Nika and the Great Big Yip

Nika and the Great Big Yip by Frances McCormack | Learning with Nika YEOW!!!!!! This is Nika-speak for “I want dinner,” “I want to go out with you,” “I want that thing that’s out of my reach,” various versions of “hurry up,”or even just “Oi! Two Legs!” For someone so small, she sure can use that diaphragm. And for someone so young, she sure has learned the fine art of managing her Two Legs quite rapidly. A single, shrill “Yeow” that sounds remarkably like “Now”…And to which I was responding accordingly. I didn’t even notice the magical power of her Great Big Yip as a summoning charm until I found myself half out of my chair during a meeting in my office to tend to the puppy in the hallway who needed to consult with me NOW. This consultation would require my presence specifically; the other human just would not do at that moment. Timidly, I piped up “I’m busy, Nika” and lowered myself into my chair again as her other human came to heed her call. Nika’s a vocal dog. There are the wonderfully melodic sounds she makes during play with T, and these days she’s experimenting with a play growl at his suggestion. There’s her single whimper during the night when she’d like to be taken to a suitable toileting location. There’s the deep bark she uses to communicate to T that whatever he’s got is hers by right. And there’s the little throaty squeak that sometimes comes out when she yawns. When she was very young, she made a distressed yowl that first night that convinced me instantly that she should sleep on the bed rather than beside it. In those days, too, she whimpered gently when the cat slapped her for looking at her disparagingly. And while her whimpers, barks, and, even yowls are forms of communication that I want her to understand will receive a response, the Great Big Yip has a limited future. The Great Big Yip means “regardless of what you’re doing, I want this specific thing NOW.” And it’s of absolutely no benefit to her to learn that she can control her world in this way. Yes, I want her needs to be satisfied, her wants to be fulfilled; of course I do. But what of a day when those yips can’t receive the reward she desires? How would she handle that disappointment? Instead, I want her to learn that the Great Big Yip receives a reassurance, whether verbal or via another reward, that her request has been heard, but that it may not be fulfilled immediately. This is how the majority of her world within and without my control will work as she grows, and I seek to teach her the skills to adapt to that. But it also means that I have to pre-empt and disrupt Yippin

g Opportunities in so far as possible. Yipping Opportunities often involve patterns that she’s spotted in her day that signal to her that a reward is about to arrive. In these instances, the Great Big Yip is a sign of increased arousal at the prospect of that reward – the noise of such great excitement that she is unable to contain herself any longer. This is most certainly not in her interest: there is a potential for that Great Big Yip and the accompanying arousal to escalate to greater and greater levels each time, and for longer in advance of the rewarding event as she learns and responds to the patterns that predict the patterns. And so the Great Big Yip that seeks to speed up the delivery of her dinner as it is being prepared could be averted if the process of preparation didn’t predict the process of delivery. The chain of the donning of shoes and coat, and the collection of lead and car keys, would now be made variable and interspersed with other activities so that the arousal at the potential of an outing wouldn’t slide back along it. The set-up of planned learning and its associated ample rewards, the placing of a tripod, the preparation of bite-sized pieces of food, would now occur in increments and, as much as possible, out of her sight. This is not about teaching her to control her arousal; instead, it’s about taking care not to put her in situations where the stimulation brought about by expected events is likely to escalate, and about ensuring that she has the understanding of, and skills to adapt to, the variability of her world. Nothing like a Border Collie puppy to make you realise how predictable you are… Building A Generous Future Maybe it feels like a doddle because my life with her wasn’t one of competing against who she is, trying to mould her into something else, or even just worrying about the potential fallout of every decision I made. Read More Don’t Let Them Learn Becoming aware that we share our lives with premier learners, dogs, is about saving you frustration, despair, anxiety and endless hours further down the road. Read More A Day of Learning A no-training day does not mean he gets a lazy day lying idly in the sun. Learning is still happening and this is significant and important for his development. Read More It’s Not Training A carefully planned learning pathway, paced to suit that particular learner for their life ahead. Read More A New Puppy. Oh Joy. Impulse buying the wrong sofa can be rectified if you swallow the expense. Impulse buying a puppy can result in personal grief for you and your family and quite possibly

result in a very unhappy future or end the life of that puppy. Read More Dogs are Born To Learn We can build tremendous learners when we get beyond the idea that “dogs are trained”. Read More Be-toothed Learning Machines The thing they don’t tell you is that raising a puppy is DANGED HARD WORK. Biting everything, peeing everywhere, eating anything; not for the faint hearted. Read More The Experienced Dog Knowing your dog has receive sufficient preparation does not mean every eventuality, but a range of different conditions so that when the unexpected happens they will draw on their skills and solve the issue. Read More Obnoxious Puppy The delight of your new puppy is probably going to last a few weeks, maybe four if you are lucky. When 12 weeks old hits, and you will feel a slam, the Delight is going to demonstrate ungrateful, obnoxious traits. Read More A Road to Nowhere When familiarity is stripped away we seek recognisable signposts that will take us back to comfort and security. This is survival instinct. It is worth listening to as it keeps us alive. Read More Surprising Puppy Surprising Puppy. With obnoxious moments. After introducing the obnoxious puppy as a youngster I am knocked over by the Delightful Young Man he is turning into…… Read More When we train a dog it grows Most training starts from necessity. Management is a necessity but it usually benefits all parties by a reduction of conflict. Are they expanding their skills to benefit us or for their benefit? Read More The Fade-in Protocol Even though today we are surrounded by many available protocols for teaching with positive reinforcement, there is still a persistence that a dog should be set-up to make an error. An error is simply the difference between my expectation and the dog’s response. No more “distractions”, but faded-in environments. Read More Preparation Preparation: before moving house or a training session, a key to stress free learning Read More Nose Target. No thanks Nose target is a popular behaviour taught to many dogs, and other animals. It seems easy to teach and have practical application, but it is often not such a pleasant experience for all dogs. There are many other options available that give the same practical benefit, without the unpleasant extremes. Read More Do you see what I see Doing better is the reward from doing the work. This work needs to be the right work at the right time with the right intent done in the right way. Read More Not all lures contain food “the direct use of the reinforcer to elicit the behaviour” This should always be foremost in our mind,

in that many alternatives lures are available. Read More Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Δ