Fido instigates some activities.

Hi Kaye,

The last few days have gone beautifully with our hyped up teenage scrub poodle mate. I've been very, very low energy and so I have been reading him carefully. I have only done things with him when he has instigated them, by hanging around, nose butting my leg (a current favourite), and generally gambling around me wanting to engage. Emphasis has definitely been on having fun. He loves Tug games, chasing games, and jumping on things- like little obstacle courses.

From the general improvement in atmosphere, he has been extremely attentive and cooperative on the short lead 'Close' and in close positioning ‘off lead’. This has surprised me; it is as if a penny has dropped. Yes, I know, that same penny will drop out again shortly, for inexplicable (possibly hormonal) reasons. Still it is nice to get a glimpse of  intense positive focus on me. He is excitable. Still, he seems to be capable of turning that excitable energy into highly cooperative behaviour.

We have a term in Alexander Technique called 'inhibition'. It is not the physiological meaning inferring suppression. It is the creation of a new ‘behaviour opportunity’ by watching the first habitual impulse and saying 'no' to it in a nanosecond. This creates the brief window of opportunity to choose a new response.

I see the horses 'inhibiting' habitual responses all the time. You can see the wheels turning. They might be thinking, for instance, I want to be somewhere else. But before that message gets to their feet, they pause and make a new choice. It is like the pop down menu. Run, stay, lean and look away, which will I choose? If the first impulse is chosen they are a 'slave to habit'.

I think that level of 'sophistication in thinking' is starting in our scrub poodle. On the lead he is very exuberant. There are smells, birds and bunnies cavorting about and horses, playful at feed time. Each time he'd find himself about to take off he'd scroll down and choose the 'look at him, click and reward option'. The intensity seemed transferred to his attention on me.

I've taken a day thinking about your examples. Firstly, with Chance and the rubbish and secondly, with the delayed gratification with River and Valley. Delayed gratification seems to me like a pretty sophisticated process. If a dog is capable of it, then perhaps it is capable of enacting some deeper mysterious meaning to the emptying of your rubbish in the lounge room. Unfounded idle curiosity on my part of course. Perhaps it is a way of giving you the message she doesn't like you leaving the room?

I am reminded of the words from a Warren Zevon song ‘I’m going to hurl myself against the wall, because I’d rather feel bad than feel nothing at all.’  Perhaps Chance gets something from the rubbish cleaning up activities when there is not much going on. To her, a scolding might be ‘intense desirable attention’. We’ll never know! Your approach of ignoring it is certainly consistent with the advice we were given in relation to tantrum behaviour in our kids. Getting cross with them gives the attention they crave, and encourages more tantrums. Sometimes ignoring it is emphasised by putting them in their room for a few minutes. That level of punishment is also used in puppy training isn’t it.


Cheers,

Richard