I love the idea of the spray bottle or a whistle or a pat on the butt. Including verbal commands with the spray bottle or whistle, sounds like a basic associative behavior modification technique. Eventually you can do away with the spray bottle, your voice command will be the spray bottle. Pavlov did not get so famous for being wrong.
Gucci WAS afraid of loud noises when we received him, he isn't any more. I have the uncanny ability to perform a single clap that sounds like a gun shot. It gets his attention with out any fear. He used to dislike Seahawks football games, lots of yelling at an inanimate object, the TV. Now, during a game, he just pokes his head around the corner of the big easy chair that I sit in and looks as if he's asking "What happened? Did Russell make another big play?" His face and body language is really quite funny when he does this. He has adapted to his home and I think most dogs do adapt pretty well to their homes and owners. Now, if I could only train him to bark when the Hawks score a touchdown, that would be golden! LOL He rarely barks, he huffs.
Gucci didn't like kisses over a year ago, he does now. He would not tolerate anyone's face near his, now he enjoys it. He didn't like laying on my chest or stomach as I reclined to watch TV, he does now. He couldn't walk more than 200 yards when we first got him, now on his better days(I still carry him for part of the way when he seems tired) he walks 3 miles at least every other day. Once, 6 miles. Once, he made me jog to keep up for most of 3 miles. He used to avoid water, now he walks in water with no hesitation and jumps into mud. I encourage the mud because he seems to enjoy it.
My point is, given time and effort, you can correct or instill most any behavior. My best dog, a lab, could retrieve a beer or soda out of a closed refrigerator. The lab has a built in "need" to please their owner. |