I am in love with the clicker!
As I'm sure is the case for a lot of you, my dog Maddie completely flips out whenever I turn on the vacuum, also the blender, the sewing machine, the printer, the broom, the VCR, the Wii, and even when I wipe my flat palm across the counter tops (think wiping up crumbs). By flip out I mean barking hysterically, jumping, biting, completely in the zone and not responsive to any commands or distractions.
Anyway, I decided to try an experiment with shaping and the clicker. I had actually started this last week by leaving the vacuum in an area where we had to walk around/over it a lot, so she would get used to seeing it. I loaded my pocket with cheese and put my hand on the vacuum. She flipped. I waited. Eventually she started looking around and then looking at me. I clicked and treated. She went back to barking and attacking the vacuum, and I waited. Eventually she was sitting for treats, so I started pushing the vacuum just a bit, back and forth. She flipped. I waited. It took a little longer this time since the vacuum was moving. Eventually she figured out that if she stopped barking at the vacuum and looked at me, she would get a treat. I used the clicker to mark the behavior I wanted, and ignored all other behavior. I did not correct or reprimand.
Then I turned on the vacuum and started the process again. By the end of about 20 minutes and 1 cheese stick, I was able to vacuum my family room without her barking or attacking the vacuum!
I was very pleased, giddy, really. And now I have a tired pup!
More work is needed obviously, but for a first time I thought it went very well.
As I'm sure is the case for a lot of you, my dog Maddie completely flips out whenever I turn on the vacuum, also the blender, the sewing machine, the printer, the broom, the VCR, the Wii, and even when I wipe my flat palm across the counter tops (think wiping up crumbs). By flip out I mean barking hysterically, jumping, biting, completely in the zone and not responsive to any commands or distractions.
Anyway, I decided to try an experiment with shaping and the clicker. I had actually started this last week by leaving the vacuum in an area where we had to walk around/over it a lot, so she would get used to seeing it. I loaded my pocket with cheese and put my hand on the vacuum. She flipped. I waited. Eventually she started looking around and then looking at me. I clicked and treated. She went back to barking and attacking the vacuum, and I waited. Eventually she was sitting for treats, so I started pushing the vacuum just a bit, back and forth. She flipped. I waited. It took a little longer this time since the vacuum was moving. Eventually she figured out that if she stopped barking at the vacuum and looked at me, she would get a treat. I used the clicker to mark the behavior I wanted, and ignored all other behavior. I did not correct or reprimand.
Then I turned on the vacuum and started the process again. By the end of about 20 minutes and 1 cheese stick, I was able to vacuum my family room without her barking or attacking the vacuum!
I was very pleased, giddy, really. And now I have a tired pup!
More work is needed obviously, but for a first time I thought it went very well.
