It's Morning in America

I still want my stick! I woke up this morning thinking about the stick. As you might have guessed, as soon as I walked out the front door I made a bee-line right for the same stick I was playing with yesterday. Yeah!

See what a powerful reinforcer something like a stick can be? People commonly misunderstand the concepts of rewards. I hear a lot on different TV programs that people shouldn't reward their dogs (or children!) too much because they will become lazy, spoiled, fat, or generally misbehaving little creatures with no self control.

This is so far from the truth. Sure, food can be rewarding. There are tons of other non-food things that are rewarding. Take me for example. I love food as much as the next dog. I also love to play tug and well, you know all about my fondness for sticks. These are actually more powerful reinforcements for me. If Jason lets me do either of these two things after I do something he wants me to do, I am significantly more likely to do what it is he is asking for me.

Remember the easy way I've told you how you can use the Premak principle for puppies: if you want the puppy to do something you want (a low-probability behavior), pair that behavior with an activity that the puppy wants to do (a high-probability behavior). It's fun and rewarding for both human and puppy!

I Want the Stick

Stick: (n) A long slender piece of wood, especially: a. A branch or stem cut from a tree or shrub. b. A piece of wood, such as a tree branch, that is used for fuel, cut for lumber, or shaped for a specific purpose. c. An irresistible toy that I want right now.


So I've been terribly cute for the last couple of hours. For the better part of the last three months I've ignored the bell that is hanging on the door. I'm supposed to ring it when I go outside. I pretend that I don't know what it's for. Tonight things have been different as it is most clearly the bell I ring when I want to go outside to retrieve my stick.


You see, it all started earlier this afternoon. Jason was taking out the trash and I found a stick. We played for about ten minutes in the front yard. I ran back and forth, galloping, leaping, and generally enjoying my stick. Can you imagine that Jason wouldn't let me bring it up into the house? I got this idea in my puppy brain: I'd ring the bell. Jason would want to reward that and take me outside. That's just what I did: over and over again. I think he finally caught on because after our third time outside, and I made a bee-line for my stick, Jason finally figured out the game. 


Did he let me bring it in the house? No. He mumbled something about the Premack principle being at play and wouldn't let me bring my stick in the house. I even tried my pleading Basset Hound eyes. Apparently, the Premack principle says that if one wants to perform a given activity, one will perform a less desirable activity to get at the more desirable activity. In people terms, if you want to eat dessert (an activity that  many human children have a high probability of wanting to do) you have to eat your vegetables first (an activity that many human children have a low probability of wanting to do). In puppy terms, high-probability behaviors are what the puppy wants to do; low-probability behaviors are what the human wants the puppy to do. 

Jason wants me to pee and poop outside on a regular basis. He also wants me to ring the bell when I feel like doing this. I think he's crazy and being unreasonable. I want to go outside and play with my stick. I'm likely to ring the bell to do this, as it is something I really really want to do. If I ring the bell (something he wants me to do) and then pee or poop outside (something else he wants me to do), he'll let me play with the stick (something I really really want to do).

I think I have to go now.

By the way, I wasn't playing with that kind of stick. The cats are the one's who like eating things that crawl. Not me.