My Pet World: Why does my cat 'swim' around the water dish and my dog bark at the TV?
Dear Ray,
Thank you for firing the trainer. No one should ever yell, scream or push a dog around during training, ever. Good riddance to them.
As for Bella, I watched the video, and she is a very smart dog. Some dogs react to images and sounds on television, depending on their personalities. While her reactions are exaggerated, they are fairly common for terriers who are very sensitive to movement and sound. With our larger than life flat screen televisions, it's easy to see why such an alert dog is highly triggered by the sights and sounds she hears and sees.
In the video you sent, Bella responded quickly to your request to come back into the room. Let's begin there. Every time you are in the room, ask her to come to you and sit. When she does, click with a clicker or say a reward word like "bingo," and then give her a treat. Train her with the TV off at first; then with the TV on, but muted and paused; then with it just muted. If the on-screen sound or movement triggers the behavior, pause and mute everything, and shake a can of coins, if needed, to get her attention. Then repeat the steps above. (I suggest muting commercials going forward since they are louder than regular programming anyways.)
When she responds, give her a distraction. An x-pen is not a distraction, but a time out. A distraction fully engages her mind and takes her mind off the trigger. Give her a puzzle toy to engage her brain. Freeze some peanut butter in a Kong or let her push around a Wobbler that dispense treats. Give her the puzzle toy only when you are watching television and not during the initial training period. We don't want her getting bored.
These same recall and distraction training techniques also work for when she is barking at passing dogs. A dog can't bark at dogs or the television and come to you for a treat at the same time. It's not enough to call her to you, you have to engage her with another activity for her to move past the trigger.
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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)
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