In year 11 psychology I remember going through the idea of classical conditioning, and the training what’s-his-face did with his dog and ringing the bell. And my 6yo chihuahua x maltese puppy is in a situation at the moment where I need the opposite of what I think is the normal method of training, but I can’t think how to do it.

Normally if you want your dog to do something, when they do it you give them a treat, which reinforces that behaviour. But in my case, my Roxie has an aural haematoma and it can get worse if she shakes her head too much. As well as that, I also have been given an ear treatment for her – 0.3ml Auracol (combination of Miconazole, prednisolone & polymixin B) to be instilled twice daily. If she shakes her head after it’s put in, it will just make it’s way back out again with the shaking action.

So I’m not sure exactly how I can ‘train’ her to not shake her head? I guess considering it’s only a short-term thing, it’s probably not a major problem… but now I’m still curious anyway – How can you train a dog to not do something?

Random pic of Roxie at bath time yesterday :)

That’s not a dog!

:)

must be bloody mexican night tonight on the forum.

ChrispenEvan said:

must be bloody mexican night tonight on the forum.

Very loud thunder (on the stereo) along with strobe lights and throw a bucket of ice cold water over the creature when it exhibits the unwanted behaviour. Repeat as required.

Or, just pat the thing. Be nice to it so it’s discomforts and worries melt away.

Pavlov’s (aka what’s-his-face) classical conditioning is a passive process. an association between environment and behaviour. What you need is an active process like the work of Skinner and operant conditioning. This behaviour is shaped by consequences, either positive or negative.

punishments or sanctions

> In year 11 psychology I remember going through the idea of classical conditioning, and the training what’s-his-face did with his dog and ringing the bell. And my 6yo chihuahua x maltese puppy is in a situation at the moment where I need the opposite of what I think is the normal method of training, but I can’t think how to do it.

This works for crocodiles as well. You can teach them to avoid food when you ring a bell.

As for training not to shake head, um, put in a call to Dr Harry Cooper from Better Homes and Gardens? Ask a dog training school?

The best I can think of is to use two people, one to hold a treat absolutely still in front of the dog while the second person puts the medicine in.

mollwollfumble said:

> In year 11 psychology I remember going through the idea of classical conditioning, and the training what’s-his-face did with his dog and ringing the bell. And my 6yo chihuahua x maltese puppy is in a situation at the moment where I need the opposite of what I think is the normal method of training, but I can’t think how to do it.

This works for crocodiles as well. You can teach them to avoid food when you ring a bell.

As for training not to shake head, um, put in a call to Dr Harry Cooper from Better Homes and Gardens? Ask a dog training school?

The best I can think of is to use two people, one to hold a treat absolutely still in front of the dog while the second person puts the medicine in.

It is no great task to teach a young dog to wait for a dog biscuit placed on his nose until you give the cue.