When it comes to solving pet behavior problems, do you tend to be proactive or reactive? In other words, do you wait for your pet to do the unwanted behavior, and then use either punishment or redirection to change it….or, do you anticipate when the behavior is likely to happen and take steps to prevent the behavior from happening?
More often than not, what I see and hear about is the reactive approach. And, not surprisingly, I also hear a lot about attempts to stop or change behavior that are not effective.
There are a number of reasons for this. Among them, once the behavior has been practiced, your dog (or other pet) is already potentially learning that the behavior works to get a reinforcement. It could be that the behavior has helped your dog get distance from something aversive or it could be that the behavior caused your dog to get something really awesome like attention, a treat, or the opportunity to move closer to another dog.
If you try to redirect your dog to do a different behavior AFTER the unwanted behavior has begun, you may actually be reinforcing what you do not like. That is because you more than likely will direct your dog to do something with which your dog already has a positive association – and that will happen as a consequence to the unwanted behavior.
If you try to use a punishment like yelling, squirting your dog, or popping the leash, a number of things could be affecting your outcome. It could be that the reinforcement for doing the unwanted behavior far outweighs the aversion of your punishment or it could be that the timing of your punishment is off so that it is not associated with the unwanted behavior. Additionally, punishment alone does not teach your pet what you would rather it do instead to get its needs and wants met.
I also try to minimize the use of punishment in training as much as possible because it does not create a love of learning; it can create apathy, submission, or even aggression; and it can be associated with me.
Instead of being reactive, a much more positive approach is to be proactive in solving pet behavior issues. This means thinking ahead. If you can predict that in a given environment, under certain circumstances, that your pet is likely to behave in a certain way; you can take steps to manage things differently so as to prevent your pet from doing the unwanted behavior, while reinforcing your pet heavily for doing behaviors that are acceptable to you. It also means thinking and planning ahead as to what skills will be useful for your pet to know to help you both succeed when needed.
Instead of waiting for your dog to jump on a guest, and then yank a leash or ask your dog to sit, you could anticipate; and as an example, have your dog behind a gate when visitors arrive. Then ask your dog to sit before they interact with your dog.
Instead of waiting for your dog to bark and lunge at other dogs across the street, you can practice with your dog at a distance where your dog can continue to see the dogs and focus back on you, that looking at other dogs while on a loose leash causes super awesome treats to appear.
