Barking - Part 4

In general, we can use the “Look At That” (LAT) game interchangeably with basic desensitization and counterconditioning (DCC). However, there are instances where one technique will work better than the other. The LAT game is essentially pairing DCC with a clicker and retraining the dog to have an appropriate response at the same time.

Remember that all treats need to be high value and pea sized. Milk bones and dry biscuits will not work. Use a high value treat such as chicken, cheese, beef, liver or peanut butter (in a tube).

The “Look At That” game in more detail (for a really detailed description, please see Leslie McDevitt's Book Control Unleashed):

Items needed:

• Treats
• Clicker (or use a marker word)

Basic Instructions:

• When the dog looks at something, it gets a click and a treat. When the dog looks back at the item, repeat. This is a fast game (you will give a lot of treats).
• If the dog stares at the item and refuses to look at the trainer, then more distance between the object and the dog is needed.
• If the dog is already reacting, then the dog is too close.
• Only play the game for a few minutes at a time.
• Only proceed closer to the item when the dog displays a Conditioned Emotional Response (i.e., looks at item, looks back at owner for treat). This is often called the “Whiplash Turn” since the dog will eventually look at something and whip back to look at the owner for a cookie (we want this behavior).

When to use:

• During class, when your dog barks at other dogs.
• While walking – barking at strangers, cars or other items.
• While in the car – barking at other cars (this will require a driver).
• Anytime a dog is being reactive.

The Basics of Desensitization and Counterconditioning

• This is not luring or bribing.
• Food does not make aggression worse.
• The dog does not need to do anything but take the treat (no sits, downs or stays)
• If the dog takes the treat and spits it out, some benefit will still be seen.
• Distance between the scary object and the dog is critical. Start with more distance at first and slowly work up to being close to the object.
• Do not force the dog to be close to the object
• Food fundamentally changes the emotional response that the dog has to the scary object. Praise and petting does not do this. Punishment will make the fear worse.

Remember this equation

o Object = scary

o Object = food

o Food = good

o Object = good

When to use desensitization and counterconditioning:

• When the dog is extremely shy or fearful.
• When the dog is afraid of objects or things that are unclickable (like wind and rain noises).
• When the dog is fearful but not reacting
• When the dog is afraid of the clicker
• Anytime!

Fear of the Hair Dryer (or vacuum cleaner or other noise making objects)

When working with dogs that react to noisy objects, I do not start out with the LAT game. Instead, I use the DCC technique to reduce the dog’s reaction. Once I get a quieter reaction, then I start playing the LAT game, if needed.

Let’s use an example. Dutch is a dog that barks at the microwave beeper. He also reacts loudly to the hair dryer. We start by figuring out how far away from these objects Dutch needs to be in order to not react. Dutch also has anxiety issues and is a demand barker.

In Dutch’s case, we needed to have the hair dryer in the garage and Dutch across the house in a separate room (about 25 feet, with walls in between).

We started Dutch out with the hair dryer on the lowest (quietest) setting and all doors between the garage and Dutch shut. One person turned the hair dryer on and Dutch was given treats by another person while the dryer was on (about 1 minute). The treats were given one at a time, one right after the other. During this first stage, Dutch did react a little bit at first (muffled growls and quiet barks).

We stopped the dryer and gave Dutch a break (did some training, played with some toys). Then, we repeated the process. We noted that Dutch growled less and did not bark at all. We repeated this process (hair dryer on, treats, hair dryer off, and then some play time) a few more times.

At this point, Dutch needed a break. So, Dutch’s owner was instructed to repeat this exercise in the same place for the next week – once per day. During this time period, Dutch’s owner also had to agree not to use the hair dryer inside. She decided to not use it at all until Dutch was retrained.

After a week, Dutch’s owner was able to move Dutch into the next room (i.e., closer to the dryer) and repeat the process.

Over time, Dutch was able to be next to the door leading out to the garage and listen to the dryer while taking treats. This took about a month, with the owner working about 5 minutes a day.

At this point, Dutch was able to be around the dryer without reacting. So, we now needed to train Dutch to stay on his bed while the owner dried her hair. This part was easier – Dutch was given his morning breakfast out of a Kong while Dutch’s owner dried her hair.

This same technique can be used for a doorbell, a vacuum, or any other noisy object that a dog reacts to. However, some extremely noise phobic dogs might need more work and medication.

Out for a Walk: Barking at Cars

Many dogs bark at cars during walks. This can be problematic if they pull, twirl, lunge or redirect frustration onto their owner. Just like with noisy objects, we can use LAT or DCC techniques to change the way or dogs behave.

Cooper is a big dog who lunges and barks at cars. He scared his owner on one particular walk when he dragged her into the street after a loud car. In all other ways, Cooper is a normal dog – he is not afraid of strangers, he is not hyper: he is a calm, gentle dog.

The first thing we did was put Cooper in a front clip Sense-ation Harness (an Easy Walk harness would work well, too). This type of harness works by turning the dog back to the owner (and loosening the leash) when the dog pulls forward. When used in conjunction with loose leash walking practice, they are extremely effective and can give an owner more control over the dog. I do not recommend Gentle Leader head harnesses, because they limit a dog’s ability to communicate with other dogs and a lunging dog can hurt its neck.

The second thing we worked on was Cooper’s sit. Because walking near cars can be dangerous, we needed Cooper to focus on his owner when around cars. Having Cooper sit meant that the owner had a bit more control. For a dog that does not lunge at cars, but just barks, a sit is not needed.

Finally, we needed to determine the distance that Cooper needed to be from cars in order to not react. In Cooper’s case, we needed a lot of distance – at least 50 feet. So, we practiced with Cooper in a local park that was near a quiet road.

We used the same technique with Cooper as we did with Dutch above. Except, this time, we were able to incorporate the clicker. Every time Cooper watched a car go by, he was clicked and then given a treat. At first, we aimed to click when the car first appeared. This helped cut off Cooper’s reaction and distracted him as the car passed, since he turned his head to us for the treat.

After a few minutes of practice, we started walking Cooper back and forth in the field. Every time a car went by, Cooper got a click/treat. We kept our distance at 50 feet. We needed to work on this technique while walking because it would be counterproductive for Cooper’s owner to always have to have him sit when a car goes by. She can use the sit when needed, but she also needed to practice walking, clicking and treating.

Now, we don’t know why Cooper barked and lunged at cars. It may have been fear. It may have been some prey drive. Whatever the reason, we decided to take a gamble, since Cooper is so well adjusted in other ways. In the same session, we moved Cooper 10 feet towards the cars and continued walking parallel with them. While walking, we clicked and treated. After about 10 minutes, we moved even closer. By the end of the session, with a very full Cooper, we were able to walk down the sidewalk with cars passing by. Treats were given to Cooper every few steps or so at this point, since we were working on both loose leash walking and changing his reaction to very close cars.

Is Cooper completely issue-free at this point? No. We were near a quiet road. Not a lot of cars went by and Cooper was tired. So, Cooper’s owner needed to continue practicing with him in different spots at different distances. She needed to go to less quiet spots and practice. She needed to make sure that their daily walks were on quiet road and that she had her treats with her.

Eventually, she was able to walk Cooper on busier streets, but it took time and patience. The things that she told me that she needed to remember were:

• Distance: If Cooper was reacting, she needed to increase her distance between them and the cars.
• Level of Distraction or the number of cars that go by (and how fast they were going). When retraining Cooper, she needed to keep in mind that he was not ready for busy roads. So, she kept an eye out for quiet roads and would drive to places that worked for them.