You have to stop! Interrupting an Unwanted Puppy’s Play with an Older Dog

Where: The Magic Buffalo Tugboat

In my article about the challenges of living with Lewis and coaching him, I mentioned that the worst problem we faced was him nagging Clara to play. We have made progress.

When he first came, his most frequent behavior towards her was the bump. I remember telling Marge Rogers that I fired or called her dozens of times a day. The bump has diminished, thankfully. He does it much less frequently and less intensely and will gladly put his foot down when I call him.

But the next phase was more difficult.

A more annoying problem appeared. Instead of working, Lewis started playing with Clara dozens of times a day. Sounds good, right? No. First, she didn’t want to play dozens of times a day, but she’s too withdrawn to berate him convincingly. Worse, his methods of initiating the game included: 1) growling the nastiest game growl imaginable and relentlessly chewing on Clara’s face and neck; 2) bite its tail and pull; 3) bite one of its hind legs and hang on; and 4) in the yard, the body slams her without warning at full speed. But as from time to time she did want to play, she put her rude behavior on a variable ratio reinforcement programwhich increased his natural perseverance.

I’ve seen Clara say adamant NO to Lewis only twice. Once his food toy got loose under the sofa and he considered stealing his. She threw a loud warning in the face and he instantly backed off. She did something similar with a toy she really wanted one day when he did a play. But otherwise, she was a breeze. Even when she responds to his chewing with hostile grunts and grunts, he reacts like she’s not serious – and she doesn’t prove him wrong. So I had to intervene.

Management

At first I failed to get Lewis’ attention to interrupt him out of play or attempt to play. He was lost to the world. Both were; I couldn’t even get Clara’s attention when she was in it. So once he started I had to physically pull him off if Clara didn’t want to play. That’s why he (still!) wears a harness and often drags a leash: so that I can remove it or prevent him from jumping on her. I’m not proud of it, but I have to protect my other dog.

I am well aware of the risks run by dogs who play with collars or harnesses. Life with dogs is full of calculated risks and this is where I come across this particular risk. Clara only wears a detachable collar and we are working on creating one for Lewis. But she is much less likely to chew it than he is to chew it.

Let’s come back to the problem posed. I realized that my method of dealing with physical interruptions had not diminished the problematic behavior at all. We always hope, right? So I started thinking about what else to do. Crating it or otherwise separating it, other than using the tether, was then not an option.

Two resources

When I thought about how to approach the problem, two things came to mind. First, Kiki Yablon posted on Instagram a video of using a structured tug to teach a lab puppy not to bite flapping clothes and other objects. Second, I remembered something I’ve heard Marge say many times, which is that when she has a puppy in the house, she always has treats in one pocket and a toy in the other.

A toy! I always have treats in a pocket, but rarely have I carried a toy. But I liked Kiki’s approach of using the toy as an alternative to play-oriented behavior, and I had Marge to cheer me on. So I bought the the smallest tug toy I could find at Clean Run. I wanted it to be a new toy, and it had to be small enough to fit in my pocket. Enter the bison tug.

Behavior chain

From the start, I worried about creating a chain of behavior. If the game of tug was appealing (and you’ll see how much Lewis revels in tug) and the only way he could get into it was to disturb Clara, then guess what would go up? Annoy Clara. So I did a few tries on the first day, but quickly consulted Marge before creating a problem.

The first time I pulled the tug toy away from Clara, it was like a bolt of energy going through it. He was thrilled with her spirit. He ran up to me and we played for a minute or two, then I traded him a few pieces of kibble for the tug toy. It already has a very good “out” signal, but I liked the kibble trade for this situation.

So I learned that I had a powerful tool, something that rivaled his favorite reinforcer, poor Clara. Even that first day, he walked over to Clara, then turned and looked at me. “Good? Where’s the tug? That was both good and bad news. Good because it stopped before it caught her. Bad because it could lead to a chain and increase Clara’s upset. I texted Marge not to escalate the problem.

Punishment

You might be wondering why I didn’t mention punishment. I use negative punishment from time to time. But in this case, it would be like a time out, removing him or Clara from the situation quickly, depending on his unwanted behavior. But taking him out of action would be a big punishment for him. He has a giant case of fear of missing something. I never knew how serious it could get. And removing Clara with a clear contingency (“she’s leaving because you were a jerk”) would be difficult to impossible. I separate them to protect her. But I don’t see the management steps I’m taking to decrease the behavior. I would much rather focus my efforts on preventing him from doing so in the first place.

Refine the plan

Marge helped me add three adjustments.

1. I asked for a behavior or two before shooting. I had his full attention, and he was happy to do anything to get the tug. The behaviors he had at the time were sitting, sitting, eye contact, hand target, and going to the mat. He failed to sit down because he already knew how to sit down to start a game. But I changed it and asked for different things.
2. Once he was able to turn his attention to me instead of jumping on Clara, I occasionally reinforced with food instead of shooting. Pulling is what got me his attention so quickly, so I still used the tug most of the time.
3. Most important: I have produced the tug toy at other times. It was vital that attacking Clara wasn’t the only way for him to gain access to such an attractive game. I didn’t want to be knocked out by the matching law. So I also took the tug out sometimes when it came up to me and looked me in the eye or sat down. I liked the idea that he could just come and ask me that way (rather than grabbing my arm or hitting Clara). I also pulled it out randomly.

Here is a video from two days after I started using the pocket tug. I was about to call off the game because Lewis was getting rough and obnoxious. But then he broke off and turned back to me. Tug Game!

Unexpected and expected effects

OK, a professional trainer could have predicted them, but I didn’t.

1. Clara wanted the tug. Of course she did. Why do I always make these plans like there’s no other dog in the mix? So of course I had to let her have it, both to play with and to chew on. She’s the reason there’s no more long hair on our tug (see photo below). And sometimes she and Lewis would play together with the tugboat. Sounds a bit like I shot myself in the foot, and maybe I did, but he was a lot nicer when they were playing with an object than if it was just teeth and claws. It’s a way for me to slow down their game anyway: get a toy in the mix.
2. The day I introduced the tug toy and forever after, I was able to instantly get Lewis’s attention just by saying his name, no matter how hard they were playing. Sweet! This added to household security. I need my dogs to be able to slow down after speeding up. I had already interrupted their game a lot and encouraged them to do so, but the tug supercharged my ability to get their attention and tone things down.
3. I became even more of an entertainment center for Lewis. It’s a mixed blessing for me, sure, but it’s great to have his focus when I need it.
4. As hoped, giving him a lot more mini-game sessions during the day seemed to reduce his need to harass Clara. It’s hard to say, because she also started saying no a lot more often and more convincingly. But a combination of approaches steered his game towards me (and neighboring dogs – more on that another time!).

Where are things

These systems work well. Clara and I found several ways to dissuade him. In addition to the buffalo tow method, there’s a mat next to my seat at the kitchen table that she can climb on; it is difficult for him to access it. Sometimes I point her out to a checkout where she enters on her own. Clara and I sometimes go to another room in the house (not subject to attempted play, just as a planned activity). It’s a big deal because once upon a time, Lewis’ FOMO would have made her scream. He learns that he is getting a ride.

I wish I could say I solved the problem and Lewis only approaches Clara with respect and finesse. Bwa-ha-ha-ha, if only! They’re living creatures, and I’m dealing with highly motivated behavior on Lewis’s part. But gaming behavior can be shaped, and hopefully he can find ways that work better than ramming into people like a violent cartoon character.

I’ll end with this recent clip of Lewis playing with balls and **not** slamming Clara, who can chew hers in (comparative) peace.

Copyright 2022 Eileen Anderson

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