Case Report - Pulling Moss From the Ficus Tree

Written by: Sam Kabbel, CPDT-KA, President Pet Behavior Solutions

Dog: Sashi, 2-year-old spayed female Skye Terrier

Client: Tiffany

Client Complaint: Pulling moss from an artificial tree

When Tiffany was at work, Sashi would pull the moss out of the artificial Ficus tree and make a terrible mess in the living room. Sashi did not destroy anything else while Tiffany was at work and was otherwise well behaved when Tiffany was home. Tiffany told me that Sashi had played in the moss when she was first adopted a year ago, but after a few reprimands, she had stopped. After a few months, Sashi began occasionally playing with the moss, but only when Tiffany was not home. By the time Tiffany called me, the problem behavior had become much more frequent, and Tiffany was facing almost daily messes. When Tiffany found these messes after returning home from work, she would bring Sashi over to the tree and say, “No, Sashi, bad girl.” Sashi eventually avoided the tree completely when Tiffany was home, but continued to pull the moss out of the tree when Tiffany was at work.

Tiffany had unwittingly taught Sashi not to bother the tree as long as she was home. Sashi had learned that playing with the moss was no fun when Mom was around (because she got scolded) but that it was quite fun to do when Mom wasn’t around. This is what we call an “owner absent” problem — when a dog learns not to do something in front of the owner. In order to solve the problem, Sashi needed to learn that the tree itself didn’t want to have its moss removed! To help Sashi learn this lesson, we used a product called a Snappy Trainer^TM. A Snappy Trainer™ is a mousetrap modified with a big red plastic paddle on it so the dog cannot get hurt when the product is set off. We placed the Snappy Trainer™ in the tree basket and carefully placed the moss on top of it. When Tiffany returned home from work, the Snappy Trainer™ had been set off and there was a minimal amount of moss on the floor. She continued to set the Snappy Trainer™ each day. When Tiffany returned home on the 3^rd day, the she discovered that the moss had not been disturbed and Snappy Trainer™ was still as she had left it. Sashi had learned that scary things happen when she plays with the moss even if Mom wasn’t in the room! The tree itself delivered a message that it did not want to have the moss pulled from it. We often see owner-absent problems that arise because pets learn not to engage in certain behaviors in the presence of the owner. The most effective way to deal with such issues is to help the pet realize that the behavior itself doesn’t work, regardless of whether humans are around or not. Snappy Trainers™ are one method of teaching this lesson, and we would be happy to discuss other effective methods with you!

For more information on Snappy Trainers, please contact Pet Behavior Solutions http://www.petbehaviorsolutions.com/ or http://www.snappytrainer.com/