Interruptors

[corvus]

Thanks guys, those were some great posts.

Staranais, Kivi already does the "Corvus is boring. I'm gonna chomp on the lounge by her head because she usually looks at me then and I can whine at her and maybe she will give me something to do." thing. The things you accidentally encourage. He's now learning that sometimes Corvus doesn't want to give him attention and he may as well lie down and quit his whining. I think this time around I need a "I'm not in the mood so go lie down and quit your whining" suggestion. ;) I never taught "go to your spot" because he doesn't have a spot. I think I'm going to do that one this time, and Kivi can learn it at the same time.

I am also going to start reinforcing Kivi's positive interruptor and I can see for myself if one works differently to the other. I like the sound of doggy zen, though. I HATE it when dogs get underfoot or stand so close to you when you're doing something that they are right in your personal space. Kivi knows sitting quietly is his best bet at getting something he wants, but I never invested very much into teaching him that kind of thing, so it's been slow and kind of haphazard and he still thinks putting his head on my knee and whining or looking pitiful is worth a try if he's not in the mood to sit quietly (I'm looking at OH because I know I never let it work!:D).

Thanks everyone. That's really helpful. :D

[m-j]

Hi

I use both, the positive being a cue with a strong reinforcement history and the other being a sound that relies on the law of pitch. I have found with a negative interrupter is the dog will become accustomed to the sound and when something is very interesting or the dog is a distance away they tend to blow it off, unless they have learned there is a consequence for not stopping whatever they are doing. I use it very sparingly for this reason so it comes as a bit of a surprise to the dog and they realise I'm really not happy.

I think that you really need to be comfortable with whatever you use, after all you have to be the one that is using it and you need to make it work, if your not happy with it you are less inclined to strive for this.

cheers

M-J