DOGS DON’T DO THINGS WITHOUT REASONS. Those reasons may not be obvious to you, but if you looked at life from dogs’ point of view, it would be evident.
We’ll do that later.
But first, when your dog is disruptive, what gets all your attention is its behavior.
Don’t worry about the malbehavior, find the cause. As we solve one problem, another will surface in its place. As we become focused on the malbehaviors, our attention further compounds the problem. In fact, any attention or reaction to malbehavior can vicariously reward the dog.
EXAMPLE; “My dog barks every time I’m am on the phone.Labrador training does not seem to be working for me”
This always starts a cycle of disruption.
Any time your dog can break your routine, and command 100% OF YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION, HE WINS.
SOLUTION: DON’T FALL VICTIM to these negative attention getting devices. Don’t engage in a shouting match.
Break the cycle subtly, with distraction techniques as interruptions, and, as always, follow up with immediate, non-physical praise.
The most common cause of problems is the need for DIRECTED ATTENTION.
Unstructured love and attention alone won’t suffice.
Just exercising your dog cannot structure his thinking to make him calm and accepting of changes in your family life.
ALLLELOMIMETIC BEHAVIOR:
This comes from the word mimic.
Monkey see; monkey do. Monkey takes right after you!
That’s right.
Use this to your advantage.
Your dog will copy your ACTIONS and ATTITUIDES. If you handle roughly, he’ll respond likewise.
The more concerned or nervous we are about our dogs behavior, the more we MAY ACTUALLY COMPELL SUCH BEHAVIOR TO BEGIN!
EXAMPLE; If your dog is about to growl at a stranger and he sees you become upset, he doesn’t think we are worried about his actions, but those of the stranger.
Now he has a real cause to be wary.
SOLUTION: Use allellomimetic behavior to demonstrate a sense of calm and trust. Don’t take chances, but the more relaxed you must appear. Many times we see people try to calm their pet by patting. As they become more nervous, they pat faster and faster. This quick patting further excites their pet. Try to stroke the full length of the body at about the normal rate of respiration.
POSITIVE THIGMOTAXIS: The opposition reflex. This is the MOST DIFFICULT CAUSE OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, because we AUTOMATICALLY FALL VICTIM TO IT.
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