Putting a Dog's Unwanted Behavior on Stimulus Control (to get Rid of it)-Jumping

Lucy developed an annoying habit of jumping up at the food dish as I carried to the tha back door. I wanted to get rid of it but for the longest time I was afraid to put it on stimulus control (on cue) as I worried she might do it more often instead of less often (add it to her repertoire).
I decided it couldn't get much worse and so tried putting the unwanted jumping behavior on cue. These are the steps we did and the outcome. I had a pleasant surprise by the end of training.

Generalizing the new cue out of context first was important so she had a strong understanding of what I was looking or before I ever re-paired it with the food dish.

Training for stimulus control works on behaviors that are (ideally) not self-reinforcing but may also work on some that are, depending on the severity of arousal level and how controllable the environment is. (It may work on some barking if the dog is still able to acknowledge/respond to you but may not if the dog is frantic when barking in the situation). Arousal level and awareness of their own behavior is key. If you can control the environment (move the person or dog that triggers barking) further away so the animal's arousal level is lowered, success will be greater. Then you can increase the level again, no different from training an animal to function amid distractions. In this case, the trainer can control the key aspect of the behavior, - the value of the food. Start with a lower value food then as the dog shows she can control herself, increase the value of it while using the cue. In this case, I put cheese in the bowl and worked our way up to what she considered more valuable as she succeeded.

Considering the definition of 'self-reinforcing' is important as well. Laying down can be self-reinforcing if the dog is tired of standing. This approach is often used in training horses. Stopping for a rest after trotting for a time is self-reinforcing for horses.

Part of the definition of 'stimulus control' not often acknowledged is that the animal only does the behavior when cued-DURING TRAINING SESSIONS. This does not mean the animal cannot do it when the trainer is not interacting with it. Take the case of sit or down on cue. If they are under stimulus control, during a training session the dog will only do these if cued. However, when not in a training session, the dog is free to sit and lay down whenever she wants to.
The same applies to barking etc. If the trainer starts interacting with the animal, it should stop doing the behavior unless cued to do so. However, for some behaviors, it is also helpful to train an 'off switch' cue such as "quiet" that is paired with 'bark'.

Want some help to coach you through the process? Contact me at www.onlineclickertraining.blogspot.com

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• dog jumping up
• unwanted
• undesirable behavior
• stimulus control

[timschmidt98g]

Great video. To the point and proves the theory as valid in this case. Now to do this with my kids hahaha!

[supernaturalbc2009]

@timschmidt98g It actually does work. I used this method on my autistic and developmentally delayed teen students. I think partly for humans, it gives them permission to do the behavior and so takes the power out of it. Maybe for animals too. They also realized how silly the behavior was, in most cases and counterproductive to getting what they want.

[supernaturalbc2009]

Karen Pyor and Ian Dunbar promote it's use so I thought I would try it. One of Jesus Rosales Ruiz' students last year did a master's thesis on the topic, using arm biting/mouthing as the behavior. He too was successful (I found this out after another of his student's told me). I could get my Master's for this! LOL!

[abigailsrun]

It stands to reason that at the time she first jumped when the bowl was in hand that unknowingly the human rewarded that behavior either with words or a pat or by doing nothing at all, and the dog shortly after was fed her dinner, which would have been reward in itself . Dogs always do what works for them, humans just reinforce the behavior regardless if it is good or bad behavior.

[supernaturalbc2009]

@abigailsrun The behavior actually started with her previous owner whose kids would hold a large milbone treat above her head and pull it away. She learned she could jump up and knock it out of their hands occassionally, hence it was a strong behavior. She is a good generalizer.

[jktcz]

awesome! thank you for a wonderful illustration!

[ktagliam]

i taught my dogs to jump on me to teach them to not jump on me... it was more effective than trying to stand on the leash so they would self-pop , safer than putting a knee block up , and clearer than turning my back to my dogs.

[mydogkanskidrums]

@supernaturalbc2009 Do you have a link to this thesis at all?

[kikopup]

that is too awesome! I taught Tug to jump so he wouldnt keep jumping when doing heel-work! Very ingenious to do it regarding the food prep!

[rozwatkins1]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing this 

[Appy2quarter]

Great video and fantastic idea - I've been struggling with my 8 month old schnauzer pups jumping and doh! hadn't thought of putting it on cue! Thanks for sharing

[maiadjinn]

That's excellent, thank you so much for sharing!

How long did it take you in all?