If you have a dog that continues to move to the end of the leash, bark for attention, jump on people, or bump your leg at the dinner table despite your best efforts to teach an alternative behavior, there are many reasons it could be happening. One of those reasons could actually be that you are inadvertently teaching your dog a behavior chain – and those behaviors are part of it. [Read more…] about How Behavior Chains Cause Dog Behavior Problems
stopping a dog problem behavior
Stopping Unwanted Pet Behaviors
I get asked a lot when I talk to people about focusing on what they want their pets to do, “But what do I do to tell my pet NO when he is doing something I don’t like?” [Read more…] about Stopping Unwanted Pet Behaviors
Stopping Your Dog From Biting The Leash
I have seen and heard about the problem with large and small dogs and puppies. Instead of walking with all four paws on the ground on a loose leash as their head is facing forward or slightly to the side, they are grabbing at the leash to pull it, chew on it or play with it. (NOTE: I will refer to this as ‘bad leash behavior’ in this post.) Ugh, it is a frustrating problem! [Read more…] about Stopping Your Dog From Biting The Leash
Why Ignoring A Pet Problem Behavior Is Not Enough
Dog Training Tip:
When you are trying to stop your pet’s unwanted behavior, do you ‘try’ to ignore it or ignore it ‘most of the time’? Whenever I am meeting with a client and hear those words, right away I know that is a good indicator of why that behavior has become so resilient. Intermittent reinforcement is when you ‘sometimes’ give an animal a valued outcome for that behavior…and it builds very strong behaviors. That is why ignoring alone just does not work ‘most of the time’. Learn about another strategy in my blog post: http://goo.gl/7H2C1U [Read more…] about Why Ignoring A Pet Problem Behavior Is Not Enough