Dobermann Luna resolves her sudden low-grade fear of a Nylabone through an approach-avoidance dance. What is approach-avoidance? Approach-avoidance is “a motivational conflict resulting from the presence of a single goal or desire that is both desirable and undesirable.” So the conflict causes someone to be simultaneously attracted and repelled to carry out an act.
If you’ve ever been on a diet, and had something in the fridge that was calling out to you, a brownie, for example, you know the feeling of the approach-avoidance conflict, minus the fear. You want that brownie, but you don’t want the calories. The choices are immediate satisfaction or guilt after the fact, plus you’d be no closer to your weight-loss goal. Approach-avoidance conflict can be quite a tormentor.
In this case, Dobermann Luna has picked up the Nylabone many times before, but now finds that mundane task suddenly difficult to carry out due to an inopportune instant where the Nylabone was present while something in the peripheral scared her. We don’t know what, even. She suddenly jumped straight up off the ground and when she landed, the Nylabone was the focus of her fear. Take a look at the last couple minutes of the resolution of her approach-avoidance conflict.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Behavior Modification, Dog Training, South Florida
