Mitigating bad behaviour that's rewarding in itself

The Sweeper

Okay so that sounds like quite a complicated thread title, so let me explain.

There are many schools of dog training and almost as many disagreements over the training as there are schools. There are the violent dominators on one hand, and the pure reward-driven trainers on the other and in between there are plenty of folks doing their own personal mixture of training.

The big thing I've discovered since owning Gus, my dog, is that dogs are as individual as training methods. When training Gus to individual actions, there were techniques that helped him get it in seconds, and techniques where he just couldn't understand what the hell I wanted him to do.

However Gus's individuality means that while he will work for food, and he'll work to a certain degree for praise, he's not highly driven by food, or praise, or toys. If you combine all three - your undivided attention, the yummiest of treats and a fabulously exciting toy, he'll work hard for you, but it's pretty bloody hard work for me too.

Still, we do it, and when he's trained into something he doesn't forget.

The one matter I'm finding it difficult to solve, however, is him chasing my cats. Not outdoors - because he never gets out there with them. Indoors - some evenings he's sweet as pie and settles and ignores them. Other evenings there are running rows up and down my house.

I've tried a number of solutions, including attaching a tether ring to the wall in my livingroom - so Gus lies on his bed at the foot of the couch, surrounded by all the sociability, but he's tethered to a ring on the wall by means of a 2-metre long rope that simply stops him wandering off down the house to start on the cats.

However I'd love to figure out how to persuade Gus that chasing the cats isn't what he wants to do. See, cat chasing is fun. It's more fun than treats, and more fun than cuddles, and more fun even than the best toy out there.

It's progressed to the point where he starts in on the cats, and I call him away, and he stops and comes to me and I reward him but the fact is, that reward is ONLY for stopping and returning to me. I can't get to the point where he just doesn't start the harassment in the first place.

It's similar, I would imagine, to other irritating behaviours that, to the dog, are superfun - shredding newspaper, counter surfing, stealing and chewing shoes, digging the yard. If the dog gets enough fun out of the behaviour, it's really difficult to address the behaviour using only reward-based training, because the outcome of the 'bad' behaviour for the dog is more rewarding than the treats, praise or toys you offer.

Would love to hear others' opinions on it.

I *do* work with a rewards-based trainer with Gus (she suggested the tether ring as a compromise for instance), and we're due to start the pre-agility foundation obedience course in April which may help. Gus is one year old around 1st May.

Whispered

That's a tough one. I have the same situation here.

If you've tried all of the reward based ideas, then I suppose the next step would be consequences. Like putting the dog outside for a few mins. This is what was suggested for Harley when people come to the house and he gets over excited. I suppose like a time out for kids.

You've probably tried it already but I'd suggest, when he starts take him by the collar and put him into the (eg) kitchen alone for 1 min, anything longer and he'll probably forget why he's there. Then let him back out and act as if nothing has happened at all. He might still do it a few times one after the other but if you stick with it it should work. At least it did with Harley. Now he still chases to an extent outside, but in the house he's great, he has "studiously ignoring" down to a fine art.

The Sweeper

On the subject of timeouts, what's the general consensus on how long?