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JACKPOT SYNDROME |
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Anticipating Annie stands
at “her” machine pumping money into it believing that for certain she is
going to get a jackpot. We see a very
similar behavior with our dogs and most of the time they are a whole lot
luckier than Anticipating Annie! For example, take a look at
Ready to Roll Rosco. Rosco’s owner
attaches the leash and heads to the door for a happily anticipated walk. Rosco beats her
to the door and as soon as it is open charges out. Jackpot!
Out on the street she decides that it is time to take charge (which
she should have done before that!) and gets Rosco
back in line with her. But, she gets
distracted by a passing friend and while chatting for a moment Rosco gets a whiff of something and strains at the end of
the leash. She absentmindedly extends
her arm, leans his way and even takes a step in the direction of the
pull. Jackpot! Rosco knows from
past experience that if he simply persists with pressure on the leash he’ll
win the game. Meanwhile, the person at
the other end of the leash hasn’t a clue what she has just done and gets
really annoyed with Rosco when they are back to
walking and he is charging at the end of the leash. Is Rosco
at fault? Hardly. He is doing what works. Rosco cannot
think in terms of if he walks quietly at her side he’ll not only get where
they are going anyhow but he’ll get there without the discomfort of gagging
as the collar tightens. Our dogs are
smart alright but there are limits to what they can reason out. And, what about the smarts
of the person being dragged along? If
that person cannot get it through her head that each and every time she gives
Rosco a jackpot she has totally erased the training
she thought she was doing before that, how can she really blame the dog’s
lack of understanding? But, she does
blame him and often gets very upset and yanks the heck out of him. He has come to accept those flares of anger
but he hasn’t learned anything about proper leash manners. If you want your Rosco to walk nicely at your side paying attention to
you, you must train for it and that means no chances for your dog to tweak
the system and get to pull “sometimes”.
Dogs do not understand “sometimes”.
They do what works. There is a place for a
jackpot, incidentally, and that is when your dog has performed exceptionally
well – let’s say she has walked the entire block without pulling – you can
jackpot her with a half dozen tasty treats instead of the routine one she
regularly gets for doing what is appropriate or requested of her. So – be aware of when you
are jackpotting your canine buddy. If
you offer the jackpot you win the game.
If Rosco initiates the jackpot he wins the
game. The rules are very simple. T |