Everyday Training to Avoid Problem Behaviours

Without even using commands, you can mould your dog’s behaviour to be almost always GOOD!

So many people don’t know what it means to reward a good behaviour. They are waiting for a good behaviour to occur, and they don’t recognize it when it happens. Or, they just EXPECT dogs to somehow be good, and don’t realize that they won’t keep seeing good behaviours if those behaviours go unrewarded.

Basically, any behaviour that is not a BAD behaviour, is a rewardable good behaviour.

Here is a list to help you know what to look for and what to reinforce with rewards and attention. The behaviour is listed alongside a new way of looking at that behaviour as a way of eliminating or preventing a competitive behaviour which is “bad”:

Sitting (the act of not jumping up)

Quietness (the act of not barking constantly)

Eye Contact (giving you their attention)

Walking on a loose lead (the act of not yanking your arm out of your socket)

Coming to you for any reason (the act of not running away from you, or avoiding you)

Lying still (the act of not racing around like a maniac, jumping, pulling on the leash, or barking)

Bringing you anything (the act of not playing keep away) Even if it’s your Rolex! Wouldn’t you rather have him bring it to you than sneak out the doggie door and bury it in the back garden?

Giving you anything (trusting you; the act of not resource guarding)

Coming or staying near you (keeping tabs on where you are; the act of not wandering off)

If you can do this, you’ve just taught your dog to Come, Sit, Down-Stay, Heel, Retrieve, Not Jump and Not Bark, and you didn’t even have to attend an obedience class or even use training equipment.

All you have to do is watch for one of these behaviours to occur, and pop a treat in the dog’s mouth. This is so simple, yet so many people fail to do it and end up with the “nightmare dog.”

How do you reward or reinforce these behaviours? You can use anything that is pleasing to the dog, such as a throw of his favourite toy, or a food treat.

Praise alone doesn’t mean much to a dog unless it is followed by food. Use a reward that you know your dog likes. If you see the dog performing the rewarded behaviour more regularly, that means it’s working.

So you think you’re feeding your dog all the time – well, which is best, rewarding him or punishing him?

If you don’t reward the listed behaviours, THEY WILL GO AWAY and be replaced by self-reinforcing behaviours, like barking, digging, running and chasing things.

A dog will only perform behaviours that are productive for him. Don’t expect a dog to know to be good. Telling him he is good by rewarding with a treat or an unexpected play session is a great way for him to form positive associations with those behaviours.

And hopefully he will then want to perform those rewarded behaviours ALL THE TIME!

You won’t have to feed your dog for being good for the rest of his life, as good HABITS are hard to break.

Just as once bad habits are formed, they are equally hard to break. So why not get it right first time and REWARD those simple behaviours that you’ve been taking for granted!

Open your eyes and open your treat bag! What you reward is what you’ll get.

A punishment is withholding a reward. You never have to get any nastier than that. The most powerful punisher is to ignore the dog. This means no reaction at all, not even eye contact, as this could be perceived by the dog as successfully getting your attention.