# YEARS of counter-conditioning in 2-1/2 hours!



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Halloween!!!









Keefer & Halo both get very excited when people come over and they bark, a lot. UGH. Since we don't want them to jump on people we've been putting them on leash, and I make them sit and watch for treats. Within a few minutes they've calmed down and I can drop the leashes and let them walk around, and then take the leashes off. Usually they'll go lay down somewhere and chill, but we go through this EVERY time someone comes over, and we don't get company often enough to really work on it as much as I'd like. 

Last night we had 218 trick or treaters, so the doorbell rang and rang and rang, from about 6:15 until a little after 9:00. I kept leashes on the dogs so I could grab them and walk them over near the door while Tom dispensed the candy. At first, typically, they ran to the door and barked at the kids. I moved them back about 5 or 6 feet from the door and tried feeding treats, but Halo was so excited she about took my fingers off a few times, so I put them in a sit and then did some "find it"s, dropping treats on the floor. 

That saved my fingers but they were still fairly excited, so I started walking them over to the door and putting them in a down before dropping treats. They ended up being SO calm and relaxed that they both immediately dropped into downs and stayed there watching me with kids at the door while I tossed a treat occasionally. By then Halo was barely glancing at the kids, and Keefer would occasionally look over with interest, but neither of them barked at all anymore. They weren't jumping up when the bell rang and running to the door, they'd let me pick up the leashes and walked with me calmly. I'd release them as soon as Tom closed the door, and sometimes Halo wouldn't even bother to get up. As the evening went on I started walking them closer to the door, so they were only about two feet behind Tom at the door. 

Around 8:15 Halo disappeared into the bedroom and missed a couple rounds of kids. I went looking for her and found that she'd put herself to bed in her crate.







Things were slowing down at that point so I decided to feed the animals. The dogs eat in the garage, so I took the leashes off when I took them out there. Tom let them back in when they were done and brought bully sticks with him. I was going to put the dogs back on leash but he said not to bother since they'd be occupied. Sure enough, the bell rang a few times while they were enjoying their treat and neither of them got up, although Halo did drop hers long enough to let out a couple of her big girl barks. <span style='font-size: 14pt'>WOOF!</span>







Keefer finished his first and the bell rang a couple more times after that, but I was able to body block him in the entry by pinching him between my leg and the wall, and he just stood there and watched - NOT barking!

I couldn't believe how in such a short time they went from so excited that we thought about crating them for the duration, to completely blase.







I did go through almost an entire bag of Cloud Star Chicken Jerky that I bought after Halo's class yesterday. I'd never heard of it before, but they LOVED it!!! It's made in the USA, grain free, with no by-products or artificial colors or flavorings.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Oh, and we got tons of comments about the dogs too:

"Nice dogs!"

"Is that a German Shepherd? They're my favorite!"

"Ooooh, a German Shepherd, we have one too!"

"Look, a German Shepherd - I want one!"


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Deb, excellent work! You are a THINKING trainer, setting the dogs up for success, working just below threshhold, and using an opportunity like Halloween as a chance to counter-condition for good results.. instead of saying "Oh my gosh, they'll be nutty-- I'll crate 'em both for the night!" Seriously Deb, GREAT work on your part!


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Counter-conditioning, I think, is changing what the dog anticipates. 

Before: "Doorbell is ringing, a guest means I get to jump up on them and bark! Then I get rewarded with eye contact, chatter, and petting-- lotsa attention!"

After: "Doorbell is ringing, a guest means I get to sit and look at Mom with focus, and I get cookies-- good stuff for sitting and giving focus!"


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Wow, GREAT job!!! So proud of Keefer and Halo for being so smart and taking things so calmly! 

As Patti said, wll done to you too Debbie, that was good planning and it payed off!

I've been at my place for five years, but NEVER get tricko or treaters. Too dark, houses too far apart. Suits me just fine, but now I'm a bit jealous for not having such awesome socializing, good behavioural conditioning opportunity . . . **maybe gotta visit friends in big city next year . . . *** hmmmm . . . .


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## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

So awesome, Deb. Great job goes to both you and your doggies! Sounds like they did GREAT!!

I wish I could have done that sort of work with Ris, but she just gets way too stressed out. And I can't be in two places at once.


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## JerzeyGSD (Jun 26, 2008)

Good work!


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## Elmo's Mom (May 21, 2007)

Great work Deb! You used Halloween as an opportunity to train Keefer and Halo. 

I'm laughing picturing you blocking Keefer against the wall.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Isn't Halloween Great!! We worked on something similar too...Now everytime the doorbell rings Argos runs to lay on his bed by the door and waits for his hot dog!

Congratulations on your Holiday training success!!


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! It is so helpful to read things like this







Great job by all too! 

Now if only I could get even a few visitors to come to my door so I could practice it too!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: BrightelfCounter-conditioning, I think, is changing what the dog anticipates.


In a nutshell, it's pairing something "bad" (that may cause fear/stress/anxiety, or in the case of my dogs, is just overly stimulating) with something good, usually a yummy food treat. By doing this you create a positive association with the "bad" thing, and a new conditioned emotional response (yay, where's my chicken!) to the potentially stressful situation. Rather than suppressing the behavior, (which corrections often do), counter-conditioning gets at the root CAUSE of the behavior. When the dog is no longer feeling the bad emotions in response to the stimulus, the bad behavior goes away because there is no need for it anymore. It takes longer, but it's more enduring. Corrections also run the risk of doing the opposite - creating a negative association with the stimulus, exacerbating the situation. Rather than anticipating something good happening, they anticipate something bad happening. 

We definitely considered crating them, or at least crating one of them at a time while working with the other one because trying to control TWO big strong happy over the top excited dogs by myself is a challenge! But I do tend to look at challenges as training opportunities, and I'm so glad I decided to stick it out and work with them. Ultimately, I want them to calmly greet visitors without getting all excited, barking, or jumping on them. Who knows if this will carry over to the next time we have company, but it sure won't make it any worse, and may very well help them calm down sooner. 

Jamie, it would have been impossible by myself, even with just one dog. And since Risa gets stressed out around a lot of people, it would be much more difficult for you to work with her in that kind of circumstance even if you had a friend helping you. The best owner knows her dog well and how to keep her under threshold, and you do an amazing job with Risa!



> Originally Posted By: bsinghVAI'm laughing picturing you blocking Keefer against the wall.


I do it to him all the time!







I think he actually likes it - he craves physical contact and will stand sideways between me and the kitchen counter sometimes while I'm cooking, so he's sandwiched in between. I just leaned into him to hold him in place against the wall. As long as I stand right in front of his shoulder he can't get past me, but his head is free and he can see what's going on. If he tries to run past me in the hall to chase a kitty, I smash him against the wall to stop him - works every time, LOL! 



> Originally Posted By: JKlatskyIsn't Halloween Great!! We worked on something similar too...Now everytime the doorbell rings Argos runs to lay on his bed by the door and waits for his hot dog!


We didn't do anything quite so advanced (great idea, BTW!), but as calm as they were and as readily as they went into a down, I probably could have if I had thought about it in advance and been more organized. I was kinda making things up as I went along, but they both have mats that I could have brought out and laid near the entryway. Hmmm.....







The leashes were totally loose and I probably could have dropped them, but with small children a few feet away I thought it better to be safe than sorry. They'd probably only try to lick them, but little kids get frightened by and knocked down easily by big dogs and I'd hate to have that happen.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I'm going trick or treating at your house!!!!! What a good job you do with the pups!!!!


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

That's GREAT Deb.. good dogs!


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## AK GSD (Feb 27, 2008)

I can just imagine them dressed up in costumes and helping you hand out the candy next year! Good Job!


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## Woodreb (Oct 27, 2008)

We did something similar with Caleb and Aodhán. DH handed out candy and everytime the door bell rang I made the dogs go to their pillows and give me focus. It worked out well, but we didn't have nearly as many trick or treaters. Aodhán was really good and pretty much stayed on her pillow. I think Caleb got up and went to the door once when I had to leave the room and it was our neighbors at the door. But he was well behaved at the door so I was happy even though he got up.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: WoodrebBut he was well behaved at the door so I was happy even though he got up.


That would be good enough for me too!







I just want them to not get so excited at the door, and especially not to bark at people when they first come in, or jump on them. They do settle down and are calm and friendly, but it's a PITA until we get to that point. Alert barking is fine, but when I invite someone into the house it should STOP! I'm really hoping that this has some long term effect and they'll be better the next time we have someone over.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Cassidys Mom we don't get company often enough to really work on it as much as I'd like.


i did mention that i was moving back right.... right?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Ooooh, a willing victim.....er, _volunteer_


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

Congratulations! I missed a bet, as I should have used trick-or-treat as a training experience at our house too. I didn't think of it and just locked Heidi in our bedroom.


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