Something to Call It
After Jennie invited me to a party at the training facility she uses in Houston, I finally have something to call Henry’s attitude and behavior: Learned Helplessness.
About a month ago, I felt like I hit a brick wall with his training. He’s no longer wetting the crate on an hourly basis. He’s no longer trying to escape the crate or the house. Yes, he’s anxious as hell if I’m not present in the house. Yes, he’s on a behavior modification plan that includes plenty of social interaction and positive reinforcement of confident, sedate behavior and appropriate greetings.
So. Learned Helplessness (aka clinical depression) is usually overcome in humans with drugs and cognitive therapy. When no longer receiving negative stimuli, dogs usually recover quickly. However, Henry continues to claw at the inside of (although doesn’t make a huge effort to escape) his crate, continues to wet his crate (although now he pees out the door instead of wetting every surface inside the crate), and otherwise continues to demonstrate helpless, hopeless behavior … even though the consequences that taught him that he was helpless (laying in his own waste with an empty stomach and whipworms gnawing his insides) have been removed. Frankly, he *is* helpless — he can’t get out, and I’m not present. I know he can hold his bladder because he does sometimes. His entire attitude of the crate is negative even though it’s as positive (warm, dry, soft bed, lots of white noise and a radio, treats, stuffed kongs, fed in crate, etc.) an experience as can be made.
So now the question is… keep going, or try something different? There’ll be a slight reset soon as I go visit my parents over the holiday and leave Henry in a high-attention boarding kennel and Eowyn gets her second FHO…