What to do about #accidents?

Punish or Praise for Pooping in our closet??

We came home latish last night, after seeing an incredible performance by Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Santa Fe Jazz Festival, and found a rather large dump towards the back of our closet in off the master bedroom.  What to do?                                                                                          It was a disturbing finding.  Gizmo had been so good, so housebroken, so calm for so long that it seemed to be odd behavior, until we thought about the day from his point of view: early morning, taken by car to a stranger who washed him and cut his hair, while keeping him in a cage until we picked him up, a terrifying experience made worse by feelings of abandonment.

           Then, after we brought him home for about an hour, we left for four hours for lunch with the artist Walter Wooten and his wife Mary.   More abandonment, after which we were home for less than two hours, gave Gizmo a short walk, and then went to Santa Fee for the Dee Dee Bridgewater concert, leaving Gizmo alone for more hours.

           But what to do?  Punishing him long after the deed seemed foolish and ineffective.  Praising him was avoiding any training at this point.

            Then I read a feature story in The Guardian, England, on the book “In Defence of Dogs” by John Bradshaw.   

          Quoting the key paragraphs:  “Many a dog’s life and behaviour have been spoilt by inappropriate methods of training involving fierce domination and physical punishment. This may appear to work for the moment but sets up more serious disobedience problems in the future.                  Take the case of the dog that is left on its own for a good while. The owner returns to discover that it has torn, scratched or chewed up cushions, newspapers, pens, sofas or clothing. Or it has made a mess on the carpet. It did this because it was lonely or bored or fearful that its owner might never come back.                                                                             Dogs live in the present far more than we do. If its master punishes it by shouting or beating an hour after the event, it simply does not know why. It won’t associate present disgrace with past bad behaviour. All it learns it that sometimes the beloved owner returns with anger not kindness. This confuses it and makes it more anxious about the next absence, and so more likely to misbehave.                                                      John Bradshaw has done experiments with several hundred owners that showed that obedience is far better achieved by reward than by punishment. Being commanded to sit or calling back to heel can be taught by reward - not necessarily food or ‘treats’ but approval, praise, a renewed show of love.”                                                                                                   So, no mention of Gizmo’s current “mistake,” but lots of praise the next time he does the right thing and poops outside.