Do you need to see a dog do something to stop it? Many people think you do, because dog trainers taught them that we must reward good behavior to see more of it and punish bad behavior to stop it. I disagree.
How can I affect or change dogs’ behavior without seeing them perform it? I build habits. It’s done by controlling the timing of events and the dog’s environment. I use those controls to teach the dogs the boundaries and expectations I have for their behavior. In other words, teach them good manners. Good manners include the ability to match their energy level to the situation and environment. When a dog practices good manners, they also practice impulse control, and anything a dog practices, they’ll get good at.
Most of the time, I don’t do anything impressive. I do the same things whether a dog behaves well or misbehaves when I am handling them. I do not rely on cookies or corrections to ensure good dog behavior. I know we can stop bad behavior and encourage good behavior without seeing the dog perform.
I practice teaching the dog to be calm and patient on the leash, calm and patient while walking with me on the leash, calm while sniffing and exploring on the leash, calm and patient when I leave them alone, calm and patient when told to stay in a particular place, and that I start and end playtime, letting the dog know that I expect them to be calm and patient before we play and return to that state after we are finished.
Manners start at home. If a dog does not live within their owners’ boundaries and expectations, we can not expect them to respect anyone else’s. When a dog learns at home that some behaviors are more pleasing to their owners than others and practices self-control by refraining from those behaviors, they get better at refraining from behaviors their owners do not like outside of the home and in public.
Practicing good manners at home allows us to experiment and teach without major distractions. That makes it easier for the dog to understand manners. Through practice at home, we learn how to enforce good manners with minimal effort. Once the dog understands, it becomes simple to reinforce good manners in public using the same techniques you use at home.
When we teach and reinforce manners at home, we help our dog form mannerly habits. That means we can set our dogs up for success and establish a default level of behavior. Habits do not require reinforcement, because they are behaviors without thought. The dog behaves without expecting reward or punishment.
Contact us to learn more. As always, thank you for reading, and Enjoy Your Dog!!!