60 – The Promise of the Quick Fix

We live in an age of instant everything. We have microwaves for fast meals, planes for quick trips to Florida, computers that connect us with anyone, anywhere, in the blink of an eye. We have television shows that illustrate how to shape up our kids, our spouses, and our dogs in just one hour. Thus, when the call comes from a frantic owner whose dog has misbehaved for years and now, for whatever reason, must be magically transformed into Wonder Dog overnight, I sigh. We have forgotten this is real life and we are dealing with living beings, not made of nuts and bolts, but complex emotions. Change, done properly, takes time.

Pet owners often run into someone who claims they can fix the problem quickly. At my house, we long ago realized the most dangerous words in the English language are “All you have to do is just…” Using those words practically guarantees double the work. The same is true when working with dogs. If you find someone who guarantees they can fix your dog’s problem, whether it be in one hour or one month, turn and run in the other direction as quickly as possible. A person willing to guarantee the behavior of another living being is also willing to use any means necessary to get that result.

What difference does it make how you handle the problem? Does it really matter whether you force the dog or take time to change the dog’s emotional response to the situation? The short and sweet answer is “Yes, it matters.” A study done at the University of Pennsylvania concluded “confrontational methods applied by dog owners before their pets were presented for a behavior consultation were associated with aggressive responses in many cases.” The researchers concluded the animals would continue to be aggressive unless the confrontational methods were dropped.

The majority of confrontational methods reported in the study were hitting or kicking the dog, but some new ones were recently added as owners reported watching television shows that warn: Do Not Try These Techniques At Home. Techniques added included alpha rolling, strangling, and poking while saying “ssshhhttt.” All of these are based on the erroneous alpha wolf model of dominance covered in previous columns. Based on what we see on television, it would appear these methods work. Indeed, there are many dogs out there trained using force and punishment, what I call “choke and poke,” who do exactly as they are told to do.

So if force training works, what’s the big deal? Well, we frequently get more than we bargain for. The dog usually associates punishment with the handler, not the deed, and the chance of the handler being bitten while punishing the dog increases dramatically. Using force and compulsion to get quick results can also suppress the dog’s undesired behavior until, one day, the dog snaps and causes injury. Often the dog ends up being euthanized with the owner never quite understanding why the dog “turned on him.” Some dogs, the ones we call “soft dogs,” will just shut down and stop offering behaviors, good or bad, a state called “learned helplessness.” It becomes difficult to teach them anything new as they no longer offer behaviors for fear of punishment.

Reward-based trainers see quite the opposite. The biggest trouble we have using positive reinforcement is trying to curb the dog’s enthusiasm for trying anything new. They willingly comply with cues they’ve learned and do not show fear when learning new behaviors. When working with dogs who have previously been trained forcefully, who are fearful or shut down, we work very hard to condition the dog to associate good emotional feelings with something that may have previously been painful or scary. It’s called counter-conditioning and it is a powerful tool, but not a quick fix.

To illustrate the difference in approaches, take a four year old dog who has never been walked on lead. Force trainers would have no problem just snapping a leash on the dog (who is also usually placed on a choke chain as well), then dragging the dog until he walks. Problem solved, and in only one hour, right? Not exactly. The collar and leash now equal pain to the dog and he runs away. The frustrated owner may chase the dog while using an angry tone of voice. The dog, responding to the owner’s anger, may present a defensive response by becoming aggressive, using a growl, snap, or bite to keep the scary person and equipment away. Alternately, he may try to appease the owner by rolling onto his back and then refusing to move. In contrast, the reward-based trainer will condition the appearance of the collar and leash to mean good things are about to happen, using whatever the dog finds rewarding, whether that is food, petting, or play. We normally teach the dog to insert his head into the collar and then lure the dog into taking just a few steps while on leash. Gradually we build up distance and soon have a dog who happily accompanies his owner on walks over distance. No fighting, no biting, no fear. But it takes time.

If someone offers you an immediate solution, take a moment to consider the future consequences. Which do you prefer, creating a partnership or an adversarial relationship?