While doing the NYC's annual workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention course, Annie noted that people are being told to assume that many things other than the word "No" may mean "No."  This might be a good thing, but it's also potentially confusing! In the world of dogs, she's seen how the word "No" can also be a confusing concept, as it is frequently used ineffectively, and can even end up positively reinforcing some behaviors. She thinks about how, for both dogs and humans, this confusion about "No" can lead to stress. What if, with both dogs and humans, the focus were not on explaining what not to do, but rather on teaching what appropriate behaviors can be engaged in instead? Maybe men, in particularly, could learn something by taking discussion-starting tips from "Linda Richman," the Mike Myers "Coffee Talk" character from Saturday Night Live in the nineties. ("Talk amongst yourselves: I'll give you a topic. Discuss!")

Annie goes into how it's possible to condition a secondary punisher to make the word "No" more meaningful... but most people don't do this work. She also explains that it's a misconception that Positive Reinforcement-based trainers never try to stop behaviors. She explains how SFTD trainers work to help build a dog's ability to stop and start a behavior, and help owners think about what a dog should ideally be doing instead of an undesirable behavior. As an example, she explains how "Break" is taught at School For The Dogs for dogs attending off leash play sessions. 

Interested in learning more about our trainer supervised off-leash sessions? Visit us online at https://www.schoolforthedogs.com/services/school-yard/

NYC's Sexual Harassment Prevention  

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/sexual-harassment-training.page

Coffee Talk with Linda Richman (Mike Myers) on SNL 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haunEK4HLI8

In the #MeToo era, 60% of male managers say they’re scared of being alone with women at work

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/men-are-afraid-to-mentor-female-colleagues-in-the-metoo-era-heres-what-not-to-do-2019-05-20

Episode 26 | Teach a foolproof DROP and COME using Classical Conditioning

https://anchor.fm/dogs/episodes/Teach-a-foolproof-DROP-and-COME-using-Classical-Conditioning-e29h2c/a-a2daie5

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Special thanks to Toast Garden for the theme song!

https://www.youtube.com/c/ToastGarden

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Partial Transcript:

Voice:

No comes in many forms. Verbal no means no. Body language can mean no. Excuses can mean no. A tone of voice can mean no. Maybe can mean no.

[intro and music]

Annie:

I recorded that clip from the annual sexual harassment awareness training required by everyone at any business in New York state. So, I'm going through this online training thing, and I realize there's kind of this focus on the concept of no...

Full Transcript at SchoolForTheDogs.com/Podcast

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