Ask Jean Donaldson

Q: My small dog never barks-except at
children. As neither I nor my friends have children, I don’t really
have an opportunity to socialize her with kids. What should I do when
she barks at children? – Julie, Minneapolis, MN

A:
Dear Julie, There are two choices. One is to avoid children. This flies
in the face of 1970’s-style training, where avoiding a problem implied
irresponsible dog ownership. Nowadays, pet dog training is pragmatic.
In fact, it shouldn’t be called pet dog training. More pet dog
management/behaviour tweaking/owner education. So, no shame in steering
clear of kids.

If you can’t avoid kids or if it bugs you to not
do more, go the fancier route: Pavlovian conditioning. Acquire some
smashing treats. Not cookies. Cubed pecorino romano or steak. Something
she never gets. Load some into zip lock bags. When you walk her and
there is any likelihood of encountering kids, pack one.

When she
spots a kid, she’ll bark as usual. Immediately giggle and retreat. Once
you’re a little farther away, spill goodies. Repeat this every
encounter. "WHAT?" you say, "I should reward barking!?" Ah, but you’re
not-think Pavlov’s dog. From your dog’s point of view, the sequence of
events is: 1) see child, 2) get tasty treat. For this reason, don’t
dispense before she sees the kid with the idea of "distracting" her;
kid must come before romano. It’s no "reward," because the likelihood
is that the barking will gradually decrease. This would be a paradox if
the strongest connection were between barking and cheese. The strongest
connection is, in fact, between kids and cheese. This deflates the
motivation to bark.

Told you it was fancy. ■

Jean
Donaldson is the founder of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog
Trainers and author of several books on dog training and behaviour,
including Dogs are from Neptune and The Culture Clash.