Question
My main question is how to unlink actions from words. Years ago, my dog picked up a, I suppose, common trait. When there was a dog walking outside when we were driving him around, if we mentioned the word "Doggy", his ears would perk up, he would run to the direction we were pointing in, and bark wildly, until we had driven far past the other dog.
Now, if we make mention of the word "Doggy", his ears will perk up, he will run wildly to where we are pointing, and start barking maniacally. Often times though, there will be no dogs, and it is as if he is barking at a hallucination. In fact, we try to keep the word "Doggy" outside of conversations because any resemblance of the word causes him to run to a window, and bark wildly, even if there are NO dogs anywhere.
I would love to unlink the action "look there's a dog" from the word "Doggy", because often times, it is a hassle to bring him down once he has started barking.
Is there any easy way to accomplish this?
Answer
Teach him that the word "Doggy" means come sit quitely next to me and get petted and maybe a treat.
In theory you can make a learned behavior disappear, but in your case I don't think is likely. Redirecting the command and behavior in a different direction, is probably your best choice.
There are some good training techniques in these answers
- How to I make my dog understand that I want him to go to a certain spot?
- How do I stop my Shiba puppy from screaming at the top of his lungs everyday at 6am?
- Sit/down/stand training: do dogs associate the movement or the final position?
I believe you will also find a few more in this group
Answered By - James Jenkins