ron2
Posted : 9/7/2008 9:17:22 AM
As an experience of my trade, I have been electrocuted a number of times, usually 120 V, small current, from one point of my hand, usually a finger to another part of the same hand. Though, sometimes my other hand was the ground point and the juice went across my chest. A couple of times, I have been bit by 277 V. Time slows down. Even a momentary contact feels like quite a time. It is an unpleasant experience, to say the least. However, I have been bit by 120 V so many times that it feels like a nerve twinge and I put a meter on it to verify.
And it is not something I wish on any other creature. If that's anthropromorphism, sue me.
And all the electrocution taught me was how to more safely work energized, rather than not work energized.
Why do I mention this? To illustrate that even a painful, potentially fatal punishment doesn't always stop what you think it will. My trade can be fatal. At the right voltage, it takes 1/10 of 1 amp to kill a grown man. A few years ago, a man at the company I work for, defying the company policy to only work on de-energized circuits, got himself hooked up on a little transformer that steps 277 down to 12 for some low voltage lighting. I won't go into the Ideal Transformer Law and the accompanying math but suffice it to say that the current on the 12 V side is more than 10 times the current on the 277 V side. Anyway, he got shocked, fell off of his 10 foot ladder and hit the floor. Sat up, grunted once, and then lay back down and died. As in, where do we send the flowers. A remote collar on a dog may not deal with these levels but there is documented evidence of permanent disfiguration of the hide at the contact points on the collar. At best, you are introducing a physical painful stim that can cause permanent damage and panic. Yes, repeated electrocutions can also cause permanent changes in brain structure and chemistry and that's a documented fact. And, at best, you might stop the one behavior that you are aiming to stop. If so, I raise my light saber in a salute and may the Force be with you. But, often, you will not be sure of what you are stopping or deterring. If the stim is not hard enough to stop, and some dogs do have tough hides and individual neurology where they do not register pain at a level that cripples other creatures. Then the stim might just be a cue and such a cue could be just as easily marked by a vibrating collar that does not cause damage. Or a marker such as a click, whistle, or short, monosyllabic word that marks the desired behavior. Almost three weeks ago, I broke the bone in a fingertip at work. After about 20 minutes of soaking in ice water, I went back to work as best I could, because I have a high tolerance for pain. It hurts me as much as it hurts any of you, I can just put up with it for a really long time. It wasn't until lunchtime and a supervisor convinced me I should have it checked out for purposes of defining just what the injury was. Closed fracture of the middle finger tip, left hand. Reduction of fluid by means of a cauterized hole in the fingernail. It wasn't until about 6:30 that evening when I finally had a chance to take a Lortab to take the edge off that. And there are dogs like that, too. Stoic and able to put up with a lot. And the event won't stop me from doing electrical work. It will just cause me to figure out another way to do the task without getting injured. You see, the punishment doesn't always stop the action, it just causes an amendment to the procedure. In fact, on the company's injury report, I was asked how to prevent this injury in the future. My response was to define another way to set wire stands on plywood in the mud in the rain. Point being, it can be the same way for a dog. They will figure out another way to do what they are doing, unless something better comes along. For example, if I had a crew of helpers, I would have them do it, which would prevent the chance of injury for me. A dog motivated to not counter surf, will then not countersurf. Or the behavior will extinguish if there's nothing in it for the dog.
So, the defining questions ring true.
What is reinforcing the dog to do this?
What behavior do I want, instead?
What's my reinforcement for setting wire stands on plywood in the mud in the rain? I get paid to do it, regardless of conditions or obstacles. $50,000 of wire is sitting out and it's going to get pulled into the pipe, whether my finger gets mashed or not. I would prefer not to have my finger mashed.