Placing a Canine’s Harness on with out Getting Bloody Arms: Adjusting Antecedents

I bear in mind how magical it was, the primary time I noticed somebody’s canine come operating and fortunately thrust their head into their harness, then stand nonetheless for the buckling up. I used to be astonished {that a} canine may study to try this. Yeah, it was a very long time in the past.

Since then, I’ve taught a great handful of canines to be proud of sporting a harness and to assist me put it on them. This contains a few difficult canines who had been fearful at first about sporting gear.

This submit doesn’t embody directions for instructing a canine to have their harness placed on. Here’s a nice video by Emily Larlham that delineates these steps. My submit offers with some particular difficulties with an overexcited canine.

Clara pops her head via the harness and stands nonetheless whereas I clip straps, or lifts her entrance foot as wanted for her older Hurtta harness. (Her motion helps me bear in mind easy methods to put that harness on—it’s a kind of tough ones.)

Choo Choo, my associate’s chihuahua combine (one of many robust ones to begin out with), stands quietly on her hind legs together with her entrance ft on my knees as I sit in a chair and placed on the harness. I thank her each time for saving my again. In fact, all of them get a deal with after this cooperation and even after every step, to not point out an outing.

Lewis sprints across the room, with the chihuahua chasing him and pretend snapping at him, then guarding the recliner the place he’s headed. He finds a path and leaps wildly over the opposite canines onto the recliner, stands there on the highest of it, faucets his ft, then paws and scratches at me a number of instances in pleasure as I put the harness over his head. I’ve the scars. Then he licks and bumps my face as I lean in to snap the straps.

One in all these canines will not be just like the others.

Gradual Modifications

I learn an article this 12 months (2023) on ABA and coaching that blew my thoughts. (Thanks, Dr. Christina Alligood, for the good “How Analysis Works” course.)

The article was “Gradual Change Procedures in Habits Evaluation” by Dr. Stephanie Kincaide. The entire paper is on the market on the URL.

The main focus of the article was that in good instructing and coaching, we regularly arrange or reinforce gradual modifications in all three components of the three-term contingency: in antecedents, behaviors, and penalties.

In antecedents, we might fade in a stimulus. You see this in desensitization plans, but additionally within the unique protocols of errorless studying. We might do that when the stimulus in its most intense type induces worry within the animal. Or, as within the instance I’ll describe right here, when the stimulus already has a powerful reinforcement historical past for a unique habits from the one we at present need.

I’ll miss how the gradual modifications idea applies to behaviors and penalties for now (it’s best to learn the article!), however might write about it sooner or later.

I’ve two predominant functions in penning this submit. One is to debate how reinforcement historical past can forestall a canine from altering a habits as rapidly as we expect they need to. The opposite is how I used gradual modifications in antecedents to alter the last word habits.

The Habits and My Plan to Change It

Once I take Lewis someplace, for a stroll or a experience within the automotive, I first put his harness on. For 2 years now, I’ve cued him to leap onto a recliner so I gained’t need to bend over to placed on the harness. It additionally (principally) prevents me from getting clocked within the jaw if he jumps in pleasure. He will get all the way in which up on the again of the recliner, not within the seat.

However there’s a completely different hazard when he’s up there. When Lewis is worked up, he paws. And paws, and paws. He got here to me with this habits put in and fluent. He significantly paws at doorways—crate doorways, gates, glass doorways—you identify it.

I’m not a door, however that habits has generalized. He paws in any thrilling situation. And his goal is usually me. As I lean in with the harness, I’m more likely to get scratched.

I guessed that the pawing would lower if he did a “paws up” habits somewhat than standing on all 4 ft on the chair. It takes extra effort to swipe a entrance paw round whereas standing on hind legs and balancing with one entrance one. He additionally wouldn’t be proper in my face.

SPOILER: I guessed mistaken. The pawing survived the brand new place, although diminished. I’m going to proceed to explain my course of as a result of we succeeded anyway.

I deliberate to work on a entrance paw goal if the paws up habits didn’t considerably cut back the pawing by itself.

The Antecedents: What Set Up the Habits

The quick antecedents that predict harness software and an outing are:

• the time of day.
• Eileen choosing up the harness and leash.
• Eileen approaching the recliner.
• Eileen encouraging Lewis verbally and with a gesture to stand up on the chair (not often essential). He often bounds onto the chair earlier than I even get there. Have I discussed recently that I’m not so nice at stimulus management?
• Eileen transferring towards him with the harness in “please stick your head in it” configuration.

A few different particulars: The recliner itself is a cue for leaping up at any time of day. And the harness approaching his head has turn out to be a cue for pawing at yours actually.

I wanted to alter the image.

Bullet Dodges: Reinforcement Historical past

Right here’s the place, just some years in the past, I might have tousled. However I managed to not this time.

He has a prolonged reinforcement historical past for leaping up on that recliner to get his harness on. However that’s the place the place I wished him to do paws up as a substitute. I wanted him to place two ft on the chair somewhat than 4.

It seems like such a easy change, however it was not. Did I begin my coaching there, with that exact chair, to show the brand new habits? Nooooo. And did I attempt to educate the habits simply earlier than taking him for a stroll? Nooooo.

Up to now, I might have achieved each. I might have gone to the recliner and cued a paws up habits and watched, dismayed, as he hopped all the way in which onto the chair. I might have instantly gotten pissed off. He can already do paws up on cue on a number of objects. You already know that factor the place you suppose your canine “is aware of it”? He often doesn’t. In Lewis’ case, the massive reinforcement historical past for leaping all the way in which onto the chair would overwhelm his capacity to face on the ground and do paws up there. He would bounce up and down from the chair to the ground like a ping pong ball, lacking that in-between habits of paws up.

See, I’m studying. I knew I used to be up in opposition to the Matching Regulation. On one facet of the size had been the 700+ instances Lewis had jumped to the highest of the recliner for his harness (and one other 1000+ instances to observe squirrels out the window). I’m not exaggerating both of these numbers. On the opposite facet was his cued paws up habits, possibly practiced 100 instances, and by no means on the recliner.

Likewise, I knew making an attempt to show it instantly earlier than his each day stroll was not a good suggestion. He’s method too excited then. That’s a part of the issue! I taught his earlier “getting my harness on” habits with all that pleasure and motion in-built.

I wanted to begin by eliminating as most of the former antecedents as I may, then reintroduce them, related with the brand new habits. I may change two parts instantly: the merchandise we used for paws up (the recliner) and the time of day. We practiced paws up with quiet ft with objects apart from the recliner, and we practiced within the morning, when walks had been unlikely. The opposite quick antecedent was me strolling to Lewis holding the harness. I ignored this half for a great whereas and practiced paws up with out that complication.

So right here is the order wherein I pale in components of the unique setting. That is the “gradual modifications in antecedents” half.

Fading within the Bodily Antecedents

First location: finish of a hallway, principally as a result of it was good for filming.

Order of objects I used for “paws up”:

1. a piano bench

Second location: lobby on the entrance of the home, the place the textured tile ground provides canine paws a greater buy.

1. the piano bench once more
2. a sturdy cardboard field with a heavy object inside
3. an overstuffed chair

Third location: laptop/storage room

1. a small picket chair

Fourth and remaining location: the den the place I usually put his harness on

1. the couch the place he hangs out lots
2. the recliner, the place I’ve been placing his harness on

Extra about these strikethroughs under.

If this looks like a ridiculous variety of steps, recall all these instances he jumped up on the recliner within the den in a state of excessive pleasure to get harnessed up. I couldn’t undo that in a single day.

The piano bench was a great top and a pleasant impartial object he had by no means interacted with. Nonetheless, I’ve taught him loads of leaping onto or into objects. So the very first thing he did once we approached the bench was to leap up on it with all 4 ft earlier than I even caught up with him. However I used to be capable of gradual him down, and with the help of a hand goal, present him what I wished as a substitute.

I practiced treating in place, to present some love for that place, then typically switched to marking then tossing a deal with on the ground and establishing for an additional repetition. I might not at all times be treating in place in the course of the habits when placing the harness on.

• I labored up some period.
• I began touching his head and beneath his entrance legs whereas he was within the paws up place.
• I fiddled along with his collar and labored as much as taking it off and placing it on.
• I introduced the harness in and practiced the phases of placing it on him.

Throughout all these steps, I did my greatest to carry to my criterion of quiet, nonetheless entrance ft, firmly positioned on the thing.

Bringing within the harness required some backtracking. The harness itself was a cue to “bounce up on the factor,” to not point out “scratch Eileen.” So we needed to observe quiet paws up within the presence of the harness many instances.

I did all these steps on our very first object, the piano bench. Then on the field, and on the overstuffed chair. That one was a problem because it resembled the recliner greater than the primary two. It’s additionally a lot decrease than the primary two objects and virtually invitations a canine to leap on it. I acquired a good quantity of ping-ponging earlier than I acquired these again ft on the ground and entrance ft quiet on the chair, however we acquired there.

I aimed for a lowered error methodology utilizing constructive reinforcement. Destructive punishment would have been straightforward to incorporate as a part of the plan. Because the harness predicts going for a stroll, and we had been aiming for that large terminal reinforcement along with meals reinforcers, eradicating the harness and transferring away if he pawed may have punished the pawing habits. However I did my greatest to work slowly sufficient that I pulled the harness away contingent on pawing solely a handful of instances, maybe 4 instances in a few hundred reps. You’ll see most of them within the film, within the part the place I first introduce his harness. I don’t like utilizing any punishment, and I’ve used much less and fewer of this selection as I’ve gotten higher at planning my coaching.

Entrance Paw Goal

Since his swiping at me survived the paws up place, I additionally began engaged on a entrance paw goal on a a lot decrease object. I’ve been planning to work on that anyway. I put a clip of that on the finish of the video and you may see how a lot steadier he was with it than with the paws up on greater objects. Wanting again, I feel it might have been a greater place to begin than paws up, conserving gradual modifications and likewise muscle fatigue in thoughts.

Video Exhibiting A part of the Development

My sloppiness as a coach is on full show right here. I exploit two completely different markers for a similar factor and two completely different launch cues, I drop treats, I mark and reinforce a paw swipe (see the very starting of the film), and I’ve a satan of a time making standards choices on the fly about his busy ft. I’m not pleased with any of this. I level it out as a result of I hope it will possibly present how properly canines can typically study regardless of us, and to present novices some hope.

Defining standards is at all times onerous for me, even when I plan it upfront, as I attempted to right here. How a lot incidental paw motion is OK? He doesn’t need to be a statue, in spite of everything. What concerning the little changes he makes as he will get into place, or the way in which he stomps his proper entrance foot down? I used to be seemingly too tolerant. Permitting some motion was wonderful for this software for the reason that purpose was to do one thing apart from elevating his foot into the air and pawing me. However with future paw targets, I’ll need actually quiet ft.

Surprising Generalization

All throughout this course of, Lewis was nonetheless happening a each day stroll, so we had been utilizing the outdated methodology of him leaping onto the recliner and me defending myself whereas placing on his harness.

Think about my shock when he stopped swiping me.

I attempted, method too late within the sport, to get some “earlier than” footage. And failed repeatedly.

This was not in accordance with plan. There he was, on daily basis, standing for the harness, then sitting whereas I mounted the straps. He was not pawing at me as I put in his harness. I attempted a unique harness to test—yep, no paw swipes for that one, both.

I Dared to Change the Plan

Training quiet ft outdoors the context of the thrilling stroll was apparently a successful technique. So successful that I reverted to Lewis’ unique place on high of the recliner now that he may stand and sit nonetheless. That’s a extra snug place for me to work with anyway: no bending over.

However I see a bullet to dodge right here, too. I can’t give up working towards. It could be a foul mistake to imagine the habits is “fastened” ceaselessly. I’m going to proceed engaged on the “quiet entrance ft” habits within the many contexts, together with transferring it to a “moveable” flat goal. I’ve different conditions with the necessity for quiet ft.

If his new habits stays regular within the harness state of affairs, this will probably be my final submit on the subject. If I’ve misjudged and we get busy ft once more, I’ll report our subsequent steps.

I may additionally create a shorter and fewer technical model of this submit for canine guardians who aren’t within the idea half, however may benefit from the gradual modifications outlined. I do know this submit is terribly lengthy!

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Copyright 2023 Eileen Anderson