Who would think that reverse psychology would work on a dog?

One of my first questions here was about one of my dogs who BARKS TOO MUCH! I took all of the advice given, and the only real result is the dog (Dutchess) is now inordinately fond of lemon juice (it worked for a day though, Red Power Lady!)

Well, I have several “tricks” I’ve used in my classrooms when a kid or kids are not on task, and one trick is not to address the kids who are misbehaving, but to praise the kids who are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. It works nicely and avoids a bunch of negative nagging, as well as avoiding giving the “bad” kids any kind of attention, while giving the “good” kids the attention they hardly ever get!

Well, the other day Dutchess was barking her fool head off, and without thinking I started praising my other quiet dog, a German Shepherd, named Dakota, for being such a good, quiet dog. I called Dakota over and petted her and petted her and praised her for not barking and just ignored Dutchess! To my amazement…it worked. Dutchess was kind of freaked out, too, but she quit barking. I specifically used the words to Dakota “Good dog for not barking,” because we’ve hollered at Dutchess the words, “Stop barking!” a million times, so she made some sort of connection. It’s worked time and again since last week, too.

What make ye of this? Is the psychology the same whether we’re dealing with humans or animals, and what IS the psychology?

Don’t ask why I’m talking funny because I don’t know.