3d (edited) • Trusty Tidbits
Why Your Dog Pulls Back When You Pull
A couple of weeks ago I was at the ophthalmologist with my cat, Minka, who was diagnosed with histoplasmosis. We were waiting in the lobby for her recheck when I saw something that I have not been able to stop thinking about. There was a large middle aged dog (dog #1) at the reception desk with his owners and someone had just entered the lobby with their medium/large dog (dog #2). I immediately could tell that dog #1 was going to have an issue with dog #2 and the owner saw it too but did not do anything. He just stared at the stand off his dog was having and instead of creating distance or removing the dog entirely from the lobby (the owner was there with his wife so no dine and dash would have occurred) his dog reacted and owner of dog #1 pulled back with the leash. Owner of dog #1 then pulled his dog further into the lobby and closer to the other pets that were there and his wife finished up talking to the staff.
What was demonstrated above is something called opposition reflex which is when the person pulls back against the dog wanting to go forward. This type of pressure, dog wants to go forward and the person is pulling back, creates an involuntary counter response. This involuntary counter response will actually increase the dog’s resistance instead of dampening it. This is due to increased frustration within the dog and typically the response to being frustrated is persistence. Think about how people increase toy drive: they hold the dog back while the toy that they want is out of reach.
So how can we change how we physically remove a dog from a situation whether that be in the lobby at the vet or on a nature walk near interesting critters?
You use something called Conditioned Harness (Collar) Pressure. This is found within the PST curriculum and while it is recommended to have a dog on a harness to minimize tracheal damage this can work on a collar as well. This is something that should be taught to all dogs so they understand what you are wanting but especially to dogs that may have a negative reaction to being grabbed/startled especially while focused on a stimulus.
Just really quick on how to teach the Conditioned Harness (Collar) Pressure. Do this in an area with as little distraction as possible such as your living room.
1. Tell the dog you are about to touch their harness/collar
a. Pick something you can say easily in a stressful moment. Keep it short.
2. Touch your dog where they are comfortable, mark and reward when dog releases pressure of “pulling away from you”
a. If your dog is not comfortable and goes for you after touching them do not reward. Just start where you will be successful and reward good behavior. Remember less is more and don’t push it. End on a good note.
3. Once your dog understands the touch move to a grab of the harness/collar
The way this works is it acts as a startle based interrupter. This may sound bad but think of it as someone grabbing your shoulder gently while you are fixated on something and it helps you “snap out of it” faster. Then when that someone feels you disengage and tells you “let’s go” and the two of you walk away. It is essentially the same thing.
If applied incorrectly the tools can quickly become a crutch and the person feels that they cannot trust their dog without it or the dog becomes used to it and the intended effect of the tool is null. This is why the process of the Conditioned Harness Pressure (verbal cue, touch, wait for release/disengagement, mark and reward) works. If that verbal marker was not there then the dog would stare at the stimulus, ignoring you and waiting for you to come grab him. By that time excitement has built up and as you’re grabbing him to pull him away we move from Conditioned Harness Pressure to opposition reflex.
The use of a verbal cue becomes a predictor as it is informational about what will happen next (physical touch/removal). Over time the dog learns to disengage voluntarily from a stimulus instead of learning or expecting to fight against something oppositional. This approach keeps stress down for everyone and therefore increases learning so everyone can continue to enjoy going outside.
That is the short and sweet of it. I do plan on making a video going into it further and I do appreciate your patience on those things. We have the good problem of being very busy right now. Always a blessing to have work.
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Why Your Dog Pulls Back When You Pull
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