Dogs live in the now and that’s one of the many things I love about them. I also love how dogs learn from associations. The key components of our daily routines help dogs learn how to adjust their behavior to best suit their needs.
When I get ready for bed each night, I take the barrier to the bed away. I keep an ex-pen panel on the bed during the day because one of my dogs urinates on the bed otherwise. The ex-pen keeps her off, and she has no problem otherwise. The ex-pen is a management solution. Quick and easy and solves the problem.
There’s a little room on the bed for two dogs at night, and one dog of mine *must* sleep on the bed. If she doesn’t get first dibs, she tiptoes over me and wriggles into a spot during the night usually resulting in one of my muscles being tight the next morning. Neither of us are too happy when she doesn’t get her spot.
So when I remove the barrier, consistently, she’s right there in front of the line. Ahead of the senior who always gets a spot, and the serial urinator, who’s basically banned from bed privileges. My girl’s smiling and hopping up and down as if she’s riding a built-in Pogo stick. And the minute she’s given the OK, she propels herself up and onto the bed, quickly finds the spot she wants, and she plops down. Hard.
She’s not about dainty, though she is elegant to look at. I was surprised the first time she got up to reposition herself on the bed. With the ripples that went through the mattress, one would think a Mack truck had just driven by. No, no Mack truck. Just her. Plopping down when she was rearranging herself.
All of the behavior resulting from the ritual we go through every night was never trained. The dog learned from daily repeated patterns I went through what would happen next. When the computer shuts down, it makes a noise, and that starts the ritual. Most times, we go outside for a last potty break, then the barrier to the bed is removed. This is one way dogs learn, all on their own. Because humans can be fairly regimented, this gives dogs an advantage to know what’s going to happen in the line-up of repeated cycles, so they can adjust their behavior.
Watch how your own dogs operate around your daily habits. Something as simple as taking out a leash, to pulling the car keys off a counter, or opening the refrigerator may signal your dog to adjust his behavior to optimally benefit his needs.
By Helen Verte
Behavior Modification, Certified Dog Trainer, Broward county Fort Lauderdale
