This is so petty and minor, but I'd like to solve it if possible. When Brae is alone in my car (a small sedan) he will sometimes perch on the center console and look out the front window. He is not anxious at all, just likes looking. But I don't like this behavior because I like having the freedom to put treats, human food, other other things in the front area and not have him sniff about. I see him pushing boundaries. For example, this didn't used to happen. But also, I see him craning his neck and sniffing around while he's perched. I have no other issues with him in the car. He is perfectly calm and lying down when driving. I'm not worried about leaving him in there for any length of time, and he's not reactive at all to anything going by.
I've only observed and addressed this perching behavior twice so far. I will go to him and tether him so that he cannot reach that far. But even if I corrected him, he could have learned in some ways to 'get me back' by perching. And I don't think this will prevent the problem in the long run. The challenge is it only happens when I'm not there. So my thoughts are:
1. Management, and maybe mildly punishing because it restricts movement. I can make a habit of tethering him before walking away from my car. The downside to this is I don't really like tethering to a collar, which means I would have to harness him, which means I need to remember his harness... Basically, more steps for me and I can see myself running off in a hurry and forgetting.
2. I would not be opposed to using correction in this situation. I won't do an e-collar or anything electric like those mats. But what I'm thinking is something unpleasant to step on that I can put on the center console. That way he can stand up, look out the window, shift position, but not comfortably perch on the center console. With his level of training and stability, I have no issue with using an aversive in this situation. The thing is, I don't want to buy a whole office mat thing (with the plastic nubs on the underside) to cut a ~2'x1' section off of it.
So, any ideas on what I might be able to use? I'm also open to other ideas. Like I said, this is not very important. It irks me just enough that I want to do something about it.
PS. I have tried spying and reinforcing any time he is not-perching. I know I can combine management with more of this reinforcement to teach him this behavior. I am sure of it. Just looking for those 'quick fixes' I so often hate for reasons listed above. Also, I think perching is pretty self-reinforcing for him so plain ignoring it won't really work.
I've only observed and addressed this perching behavior twice so far. I will go to him and tether him so that he cannot reach that far. But even if I corrected him, he could have learned in some ways to 'get me back' by perching. And I don't think this will prevent the problem in the long run. The challenge is it only happens when I'm not there. So my thoughts are:
1. Management, and maybe mildly punishing because it restricts movement. I can make a habit of tethering him before walking away from my car. The downside to this is I don't really like tethering to a collar, which means I would have to harness him, which means I need to remember his harness... Basically, more steps for me and I can see myself running off in a hurry and forgetting.
2. I would not be opposed to using correction in this situation. I won't do an e-collar or anything electric like those mats. But what I'm thinking is something unpleasant to step on that I can put on the center console. That way he can stand up, look out the window, shift position, but not comfortably perch on the center console. With his level of training and stability, I have no issue with using an aversive in this situation. The thing is, I don't want to buy a whole office mat thing (with the plastic nubs on the underside) to cut a ~2'x1' section off of it.
So, any ideas on what I might be able to use? I'm also open to other ideas. Like I said, this is not very important. It irks me just enough that I want to do something about it.
PS. I have tried spying and reinforcing any time he is not-perching. I know I can combine management with more of this reinforcement to teach him this behavior. I am sure of it. Just looking for those 'quick fixes' I so often hate for reasons listed above. Also, I think perching is pretty self-reinforcing for him so plain ignoring it won't really work.
