Attention seeking dogs

[LaurenG]

I had never heard of a dog throwing a temper tantrum and found this pretty funny behavior.

Attention-Seeking Dogs
by Nick Dodman, D.V.M.
One thing I always find amazing is dogs’ ability to engage in numerous weird and wonderful behaviors in order to get attention. In that respect they're like children. A colleague forwarded me a video of a 3-year-old child throwing a tantrum. The boy hurled himself to the floor and started rolling around and screaming. His dad, videoing the incident, moved out of sight behind a room divider, but kept filming. The boy picked himself up, ran to where his dad could see him, and threw himself on the floor again, kicking and screaming. This happened several times, each time when the dad walked out of view.

Kids’ tantrums appear volitional, interruptible, and designed to attract maximum attention. A positive result – attention or some other positive outcome – assures more of the same. A negative result – attention withdrawal – has the opposite effect. It’s the same for dogs.

One owner reported to me that her dog was “fish tailing": She said he'd throw himself on the ground and writhe around “like a fish flipping around in the bottom of a boat.” Her vet thought the dog was having seizures, and a veterinary neurologist, consulted for a second opinion, agreed. The dog was treated with an anticonvulsant. When this approach didn't help, I was consulted.

Although I was tempted to concur with the neurological diagnosis, I thought I'd try the technique of “attention withdrawal” before I proceeded with more sophisticated therapies. I instructed the dog’s owner to blow a duck call (a neutral “bridging” stimulus) and then withdraw all attention from the dog whenever it engaged in the behavior. After one week the dog was 50 percent better, and by three weeks it had ceased its antics.

http://wholelivingdaily.wholeliving.com/2010/09/attention-seeking-dogs.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Wow. I never heard of a dog throwing a tantrum like that.

Good that it was able to be stopped by a relatively simple technique.

[david13]

2. Of course dogs do that. It's no different when a more resourceful

dog will go and get his ball, and take it to the owner, or a guest. Many times I have been a guest and had the dog bring the ball to me.
Why do you think they do that? They want attention. They want to play, and not alone. Throw the ball for the dog.
I had one dog who, after I had played ball for a good long time, refused to let me leave, he tried to stop me from leaving.
He wanted me to stay and play ball with him.
I had a cat that used to bring the ball to me to throw. When I would throw it, she would, like a hockey player, race the ball into the kitchen and under the refrigerator. Then lay on the floor and look under the refrigerator, and make "poor kitty" sounds. Mews, meows.
"The poor little kitty has lost the ball. Do you think you could help her?"
It usually took her about 4 seconds to run the ball into the kitchen and under the refrigerator. Direct shot. Maybe the cat was a reincarnated hockey pro.
Anyway, it always took a while to move the refrigerator for her.
dc