when harry came and joined 'the pack' sadie was settled in and used to getting lots of one to one - like all small dogs they become empowered by lifting up and the attention/fuss/apprasial is then a strong resource (something the dog thinks it needs/wants in order to survive) to begin with sadie would allow harry to join in the lap cuddles but recently she has gotten resource aggressive and got very uptight when harry was picked up too - yesterday whilst on andrew's lap there was a grade 3 scrap
mostly due to harry refusing to concede because he was full of himself after the food fight he won
- andrew's response was to tell them off (remember the post - if the pack manager is barking/fighting then i have to carry on?) sue's reponse was to isolate harry (punishment) - and this is where the need to understand when to use punishment, when to reward and more importantly, how to be a manager and to apply that management.
the vid shows me taking control and implementing the management role without re-enforcing the fight/snap get off behaviour. look at the way sadie offers appeasment and asks for appraisal immediately after the ahahaha and see the point at which i reward - verbal appraisal and the stroking of thumbs around neck and ears - and of course the biggest reward - up on the lap
these pups are at the transistional stage between classical conditioning and operant conditioning - they are now learning they can make a choice - and it is at this stage that a good manager comes into her/his own -you have to find the balance - some behaviours can still be ignored, some behaviours need extra reward training to become firm and some need 'i am in control here' messages - but get it right at this point of life and you have a mentally well balanced, well cued dog.
i just find it amazing that these little minpins act in exactly the same way as their bigger cousins
any questions?
