"The Litter Box Withholder" introduces readers to Harry, a cat very easy to love. He is beautiful, friendly, and enjoys being cradled in his owners’ arms like a baby.
So it’s no surprise that a few little meows at mealtime were met with smiles and extra attention. Harry’s keen interest in the intoxicating smell of moist food pleased his owners and seemed harmless. The owners are right. The only (unintentional) mistake was permitting Harry to link his vocalizations to the food.
Positive reinforcement trainers the world over shape behaviors in all kinds of animals using the same conditioning principle. An aquarium fish passes through a hoop for tiny shrimp, horses accept a farrier’s handling for carrots, zoo gorillas bare their teeth for visual checks for veggies. Food reward greatly increases the likelihood animals will repeat their behavior. And that’s how howling Harry happened.
When an animal is unintentionally trained to a behavior we don’t like, we can manage the problem by rewarding a competing behavior (Harry’s silence) while being careful not to reward the unacceptable.
You + food the animal wants is a powerful combination. Be mindful of all that your pet is doing when you offer it, because everything the animal is doing in that moment will be rewarded. Preventing a behavior from taking hold will always be easier than changing a deeply-embedded habit.