Jessie Learning Impulse Control Using Differential Reinforcement

Jessie was at The DogSmith Training Center for 14 days. One of the things we had to teach Jessie was impulse control. He would jump all the time and be very mouthy. Jessie was displaying typical puppy behaviors that had not been redirected. By the time Jessie got to 7 months of age those behaviors were no longer acceptable and could be very problematic around children. Susan here is reinforcing Jessie for first 'having four feet on the floor' then 'sitting' and then going 'down' The rate of reinforcement is very high as we wanted to make it worth while for Jessie to not jump. We are reinforcing any behavior other than jumping. As Jessie settles into the session we slow down the rate of reinforcement and then we decide when to release him, giving him the 'okay' cue. Jessie was a rescue dog that was picked up off the streets in Panama City Fl. He now has a great owner who is committed to working with Jessie and helping him to learn how to live with humans. Jessie was rescued by Amy Shepherd Coastal Kids Magazine, you can find them on face book here