Scratchings-and-Sniffings

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Miles Gets His First Lesson Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:20 AM PST We took Miles to his first private lesson this afternoon. We are trying to work on his fear of strangers and new sights and sounds. As you may know from previous posts he had a sheltered puppy hood and didn't get the right kind of socialization during the critical first three to four months of life. We are working with Gail Skee a clicker training expert and the owner of Mis Amigos Pet Care Center. We had an interesting introduction to the process of operant conditioning this afternoon. It is through this process that we will help Miles overcome his fear of strange people, sights and sounds. The first step in the process is to get Miles to associate the clicker with a treat. Gail showed us a number of different ways to accomplish that task. The first was the hand touch.   When Miles touches his muzzle to our outstretched hand we click that behavior and follow immediately with the treat. Another "game" we played was called "look at that" where Miles was shown an object and when he focused on it Gail said the words "look at that", simultaneously clicking the behavior followed by a tasty treat. These games serve a purpose.    The object is to get Miles to associate the clicker, an operant conditioning tool, with a treat. Later, we use the clicker to shape specific behavior. For instance, if we want Miles to sit, we get his attention and wait patiently until he actually sits in front of us. When he performs the behavior we click and treat. It is amazing how fast they pick up on this. Miles was sitting to get the click/treat in a few minutes.   Once the light bulb goes off in his head, as Gail says, we can start naming the activity. When he is in the process of sitting we say "sit" followed by the click/ treat. Soon after that he will sit on command without the clicker or the treat and be happy with an atta boy as his reward.   As far as the stranger phobia goes, we can apply some of the same learning. For example, Miles likes to sit by the open French Doors in our living room and watch the street. When our neighbor James walks by on his afternoon stroll, Miles barks and growls. This is similar to the reaction he has when one of my friends comes by and knocks on the door, and it gets worse if we open the door and let them in.    The goal will be to get him to focus on me when that happens. The "look at that" game is the starting point. When I hear Miles growl at the approach or someone walking down the street I'll give him the previously learned "look at that" command. He should then focus on me for the clicker and the treat as opposed to the scary stimulus. Soon, according to Gail, he will begin to look at me whenever he is confronted with something out of the ordinary for some cue that everything is OK. Eventually, through this process, he should react much more calmly to "strange" situations.   In subsequent lessons we will learn how to shape desirable behavior with the clicker and the treat. The key is to catch them doing some version of the desired behavior and then clicking and rewarding. Timing is obviously critical for success.   We'll keep you apprised of our progress and hopefully you can learn some insights into training the right way through the process.

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