Examples of Using Sound to Correct Bad Behavior
As stated earlier, any sound accompanied with praise, is sufficient.
For example: let’s say your dog walks right over to you while your eating dinner, and expects to help himself, without permission, to your food.
If you were to snap your fingers in front of his face and say “good boy, nice dog, what a good dog you are,” you’d feel pretty much like an idiot, until he opened his mouth to grab your food, at which point you’d reach around behind him and snap your fingers again, following through with lavish praise.
If you’re timing and tone of voice were correct, he would have stopped, but yet still be thinking of taking your food without permission. So we expect him to try again to get your food.
As he leans his big wet nose over your plate, and again you were to snap your fingers in front of his nose, and following the procedure, using lavish praise for this horrible mistake, you’ll find him leaning back a little, thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking, (and find yourself praising, praising, praising).
Now, he’s going to look at your food, then look up at you, then back at the food.
In as much as it goes against everything you’ve ever been lead to believe, you must praise this thought, this learning plateau. You can learn to overcome your natural instincts.
It’s not easy being human. Now we fully expect him to try once again to get your food.
At the moment he begins to make his move, you were to reach around behind him and snap your fingers and speak praises, this should be the last time you need address this behavior, possibly for the rest of your life, or, until you change your location.
Pick up your plate and move to another chair, and your loving pet will try again to steal your food.
Now, begin the procedure again, taking it to its fourth properly performed repetition.
Now, he’ll probably never try to steal your food as long as you sit at either of the two positions at your table that he has been conditioned to.
Taking this example to a third seat at the table, and then to a fourth seat at the table will permanently break this behavior.
That is, until someone else sit there with his or her food in front of him or her. The point is that we will need four people or plate settings at this table to permanently eradicate this behavior. O.K.?
How about if we rearrange the dining room, and move the table to another location? If you figure this to be a “new environment,” you’ve begun to understand how your dog figures it to be.
Now, you know what to do, and how to do it. We had a student call one day, because although things were moving along well with her dog, the dog continued to jump up on the couch.
When asked how does she address the problem, she stated that she reaches over for one of the cans, gives it a shake, and indeed, the dog gets off the couch, but gets back on again shortly thereafter.
“How do you deal with that?” I asked.
“I reach for the cans, and give it another shake, and as always, she gets right off, but gets back on it again shortly thereafter.”
“Don’t you remember that the sound must come from another direction,”
I asked?
“Oh yes, now I remember. Creating the sound will not be effective without alternating the source or direction. Sorry to bother you about that,” she said. “Before you go, tell me, did you continue to do the Family Pack Leadership
Exercise at three other locations, and finish reading the manual?” I asked.