Interesting Experiment
A couple of days ago I decided Rory was old enough to go down to my basement, so I opened the babygate at the top of the stairs and invited her down the first couple of steps (to the landing by the door to the garage). Much to my surprise, she freaked and was unable to bring herself to go down 3 steps. Even when I opened the door to the driveway, she couldn't do it. Even when Kyah ("are we going this way to the car this time? Oh boy!") went down the steps and out the door, Rory agitated at the top of the steps. Eventually I used positive reinforcement and got her down the steps to the landing.
I've been thinking a lot lately about dog training, the controversies stirred up by the death of the trainer at SeaWorld, and similar topics. So today I decided to try a different technique to get Rory down the rest of the steps to the basement, which involves a longer run of steps and a couple of angled steps that make a right-angle turn close to the bottom of the flight.
I invited her to come with me to get the laundry. She balked. I tried leading her by the collar. She balked. So I finally matter-of-factly picked her up and carried her down the steps. Her heart was pounding, her legs were rigid. I put her down at the bottom of the stairs, and she poked around a tiny bit. Then I invited her to go up the stairs with me (the laundry was still in the dryer, so no clunky burden in my arms), and she freaked about that, too. Didn't want to do it. I went up the landing and called her (she couldn't see me because of the bend in the stairs). It took her a few minutes, but she eventually stuck her head around the corner to where she could see me, gathered her courage, and zoomed up the stairs. Good girl.
Now I really did want to get the laundry this time. She still didn't want to go down the steps of her own volition, so I started her with her collar and released as she headed downward. Rory was more willing to explore the laundry room while I pulled the clothes out of the dryer. She also went up the stairs ahead of me with only a minor "let's go upstairs now" from me. I've closed the babygate again because there is too much stuff down there she could get into without supervision and because I'd rather Kyah not do all of those steps at her age.
So, what did we learn? I learned this method was much faster than a clicker would have been. It was easier for me to keep dispassionate during the shorter time than clicking's longer timeframe would have been ("for dog's sake, Rory, it's just another stupid step like the last one. just do it, would ya?" would have kicked in by the midpoint, I'm sure).
I *hope* Rory learned a bit about trusting me when I ask her to do something uncomfortable -- chances are it doesn't involve a puppy-eating monster -- and facing her fears directly. Or did she begin to learn "learned helplessness" and not to trust me because I won't listen to her signals that she's not comfortable with a situation? I think it's the former. If I thought Rory were a really shy, fearful dog, I probably would have tried the clicker method so she would have more of that sense of control, but I don't think Rory has a problem with taking control.
I've been thinking a lot lately about dog training, the controversies stirred up by the death of the trainer at SeaWorld, and similar topics. So today I decided to try a different technique to get Rory down the rest of the steps to the basement, which involves a longer run of steps and a couple of angled steps that make a right-angle turn close to the bottom of the flight.
I invited her to come with me to get the laundry. She balked. I tried leading her by the collar. She balked. So I finally matter-of-factly picked her up and carried her down the steps. Her heart was pounding, her legs were rigid. I put her down at the bottom of the stairs, and she poked around a tiny bit. Then I invited her to go up the stairs with me (the laundry was still in the dryer, so no clunky burden in my arms), and she freaked about that, too. Didn't want to do it. I went up the landing and called her (she couldn't see me because of the bend in the stairs). It took her a few minutes, but she eventually stuck her head around the corner to where she could see me, gathered her courage, and zoomed up the stairs. Good girl.
Now I really did want to get the laundry this time. She still didn't want to go down the steps of her own volition, so I started her with her collar and released as she headed downward. Rory was more willing to explore the laundry room while I pulled the clothes out of the dryer. She also went up the stairs ahead of me with only a minor "let's go upstairs now" from me. I've closed the babygate again because there is too much stuff down there she could get into without supervision and because I'd rather Kyah not do all of those steps at her age.
So, what did we learn? I learned this method was much faster than a clicker would have been. It was easier for me to keep dispassionate during the shorter time than clicking's longer timeframe would have been ("for dog's sake, Rory, it's just another stupid step like the last one. just do it, would ya?" would have kicked in by the midpoint, I'm sure).
I *hope* Rory learned a bit about trusting me when I ask her to do something uncomfortable -- chances are it doesn't involve a puppy-eating monster -- and facing her fears directly. Or did she begin to learn "learned helplessness" and not to trust me because I won't listen to her signals that she's not comfortable with a situation? I think it's the former. If I thought Rory were a really shy, fearful dog, I probably would have tried the clicker method so she would have more of that sense of control, but I don't think Rory has a problem with taking control.