#behaviourist

[spookyrabbit87]

Fundraiser for Battersea - For Anthony Head and Sarah Fisher

Help Fundraiser for Battersea and Tony and Sarah Created by Headroomers raise money to support Battersea

Hi all,

A group of our friends have created a fundraiser for Battersea in honour of Anthony Head’s upcoming birthday in February. We do this every year, but this time the fundraiser is also in honour of Sarah Fisher. Please consider donating and/or sharing. We will miss you Sarah, and we love you Tony.

❤️ ❤️

[beyond-mogai-pride-flags]

Identity Behaviorist Pride Flag

Identity behaviorism: theory of learning based on the idea that all identity behaviors are acquired through conditioning; a behavioral identity narrative.

Can apply to: gender, sexuality/orientation, alterhumanity, etc.

[sheepdog-and-fakegoldenretriever]

"I want to play a little game...

Who can list the signs of fear and stress these dogs are showing?

This is a trainer who calls himself a “Behaviourist” but no Behaviourist would use pain, fear or intimidation to “train” dogs. They can read stress and the whole goal is to not cause the stress shown in these photos!

Slip leads worn by all the dogs are designed to choke and cause pain to the neck to suppress behaviours, I can see no modern training or behaviour modification here and no motivators?

Sadly for pet owners a big title does not equal good education in my industry. Ask the dogs how they feel about the training when picking a trainer."

[blueboyluca]

Behaviourist notes

I had my first session with a local behaviourist yesterday. It went overtime (two hours total) and I got a lot of information that I am going to try to process here.

Things to work on generally:

More inside, scent-based enrichment

More rest days and calmness in the house

Ignore attention-seeking behaviour during rest times

Get smellier, more interesting dog treats

Use meals for training

Work on recall training daily

For fear of harness:

Get Luca checked over by vet in case it is pain-related

Build positive association with harness during non-walking times

Switch to harness that doesn’t need to go over the head

For reactivity when guests arrive:

Set up situations to practice step-by-step

Start with having Luca on leash and on mat when someone knocks and rewarding for calm behaviour

Move to opening door, and eventually going to mat when someone arrives (way down the line)

For reactivity in the yard:

When the neighbour dog is outside, take Luca into the yard on leash and play impulse control games and hand touch

Set up scent-based enrichment games in the yard

For reactivity on walks:

Keep using long leash

Use attention cues or noises when on walks and rewarding for attention

Use hand touch

Spend some time during walks resting and being calm and rewarding for it

When passing nearby a dog that is causing issues, don’t give too much length and be able to get in front to distract with treats

When getting near threshold, get in front and stop Luca by placing lots of smelly treats in front of his face, then moving forward a few paces and doing it again

Build up reaction to pressure – when Luca safely reaches end of the leash (under-threshold) and bounces back, reward for him looking and/or coming back

For “jealousy” of other dogs:

Practice with a known dog (e.g. Scout) with both dogs on either side (body block) and rewarding Luca for calm behaviour while patting the other dog

With new/strange dogs, use distractions and body blocks to ignore other dogs

With new/strange dogs, build up to practicing petting the dog on one side and having Luca be rewarded for calm behaviour

For meeting new dogs:

Spend time in large open area with both dogs circling around in wide arcs, collecting scents from other dog from a distance

Reward for calm behaviour nearby new dog, slowly closing distance until safe to greet

Second session to be with behaviourist and demo dog at a park

A lot of this stuff seems really obvious to me now and I actually did most of it in his first two years, but I think I burnt myself out. I haven’t been taking treats on walks and I sort of gave up on a lot of this stuff last year. I feel quite daunted after the session and knowing how much I need to do, but I guess I just need to accept that everything is going to take time. And try not to feel bad that I am responsible for the slow and backwards progress by not keeping up with everything.

[fuckyeahdialectics]

...think about happiness. As a reference point, think about how well you feel today, and then try to imagine how much better you could feel. If you think about it, there are a few things that would make you feel better, but the number of things that would make you feel worse is unbounded.

Tversky, A. (1990). The Psychology of Risk. ICFA Continuing Education Series, 73–78.

Oh god...

[insomniacintp]

Reading people

*INTPme hanging out with ENFJ and ISTJ*

*sitting on a bench*

ENFJ & ISTJ: *talking about something*

INTPme: *is distracted looking around watching people*

INTPme: *notices two other friends out of hearing range confronting each other*

INTPme: *excitedly pulls ENFJ by sleeve pointing in their direction*

INTPme: look, it seems like Helen is giving some real talk to Gabriella

ENFJ: oh yeaaah but look Helen is obviously trying to stay calm. It looks more like she is trying to give her advice

INTPme: yup... oh wait she just raised her finget at Gabriella. Seems like it's getting heated

ENFJ: and Gabriella looks like she has no idea what Helen is talking about... yeah she's faking it- she knows she's done something wrong

INTPme: and now Helen looked down- she is a little embarassed she didn't stay cool

ENFJ: right but Gabriella is apologizing now

INTPme: humans are so readable *highfives ENFJ*

ISTJ: what the acutual frick?? How did you two do that? How do you even know you interpreted it right?

ENFJ: We don't, but I'm like 93% sure

INTPme: 97%

ENFJ: compromise 95%?

ISTJ: I'm so done with you gals

[dogcastradio]

Great advice from  trainer and behaviourist Nick Jones on taking your dog on holiday.

[mirandaneall]

Please check me out on Facebook for more information on my work as a canine behaviourist. #highlandcanine