The Problem with Ignoring Unwanted Behavior (Kiki Yablon)
- Taylor A. Duffy
- Mar 20, 2024
- 2 min read
Link to original article: https://kikiyablondogtraining.com/kiki-blog/2018/4/15/the-problem-with-ignoring-unwanted-behavior
Hello! I am starting to post notes and details related to dog training and behavior. These are initially written to help myself understand all these concepts and big terminology pieces better, but as a learner I may not have things as clear as I would hope. Please send questions! Or we can talk about it! We can learn together as long as we're all nice about it and acknowledge that mistakes and misunderstandings can happen.
So, in other words, post or share any questions/comments/concerns you have! But be nice or I won't change or reconsider anything. I'll go on in blissful ignorance until you can phrase it in a way that doesn't make me wanna roll my eyes and say "wow what a butthead" in less fragile words. For my sanity and everyone else out there just trying to learn - Thanks <3
**Important note!
When talking about resurgence, it's important to know that the behaviors that appear may not be ones we'd prefer if we're not careful.
Structurally reinforcing preferred behaviors (aka, training behaviors and skills we'd prefer) helps put those preferred behaviors in our dogs mind. Otherwise, what might happen is that we see the unwanted behavior disappearing, but the frustrated behaviors become chained as our dogs try to figure out what will work!
For example: I made an effort to give my dog attention for sitting quietly nearby when he wanted attention. In the beginning I cued the 'sit' behavior multiple times before waiting to see if he would offer the sit. When I transitioned to ignoring him, he appeared to have "sit" on the mind and offered it much faster!
This is also a great reason for why I don't teach my dogs to "give paw" or "shake" early on in our lives together. There is nothing like the enthusiastic and confident paw slap to make training a lot less fun for me, and a lot more confusing for my dog about why I didn't find it so cute this time.
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