How
can we deal with fear? Allow me to sound like a cheesy self-help
author for a moment.
Think
back to being a kid... you're way too scared to go down the big
waterslide/try a new food/kiss a warty old relative, but then you see
your brother or sister or some other kids doing it. They're all fine,
in fact, they seem to enjoy it (ok, perhaps not in the warty relative
scenario).
It's
quite likely that, at least after a few repetitions, this makes you a
little curious about it. Maybe you start to feel a bit left out or
even... jealous. Suddenly, you find yourself rather wanting to give
it a go so you don't miss out!
Enter Sidney.
This
guy is totally unfazed by the clicker. He literally does not care, he
just wants some roast beef.
Ignoring
Dennis completely (but making sure to stand within his field of
vision/hearing), I proceeded to click and reward Sid, who thought it
must be Christmas again.
Sure
enough, guess who comes timidly creeping over to see what's going on?
As in the previous session, Dennis twitched a little every time he
heard the click, but this time you could see his little face going
“oooh!” at Sid getting all the treats and attention. He didn't
run and hide!
Eventually,
I let my mum feed Dennis some treats and I stood a few paces away and
clicked just before each one. Success!
Perhaps
the vicarious reinforcement worked and/or the slightly softer sound
of the clicker in the distance helped. He does have massive ears
after all, so maybe the sound of the clicker too close is quite
startling.
Anyway,
as it appeared we were making progress, we ended the session on that
high note. Well done, Dennis!
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