Intro - Day One

We have a Sydney Terrier, named Blue, whom we adopted from a rescue about 5 years ago.  During this time, I have been unsuccessful in completely house-breaking this dog.  I am taking classes at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for Fashion Design, and one of the General Education classes that are required for my graduation is Intro to Psychology.  While studying the Operant Conditioning and B.F. Skinner, a thought occurred to me.  The technique is to take an existing behavior and modify it with positive reinforcement.  Blue most frequently urinates in the dining room.  I am going to do an experiment and document it.  My goal is to train Blue to pee on newspaper.  The final goal is to get Blue to pee on a single sheet of newspaper in a shallow litter box or sheet pan, and no where else in the house (a modern day miracle).

Friday, May 4, 2012.
I cleaned the floor with white vinegar and covered the entire dining room with newspaper so that if Blue pees anywhere in the dining room, it will be on newspaper.  I sat him down and explained, "Ok, Blue, you can pee anywhere in the dining room you want now and I won't get mad."  Of course he heard "Ok, Blue, blah blah blah blah blah blah.."  Perhaps I should have attempted an Australian accent.