<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><DIV>Morse always reminds me of our hound Bo. We have two hounds--Bo and Harley. Bo tries to train us using "negative reinforcement" (not exactly the same thing as punishment). In "negative reinforcement", the trainer (in this case, the hound, of course) sets up an aversive situation that will be stopped when the subject being trained does what is intended by the trainer. The "reward" is the cessation of the ongoing annoyance. For example, grumbling constantly until the subject rises from bed and attends to the houndie trainer's needs. Our other hound, Harley, trains us by "positive reinforcement"--when we do what he wants without prompting, he gives us a reward (kisses, tail wags, etc.) I am uncertain which hound technique is more successful with us; I know that Bo's
techniques frustrate us a lot more. Part of the choice of technique by each hound reflects his unique personality. Harley is eager to please us and cares what we think. Bo seems to like us but he is not particularly interested in pleasing us and is not particularly concerned what we think. He is also headstrong and stubborn. Bo, in these qualities, shows bassetude, I am told.</DIV>
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<DIV>Seems to me that we have had the best luck with Bo with several techniques of our own. First, we try to figure out what he is really asking for. Because of Bo's health issues, if he mumbles during the night because he needs to go out in the yard to use the facilities, I prefer going out with him to cleaning up the mess that would result from ignoring him. If he is hungry--and Bo has learned a signal to tell us this--he alternately grumbles and then licks his lips--I have discovered that if I put down a low value snack when I go to bed around 10 PM (a cup of dry kibble), Bo may eat a bite or two then he leaves the rest for later. If he is hungry duing the night he can return to his bowl and finish the dry kibble. This would never work with a high value snack like his regular meals, which are moistened kibble mixed with pureed chicken breasts. Those he would gobble down at once. If Bo mumbles during the night and licks his lips that he is hungry
(rather than needs to go out) and if I have put down dry kibble, I simply ignore his mumbling until finally he gives up and goes and finishes the dry kibble or sighs and then goes to sleep. Harley turns in for the night at about 8:30 and sleeps like a rock until 6 the next morning. To keep Bo from trying to push breakfast earlier and earlier, we have attached waking up and serving breakfast to a naturally occurring set of sounds in our neighborhood at 6 AM. There are many wild turkeys that roost at night in a large tree across the street from us. They start gobbling and fluttering down from the tree at about 6 AM. I don't get out of bed until we hear the turkeys start up. even if Bo has started mumbling earlier. Now he seems to have learned the the turkeys are singing reveille and calling the troops to breakfast. We are all on the same page--breakfast, walk, and then if its a weekend, we all go back to bed for another hour. I'm thinking a signal like an
alarm clock going off at a certain time (or a coffeemaker coming on) would work the same way as the turkeys do. Eventually Morse would learn the signal. There's a good deal of holding the line until Bo learns what he can expect and what he can't, but interestingly with Bo, his behavior does change--it seems always to be evolving into some next thing. Possibly Morse's behavior will evolve as well if you don't give in, but do come up with alternative ways for him to exercise some control over his requests.</DIV>
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<DIV>Don't know how the water bottle squirt would work. We have tried this with Harley to shorten his exuberant barking when we come home--he just jumps out of the way and then back in even if he gets soaks--he thinks it is having a fun game of playing in the sprinkler. Good luck.</DIV>
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<DIV>Day after tomorrow is our moving day. I expect we will be facing learning whole new routines in the new setting. Semper fido. Val, Bo, and Harley</DIV></div><br>
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