By Heidi Clayton
Does your dog have the uncanny ability to know when you are on an important phone call and choose that time to stand directly in front of you and bark incessantly in your face, demanding attention? Do they continue to interrupt your phone call even after you tried distracting them by tossing treats or giving them a toy? I believe that we give these attention-seeking behaviors a whole lot of attention by trying to redirect them or yelling at them. Attention is exactly what your dog wants, even if it is your negative attention in the form of yelling. To rid your dog of these behaviors, try using the extinction method, which, in the simplest terms, is ignoring the problem until it goes away.
In scientific terms, the extinction theory is that bad behaviors will decrease over time and eventually go away once the reinforcement for said behavior is removed. Instead of dogs being rewarded for jumping on a person by either being pushed down or pet, the extinction theory suggests ignoring the jumping dog completely each and every time they jump until they realize that they will get zero interaction until they do not jump on anyone. I use extinction with my own dogs, but I also pair it with positive reinforcement of behaviors that I do want them to repeat. So if my puppy comes up to me and does not jump, I praise her for not doing so with “good no jumping” and will pet her. If she is jumping, I completely ignore her and give her zero attention. She has learned that when she runs up to me and pummels me, I will not engage with her. However, when she runs up and offers the appropriate behavior, she gets loads of praise and sometimes treats and hugs.
Another key to success is that everyone must be on the same page regarding ignoring behaviors so that they go away. If you have young children who will squeal or react in any way to the dog jumping on them and they can not maintain a good poker face, you will have setbacks. I can not stress enough that while I think dogs and children being raised together is awesome, children can be incredibly overstimulating to a jumping dog. You are asking a lot of both of them to ignore each other. So, if you want to stop your dog from jumping on children, you should first stop them from jumping on adults who are in a better position to fully ignore the dog and are more apt to reward them when they display good behavior.
I will caution everyone who employs the extinction theory that there is the probability of things getting worse before they get better, which is called an “extinction burst.” This occurs because the dog is used to getting a reward or attention for their rude behavior and may seem frustrated about no longer getting the attention they feel they deserve. My advice is to stay strong! Caving in just once takes you back to square one. Your dog will learn that if they just persist in the behavior, you will cave in.
Ignoring problem behaviors is a way of life here at Four on the Floor Dog Training, but so is rewarding the things I want from dogs. Mixing ignoring the behaviors you find annoying and rewarding those that you love works wonders in getting what you want out of your dog.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton started Four On the Floor Dog Training to provide positive, reward-based dog training in South Jersey. She breeds, trains and shows bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Bull Terriers kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net or learn more at https://fouronthefloordogtraining.net
