Curiosity Unleashed

Welcome back! Last week we introduced animal learning. With the understanding that consequences drive behavior, we challenged you to troubleshoot your companion animal’s behavior. How far did you allow your curiosity to wander?

“I can just let my curiosity wander unleashed.” — James C. Collins

So for this blog post, we thought it might be fun to take a short quiz regarding five common behavior challenges. Ready? Let’s begin:

1. Jumping

Favorite person comes home from work, walks through the front door. The dog, seeking attention from her favorite person, jumps up. Favorite person yells at the dog, knees her in the chest, and pushes her down. What happens next?

A. Jumping on the favorite person continues

B. Jumping on the favorite person stops and never occurs again

2. Barking

Your dog looks out the window and barks at the dog walker walking a dog in front of your home. Dog walker keeps walking until out of sight. The next time a person walks a dog past your home, your dog’s reaction is to:

A. Stay quiet

B. Bark

3. Chewing

You catch your dog in the act of chewing a shoe. You redirect your dog by giving him a bully stick right where he was chewing. What is the result?

A. Chewing the shoe stops forever

B. Chewing the shoe stops in that moment, then continues

4. Pulls on leash

Whenever your dog sees another dog, she pulls on leash. You extend your arm and jog up to the other dog because your dog “just wants to say hi”. What is the result?

A. Your dog pulls every time she sees another dog

B. Your dog stops pulling

5. Stealing Laundry

Your dog is playing with his toys. You take a selfie of your dog playing with his toys, but don’t play with him. Your dog grabs a sock and you chase your dog. What is the result?

A. Playing with his toys will increase

B. Stealing socks will increase

Join us next week for the answers to this week’s quiz. Until then, unleash your curiosity with us! www.behaviorunited.com