We know, as parents and animal owners, that we don’t reward bad behavior, right? You don’t give a child a lollipop when she’s in the middle of throwing a giant temper tantrum. You don’t reward a dog when you find him chewing up your brand new shoes. But all too often, we reward bad behavior in our pets without even realizing it. What we may see as reassuring behavior, our dogs may see as positive reinforcement, as an indication that he needs to keep doing something that he likely shouldn’t. Here’s an example:
A lady is sitting on a park bench with a Maltese in her lap. A man with a Labrador on a leash comes down the sidewalk. The Lab, being a friendly type dog, wants to investigate this new dog and human, so he heads in the general direction of the bench. The Maltese wants none of this. She starts growling at the Labrador. The lady, thinking her Maltese is scared or nervous, starts petting the Maltese, crooning reassurances at her. The Maltese has just been rewarded for growling.
Here’s another example from my own life:
My Jack Russell Terrier (I guess they’re called Parsons Terriers now) is afraid of thunderstorms. He wasn’t really afraid of them as a puppy. Over the years, he has become more and more nervous and anxious as he feels the barometer dropping before a storm. The first few times he displayed this anxiety, I did what I should not have done: I cuddled and petted him. I didn’t make him work for the affection by making him sit or lie down. When he curled up by my leg, shaking and panting, I petted him, crooning reassurances at him (sound familiar?). I ultimately made that behavior worse.
In the example of the lady at the park, a firm “NO” when her Maltese growled should be given. At that point, the Lab was not threatening the Maltese or the lady, and the Maltese was not displaying polite dog behavior. If the Maltese ceases the growling, then a short pet and “Good dog” would be appropriate. And of course, if the Lab begins displaying threatening behavior, then the growling would be warranted, as a manner of canine communication. It should not be rewarded, as we do not want to reward dogs for aggressive behavior of any kind, but defensive behavior in the face of an actual threat is not something to punish either.
In my case, the correct response would have been to distract him. Tell him to go get a favorite toy and play with him, or work on obedience training exercises. Do something positive to get his mind off of what was making him nervous. As long as you don’t do these kinds of things only when there are storms, the dog should start to realize that storms are not all that bad. If you have a dog that has had a terrible experience with a storm, such as a rescue from an area recently hit by tornado, then this kind of distraction technique may take a very long time to work, or may not work at all. If the anxiety is really bad, your veterinarian may be able to give you some sedatives for your dog to take before a storm hits. But in many cases, after a few sessions of distraction during storms, the dog may become a little more agitated during storms, but not be so fearful and anxious.
In most cases, observation is key to understanding what our dogs are feeling, so we can make sure that we are not reinforcing negative feelings that would lead to negative behavior. A dog that is reinforced for growling will begin to growl at every dog that comes near it or its human. A dog that is reinforced for anxious behavior believes that there is something to be anxious about, and so the anxiety gets worse with each new stimulant. Eventually, the anxiety leads to destructive behavior as an outlet. It is difficult to always know when it’s not a good idea to give a dog affection rewards or tell it, “Good dog”, but I hope this has given you some pointers on what to look for and try to remember. Until next time!