationship with our dogs –
We need to teach solid boundaries – like our boss expecting us in at nine – if we’re not; we lose pay.
We need trained behaviors we can request from our dogs – like our boss would ask us to perform our job.
We need to respect our dogs – like the good boss respects that you can’t work 24/7; you need enrichment time.
In the end it doesn’t matter if your dog walks in front of you or goes out the door “first” –
It matters that your dog is not pulling you because you have taught them it pays to walk on a loose leash = Trained behaviors and boundaries.
It matters that you can ask your dog to go ahead of you because maybe it’s easier for you at that moment = Requested trained behaviors.
It matters that maybe this is your dog’s free time to sniff and have some fun = Freedoms you allow because your dog needs enrichment, too.
To be a good leader for your dog, your relationship needs to be built on understanding, guidance, and respect; and you must take responsibility for Learning, Teaching, and Reinforcing.
Q: Professor Boo, I have an 11 year old female german shephard and a 10 month old baby at home. My dog has always been friendly towards my baby girl and usually kisses her and licks her a lot. My baby is always after the dog, using her as a “ladder” to stand up, grabs her tail and face and usually my dog just walks away but today was the first time she growled at her and showed her teeth when my daughter tried to grab her(my daughter was in my dog’s sleeping area). Does that mean she might bite her? I love my dog dearly but my baby comes first. What do I do?
A: This is fairly common when little ones begin to toddle around and use the dog as a walking “helper” as it were.
Please remember all dogs can bite anyone if they feel they have no other way to stop something that either scares them or hurts them. Cute as it may be to see baby loving the dog, most dogs are not really comfortable with this kind of grabbing as most little ones don’t have really good grip control and can hurt when they pull and tug on an dog especially an older dog.
It should not have to come down to a choice for you between the dog you love and the child you love. It really just has to come down to always remembering that baby doesn’t know she may be hurting the dog and your dog is telling baby with a growl “please stop.” Your job is to stop baby before doggie gets to the point where she feels the need to “correct” the baby. There are some simple rules that will help.
Please start out by thinking of your dog like an open pool in your back yard. You would never turn your back on your baby around an open pool. You would never let her dangle her feet in the pool without you right there next to her. You would always be right there to catch her if she fell, etc…
So in light of that – please follow these rules:
a. Dog and baby are never alone together and you are always right between them for now
b. Baby can only touch dog when you are right there guiding baby as to how to gently touch dog
c. Dog is never used as a walking helper for baby
d. Dog is never chased by baby – not with walker, not with toys and not on her own
e. Baby never wakes the dog, pokes the dog or lands on the dog when dog is sleeping
In addition to all of these I would suggest some review of basic skills especially the recall command. Very often parents find it easier to call the dog away from baby then to ask baby to stop advancing on a resting dog. This may mean some new or review training either individually or in a classroom.
Too many dogs are euthanized each year because they are viewed as aggressive to their toddler. Much of this can be avoided if we try to understand that for most dogs toddlers can be scary. Most dogs try to warn the toddler away and too many parents punish the dog for the growl. This leads to a dog who feels like they have no alternative but to bite.
Please remember “the 1st rule to keeping your child safe from your dog is keeping your dog safe from your child.”
Your dog has given you a great gift – she has told you she is uncomfortable with some things baby is doing. Take that gift and return the favor to your dog by following the rules above and teaching or reviewing some really basic skills to keep everyone safe.
Summer Encounters with Skunks, or Love Stinks
Q: Professor Boo, being small and black with a white stripe do you find yourself having to deal with unwanted attention from female skunks?
A: Being the intellectual, female skunks are generally more attracted to my wit and outgoing personality than they are to the in-your-face physicality of my brother, Dante. While I’ll regale them with stories about studying in Paris, Dante will sprint toward them to say “hi!” and more often than not ends up with a mouth full of skunk spray.
When that happens, we happen to have a homemade Skunk Wash formula that works just as well as any store-bought solution and is made out of ingredients nearly everyone has in their pantry:
Skunk Wash Formula
1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/2 cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
1 teaspoon of liquid soap
Mix together to make a shampoo for your furry pal.
Rinse well to remove the shampoo from the fur after vigorously shampooing.
You may need to double or triple this recipe depending on the weight of your dog.
Because I enjoyed answering this question, just for fun I’ll pass along a Professor Boo Fun Fact: In French, the word for shampoo is “shampooing” and is pronounced sham-PWAN.
Leashes – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly…
A Leash is to the Dog-Human connection like a seat-belt is to the car-driver connection. Both are safety devices and often mandated by law. Just as we never use a seat-belt to drive our car, we should not use a leash to “drive” our dogs. A leash allows us a safe and effective connection to our dogs in case of surprises, emergencies, or situations where attention is hard to get or keep. Once we have trained for Attention and other Skills a loose leash actually offers us the best control of our dog, and least frustration and stress for our dogs.
Your dog spends most of their time in the yard – Do you need to worry about a leash? There are many times when your dog needs to be on a leash – trips to veterinarians, groomers, walking adventures, classes, etc. Groomers and veterinarians are necessary for obvious reasons. Walking adventures outside their own backyard and classes are necessary too because dogs who don’t experience these things can be under-socialized which often leads to behavioral problems.
To use a leash properly we want to use the right tools wisely so we don’t do damage to our dogs or ourselves and we don’t want to inadvertently teach the wrong things:
The Good – Standard leash is a 6 foot nylon, cotton or leather leash (leather is easiest on human hands; avoid chains as someone usually gets hurt by these). Longer leashes are not standard walking leashes. They are used for training long distance commands.
The Bad – The Tight Leash – All too often the human-dog team becomes accustomed to constant tension on the leash = tight leash. A dog can be stressed and frustrated by a constant tight leash which can often lead to behavioral problems.
The Ugly– The Flexi Leash is almost always a constantly tight leash. In addition to stress and frustration for the dog it actually TEACHES the dog to pull. The Flexi Leash leaves the dog at risk for a variety of injuries and stress responses that can lead to behavioral problems. It also leaves the human at more risk of injury than any other leash.
Good leash skills come with awareness, practice, patience and a solid understanding of what a leash is meant to do for you and your dog.