The woof pack

Discussion of specific It's Me or the Dog episodes.

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sj96skittles
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Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:38 pm
Location: Texas

The woof pack

Post by sj96skittles »

I really enjoyed this episode!!! :) I have 2 questions: why did the owners put a backpack on max's back? And ussually when Vic trains reactive dogs she turns away when they bark. When Vic was training max how come she waited for max to stop barking then turn away as a reward??
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Noobs
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Re: The woof pack

Post by Noobs »

why did the owners put a backpack on max's back?
Well this is undoubtedly because of the CM (and his ilk) style of "exercise exercise exercise" and make him heavier with the backpack full of water bottles, which is great...except for if that's all you do, you create an over-fit dog who requires more and more exercise the more you give him.
When Vic was training max how come she waited for max to stop barking then turn away as a reward??
She was likely practicing the BAT Theory (Behavior Adjustment Training) - where you reward the dog for calm behavior by letting him move away from the trigger as a reward. There was a lengthy thread here a few months ago. The video below shows this method in action.

http://youtu.be/bwf53xwyndw
sj96skittles
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Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:38 pm
Location: Texas

Re: The woof pack

Post by sj96skittles »

Thx for the video but I don't know. To me it just makes more sense to turn away when the dog's barking
Erica
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Re: The woof pack

Post by Erica »

sj96skittles wrote:Thx for the video but I don't know. To me it just makes more sense to turn away when the dog's barking
It depends on what the dog considers as a reward. If he likes attention, then turning away when he barks makes sense. If he doesn't particularly enjoy attention, turning away when he's calm is a reward to him.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
jacksdad
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Re: The woof pack

Post by jacksdad »

sj96skittles wrote: To me it just makes more sense to turn away when the dog's barking
for some dogs/situation that is the right thing to do, but not always. What to do has to fit the dog and what the dog is trying to accomplish with the behavior your trying to change.
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