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So OK ... I'm out on our driveway this past weekend with our 13 week old Westie. (Yeah, we went from a Golden and a wolfdog to a Westie ... my guy has always admired this particular breed of terrier) The puppy is pretty solid with housebreaking and absolutely solid with obedience commands indoors including with indoor distractions. So now I want to reinforce obedience while there's outside distractions. So far he's doing pretty well.
After about an hour a neighbor wanders over, says he's been sitting on his porch and saw us. So he says "I noticed you sometimes give him treats" ... I just say "Yup." He replies "That makes dogs snappy." :::sigh::: So I tell him that no, it's positive reinforcement, just like praise or a game of tug. Then he tells me "Ohhh, tug-of-WAR turns puppies into biters as dogs" He made a point of emphasizing the word "war" :::sigh::: I didn't reply.
He asks what kind of dog, I say "West Highland Terrier". He then goes on for a long while talking about how all terriers are dominant and how I gotta be a stronger "alpha" and all small dogs are snappy so it's a good thing my stepson is a little bit older now. I'm not replying to any of this but figure it's a good distraction test for the puppy. Puppy does OK, but not nearly as well as before the neighbor wandered over ... guess we need to work on distraction resistance a little more.
Neighbor's still going on when I hear him say that my treat and play reinforcements means that the puppy is "only following orders for food and playtime ... he just wants the instant gratification". :::sigh::: Finally I tell the guy that maybe he's right ... and he smiles ... until I told him that with all these rewards for good behavior I could very well be ruining my puppy's chances to get into a good college some day. Neighbor is silent for a few seconds, then says he's gotta be heading back home to do some yard work.
After about an hour a neighbor wanders over, says he's been sitting on his porch and saw us. So he says "I noticed you sometimes give him treats" ... I just say "Yup." He replies "That makes dogs snappy." :::sigh::: So I tell him that no, it's positive reinforcement, just like praise or a game of tug. Then he tells me "Ohhh, tug-of-WAR turns puppies into biters as dogs" He made a point of emphasizing the word "war" :::sigh::: I didn't reply.
He asks what kind of dog, I say "West Highland Terrier". He then goes on for a long while talking about how all terriers are dominant and how I gotta be a stronger "alpha" and all small dogs are snappy so it's a good thing my stepson is a little bit older now. I'm not replying to any of this but figure it's a good distraction test for the puppy. Puppy does OK, but not nearly as well as before the neighbor wandered over ... guess we need to work on distraction resistance a little more.
Neighbor's still going on when I hear him say that my treat and play reinforcements means that the puppy is "only following orders for food and playtime ... he just wants the instant gratification". :::sigh::: Finally I tell the guy that maybe he's right ... and he smiles ... until I told him that with all these rewards for good behavior I could very well be ruining my puppy's chances to get into a good college some day. Neighbor is silent for a few seconds, then says he's gotta be heading back home to do some yard work.