The Think System
Although we’ve discussed my singing before, this does not negate my love of musicals. And yeah, I sing along with them, much to my family’s dismay. I adore Harold Hill. Yum. But I’m not a huge fan of his learning to do something by the Think System. If you’ve not seen the movie – go get it! Nice snowy day today – if you aren’t working like I am – it would be a GREAT day to movie watch – The Music Man. Love it!
I can out bark 76 trombones!
The Think System of learning to play involves holding a musical instrument and imagining yourself playing it while humming. Stop laughing! It does!
Yeah, I’m ALL for having a Positive Mental Attitude. I LOVE inspirational quotes and believe that the more focused you are on your goals the more likely you are to achieve them.
My goal? I just want it ALL.
But dogs don’t DO the Think System. We can not Think them well-behaved. We can’t Think them out of a behavior we don’t like. We can’t teach them by beaming thought waves. They aren’t mind readers – well, mostly – and they don’t understand the randomly thrown shoe means “never do that again”. Honest!
I can duck any shoe you can throw!
Clear, consistent reinforcement of the behaviors you want is the key to dog training. If you let them do it sometimes, they are going to try it again. They don’t understand Sometimes. We have to tell them.
Last night in class, a couple with an eleven month old golden asked me if it was okay to teach their dog to get on the couch only when invited. Number one – its your dog. You get to pick what your dog does in your house. Really! Number two – sure! If the dog was three months old, I’d say – better teach it just to NOT get on the furniture at all now, and then later add in the ‘up!’ or ‘snuggle time!’ cue. But eleven months – yeah. However. You know there was a ‘however’, didn’t you? You have to practice. You have to be Clear in your expectations. Dogs don’t read minds.
Well, that is not entirely correct....
If you are reading the paper and dog jumps up today – and you say “Oh, whattheheck” and let him stay he’s going to do the same thing tomorrow because that is what we do now. You can’t zap him ‘don’t jump’ thoughts and expect him to understand.
You have to explain things to them – repeatedly – in a precise way they understand. Example “Sit means sit” to your dog. “Sitdown” or “stopthatsit” does not mean ‘sit’ to your dog.
Just say it in a way I understand! How hard can that be??
Sighing and rolling your eyes – or jumping up and running and barking at the door also -does not tell your dog what to do when the doorbell rings. They don’t read your mind. You have to tell them.
Despite the magic of 76 trombones – dogs don’t do The Think System. But that’s okay – helping them figure out what you want is part of the fun of having a dog!
And fun is why you got me, remember??