I'm being outsmarted by my GSD!!!! Help

[tina.marles]

I trained my dog the 'leave it' command successfully according to your instructions. But now, that smart girl, just puts her nose into my treatbag because she knows that I will give her the 'leave it' command followed by a treat (since she stops immediately after she hears the command). She basically figured out how to get a treat whenever she wants. I worry, that if I give her the 'leave it' command without a treat she will ignore the command very soon. She is a very smart but head-strong young GSD (15month). What shall I do????

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums,

Is she putting her nose in the treat bag when you are wearing it or when you are leaving it around the home? Is she eating any treats when she puts her nose in it or does she stop the moment you say "leave it?"

Thanks for these additional details.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

I am back, as I await further details, I am going to answer this based on both scenarios, (when you are wearing the treat bag/leaving it around the home).

 

What you are likely witnessing is what is called a "behavior chain." Behavior chains can be an advantage, such as when a dog learns to do several desired behaviors in a row like grabbing a ball, bringing it to the owner and dropping it at the owner's feet. Problems start though when undesirable behaviors get mixed in. Basically, she thinks that nose touching (targeting) your treat bag is part of the exercise. There are many types of behavior chains that may occur inadvertently in dog training. Not all dogs elaborate training to the extent of forming such chains, but they do occasionally pop up. Here are just some examples of behavior chains:

 

-A dog who jumps is taught to sit and is rewarded for sitting. The dog then learns to purposely jump on people and then sit in expectation of a treat.

-A dog who pulls on the leash is rewarded for heeling next to the owner. The dog then learns to purposely pull on the leash and then heel for a treat, in a yo-yo-like fashion.

 

The above behaviors share a common pattern: undesirable behavior-desirable one-reward. So how do we deal with behavior chains? If you provide reinforcement, that will maintain and strengthen the chain, making it more and more likely to happen, potentially turning into a bad habit, but at the same time, you are correct in thinking that giving no treat when saying "leave it" may weaken the behavior. There are several approaches that can be tried, but the most effective in my opinion is prevention.

Here are some ideas that come to mind:

 

-It's very important that she never gets to eat any treats from the treat bag when she noses at it. So if you leave the treat bag around the home, please avoid doing that. Below are tips based on the assumption that she noses at the treat bag when you are wearing it.

-Now, a phenomenon to be aware of in behavior chains is that cues that predict a behavior that generates some form of reward (attention, food, toys), become reinforcing on their own. So in this case, the cue "leave it" may be reinforcing on its own. It may therefore help to omit the verbal cue "leave it" altogether and instead just turn around and leave the room for a brief timeout every time she tries to nose at the treat bag. You can even add a verbal marker "oops!" when she does that to tell her you are about to leave. Rep after rep she should learn that her pushy behavior no longer gains reinforcement without the risk of you "burning your cue" due to not giving any treats.

-Add more behaviors. In this case, after the undesirable behavior occurs (nose touching the treat bag), the dog is asked several more behaviors (at least three) in hopes that the dog sort of "disassociates" the undesirable behavior from the reward. So in this case upon her nosing the bag, ask her to leave it, then sit, and then stay before she is rewarded. However,, this might not always work as hoped considering how cues potentially become reinforcing on their own in behavior chains.

-Add a delay. In this case a delay is added in between the undesirable behavior and delivery of reinforcement in hopes of extending the chain and confusing the dog a bit considering that reinforcement is suggested to be delivered within 0.5 seconds of the desired behavior occurring for dogs to learn fastest. So after she noses, and you say leave it, you can try having her heel next to you with a treat at eye level counting for a few seconds first, and then gradually increasing up to five seconds.

-Prevention: This is the most recommended strategy and perhaps the most effective considering that it prevents setting the dog for failure. This strategy aims to go a step ahead of the first chain, preventing the inappropriate behavior from occurring in the first place. So in this case, as soon as you wear the treat bag and you see her approaching you to nose your bag, ask her to target her hand. Reward hand targets often so that this behavior establishes more. When she noses it, you can always turn around and leave the room for a brief time-out.

-You can remove the treat bag altogether and place treats in your pocket or in your closed fist held in your pocket.

- You can do "distance rewarding" so you have no need for treat bag. In other words, you keep treats on a high shelf out of reach. Once your dog performs the behavior correctly, you give your verbal marker "yes" and then rush with your dog together to give the treat. The "yes' will act as a "bridge" so that your dog will know she performed the behavior correctly and that a treat is on its way.

 

I hope this helps!

Let me know how it goes.

Best,

Adrienne