Course Details
On a recent walk, my dog Smudge was startled by a bicycle that appeared suddenly from behind us, only a few feet away. Smudge barked and lunged as the bicyclist sped past. This wasn’t my proudest moment but it was a great indication that I need to do more training. Smudge already has learned that a dog approaching us from the front or the side is a cue for him to bump my fist with his nose, which I mark and follow with positive reinforcement. He used to respond to approaching dogs with emotionally-charged behaviors (e.g., barking or lunging). Now he recognizes this context change as a reinforcement opportunity. So his attitude is likely to be upbeat rather than upset. My next step is to extend the cue for his “replacement behavior” to include stealthy bicyclists.
We’ll discuss the steps necessary to teach your dog to reinterpret upsetting or arousing context changes as good news. After all, your “reactive” dog is already noticing the many sights, sounds and smells around him. Rather than hoping he’ll eventually ignore them, we can opt to use his sensitivity as a key component in the training.
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