Good Dog - Behavior Consulting

“Focus on what you want your dog to do, not what you do not want your dog to do.”

This is one of the most important concepts in positive learning, no matter what species you’re dealing with. To change any unwanted behavior, you need to prevent your dog from being rewarded for behaviors you don’t want him to do, and consistently and generously reward him for behaviors you do want him to do.¹

Follow these steps to redirect your dog to a new behavior²:

When and where does the behavior occur?

(i.e., the dog barks at the mailman, the dog pees on the carpet after she eats, the dog growls at other dogs you meet on the street)

Determine what is causing the dog’s behavior:

1. Food (is the dog hungry or not getting the right nutrition?)
2. Play (is the dog bored?)
3. Socialization (is the dog suffering from lack of playtime with other dogs? Is he getting the opportunity to learn about new sights, smells, sounds, environments?)
4. Quiet Time (does the dog have the opportunity (the time and the place) to get away when she needs to get away from stress?)
5. Exercise (is he getting enough opportunity to run and drain his energy?)
6. Employment (does she need a “job” to do? does the dog know what is expected of him?)
7. Rest (is the dog tired? Does she just want to be left alone?)
8. Training (has the dog been taught what to do? have you unintentionally taught her to do the unwanted behavior?)
9. Health Care (is there a medical cause for the dog’s actions (allergies, illness, age, etc.)

Decide what you want the dog to do instead of the unwanted behavior. Set a goal.

(i.e., bark three times, go outside to her spot and go potty, play nicely with other dogs)

Select a method to change your dog’s behavior:

1. Withdraw the reward the dog receives for the behavior; ignore undesirable behavior
2. Use positive reinforcement to train a new behavior
3. Remove the cause of the behavior
4. Substitute another behavior (i.e., sit instead of jumping)
5. Put the behavior on cue (i.e., teach the dog to stop bark by actually teaching the dog to “speak”, and then teaching her to be “quiet.”
6. Get the dog used to it (i.e., get him used to thunder by playing recordings of thunder claps softly at first, then gradually increasing the volume as the dog becomes more comfortable)
7. Deliver a “negative” (NOT a physically or mentally harmful punishment; rather, withdrawing your attention from a jumping dog, spraying bitter apple or Listerine mouthwash on an object to curb chewing, etc.)

Update: This post was originally titled “Dealing with Problem Behaviors.” However, many of our dogs’ actions are usually only “problems” in the eyes of a human. Chewing on a pair of shoes certainly isn’t what we want, but it isn’t a problem like dog-dog aggression, or dog-human aggression. The suggestions listed above deal more with relatively benign issues like barking, chewing, digging, etc. Consult a professional if you’re experiencing more serious issues like aggression, separation anxiety, escaping, etc.

1. Miller, Pat. The Power of Positive Dog Training. 2001. Hungry Minds, Inc.
2. Owens, Paul. The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training. 1999, Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company.