Counter Conditioning
Nothing to do with hair
What is it?
Counter conditioning changes an emotional response, it comes from Pavlov, his experiments showed that we can link things together to make positive associations. He would ring a bell before feeding the dogs, initially the ringing meant nothing- the dogs would either ignore it or bark at the noise, this was their unconditioned response. They soon began to realise the bell meant that food was coming, they made that association BELL = FOOD, and so the conditioned response when the bell rung was attentive salivating dogs. With reactive pups you can replacing the bell with other dogs, cats, rabbits to associate these triggers with something else- treats and fun with you.
An Example
So, you have started to notice that your pup is barking at other dogs, it’s loud and attracts unwanted attention and looks from everyone around. Let’s start working on that. Find yourself a place in the park where you have a good viewpoint all around. Ideally, you want to choose a place that has regular dog walkers that you can see from a distance. Now sit quietly with your pup, hopefully they will settle in a down while you scan the horizon for approaching dogs. When you see a target approaching, switch to watching your pup. You are looking for the change in body language that indicates they have spotted the other dog, usually they will prick up their ears and maybe stand up. At that moment you are going to start being goofy, say ‘Did you see?’ In an excited voice and start dishing out high value rewards until the other dog disappears from view. Go back to being boring again when this happens and repeat your goofiness when the next dog appears. This game is so effective because it reframes the appearance of the trigger. Instead of predicting fear, excitement, or protectiveness, the trigger now predicts wonderful stuff from you. This is a classic conditioning exercise.
Set Goals
Your first goal might be to walk past another dog and still have your pups attention, to remain calm and focussed. When you have practiced the exercise above start reducing the distance to the trigger.
Motivation
To counter condition a puppy that is showing signs of reactivity, you need to find their most fabulous rewards. Kibble just won't cut it. Find the things your pupper loves and note them on your reward chart.