[HN Gopher] Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Puppy Assistant: the smart home for my dog
        
       Author : atosatto
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2021-02-28 11:55 UTC (11 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (dev.to)
 (TXT) w3m dump (dev.to)
        
       | dagmx wrote:
       | A lot of our smart home stuff is primarily around our dog as
       | well.
       | 
       | Cameras to watch the dog when we're out and lights to turn on
       | when it starts getting dark.
       | 
       | We also have a training treat dispenser so when she barks at
       | strangers, it'll dispense treats to keep her distracted and learn
       | to calm down instead of barking.
       | 
       | In many ways, dogs are like kids, and you go through the same
       | things for them.
        
         | sokoloff wrote:
         | I can imagine that feedback mechanism could go badly. Want a
         | treat? Randomly bark.
         | 
         | I say this only because we did not manage to successfully train
         | out the bark at strangers behavior in our otherwise pretty
         | well-trained dog.
        
           | wombatmobile wrote:
           | In real life you achieve this by physically restraining the
           | dog with your hands for 15 seconds in an unambiguous manner
           | when it does the unwanted behaviour.
        
             | Judgmentality wrote:
             | Please don't do this. This is a horrible way to train dogs,
             | and not only is the efficacy questionable but it will very
             | likely lead to behavioral issues down the line.
        
               | wombatmobile wrote:
               | It's not a horrible way to train dogs. What is horrible
               | is the image you have in your mind of what I am saying,
               | which is a misunderstanding.
        
               | Judgmentality wrote:
               | Please don't double down. I've raised several dogs, and
               | fostered at least a dozen throughout my life. I am
               | regularly the "last guy" for problem dogs because nobody
               | else knows how to handle them, and have dealt with many
               | dogs who have attacked humans (and I have been bit many
               | times dealing with these dogs).
               | 
               | I saw from your other comment that you learned this from
               | Cesar Milan. Well like most celebrities, his advice can
               | actually be harmful. You have to realize this entire
               | guy's job is to sell you himself so he can make money
               | from his brand.
               | 
               | https://medium.com/@vandanni.hadai/cesar-millan-the-
               | problem-...
               | 
               | EDIT: Redacted recommendation based on comment. Normally
               | I'd leave it, but if there's even a 5% chance that
               | comment in the reply is true I do not want to encourage
               | it.
               | 
               | Instead, try this book:
               | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850
        
               | wombatmobile wrote:
               | > Please don't double down.
               | 
               | I don't understand what you mean by that phrase. In the
               | context of my comment, it is a non-sequitur. You're not
               | really conversing with me. You are conversing with
               | yourself.
        
               | dagmx wrote:
               | Quite a few people in the dog community aren't fans of
               | canine intervention either.
               | 
               | https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/comments/lrok2i/whats_e
               | ver...
               | 
               | He's just another Cesar like trainer, just for a slightly
               | newer age. I'd recommend not following his advice either,
               | and consulting more positive reinforcement based
               | behaviorists.
        
               | Judgmentality wrote:
               | Have any good recommendations?
               | 
               | Based on what I saw, he was focused around positive-
               | reinforcement. But I only watched 2 episodes. It was
               | clear the show was edited, but it didn't seem nefarious.
               | 
               | Let's see if we agree on this. I recommend this book, do
               | you (I'm not trying to pick a fight, just trying to see
               | if/where we agree)?
               | 
               | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761168850
        
               | dagmx wrote:
               | Unfortunately I haven't read that book to be able to
               | comment. It does sound promising?
               | 
               | My wife recommends https://www.amazon.com/How-Behave-
               | Your-Dog-Behaves/dp/079380... as a book.
               | 
               | In terms of shows, there's unfortunately not a ton of
               | positive reinforcement shows, at least that I can think
               | of. Possibly because it's more work and less short term
               | magic. The shows with Victoria Stilwell are probably the
               | most prominent as a positive reinforcement show. Though
               | perhaps a little dated. Supposedly she has a YouTube
               | channel where she corrects her past episodes based on
               | more modern thinking.
               | 
               | The puppy101 Reddit generally has some good content
               | listed, and I see they've listed Larry Kay there. So I'm
               | inclined to think I'd be pro the book you linked just
               | based on the other recommendations on there.
        
               | Judgmentality wrote:
               | Thanks, I appreciate it. Cheers.
        
             | dagmx wrote:
             | That isn't really recommended training by most
             | behaviorists. You risk upping the dogs negative association
             | and stress with events.
             | 
             | Negative reinforcement training isn't great.
        
               | wombatmobile wrote:
               | I didn't say to hurt the dog. This is a communication,
               | not a stressor. It is recommended by Caeser Milan.
        
               | dagmx wrote:
               | Cesar Milan is a terrible example of dog behaviour
               | training. Most of the dog behaviorist community
               | dissaproves of his methods.
               | 
               | Positive training is much more the norm these days.
               | Cesar's techniques can create terrible feedback loops
               | that create worse behavior long term.
        
           | dagmx wrote:
           | If done with a proper supporting training, it's to redirect
           | their attention onto their safe space.
           | 
           | It doesn't necessarily train them from barking at strangers
           | but it gets them into a more relaxed state, which can let you
           | use other tricks to decondition them.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2021-02-28 23:01 UTC)