Hey dog owners,
Do you sometimes feel completely puzzled when it comes to why your dog behaves a certain way? Whether that be little odd mannerisms or big embarrassing reactions. Well, this blog is the answer behind one of the most common mistakes owners are making with their dogs... too much affection! Hear me out:
Sometimes we overthink the way we are training our dogs when it is simple. Dogs learn or are conditioned to behave a certain way based on the consequences of their actions. When a dog chooses to do something, they are remembering what happened last time they did this and was it good or bad and should they do it again based on what happened. Scientist have called this simple idea operant conditioning. In a nutshell, if when the dog did something and the consequence was good, they will do it again. If the dog did something and the consequence was bad, they won't do it again. Now, we know that it takes some repetitions for our dogs to learn, but that's how our dogs are learning! Simple right? Let's check out some examples:
example one: you come home from work and are excited to see your dog at the door. They have had a long day alone at home and maybe you feel guilty they missed you and they must have been so bored, right? So, your dog jumps up and you hug them and pet them and show them affection because you love them! It feels good to give our dogs affection, especially when they give it right back to us and show us how happy they are to see us too.
BUT
What your dog has learned is actually the bad habit of jumping up on people when they enter your home. You come home – they run and jump up on you – they get affection and rewarded. Now, the next person who enters the home will signal to your dog – oh, someone else to jump up on and they will give me affection.
INSTEAD
wait until your dog is not jumping on you and they are calm before you give them an affectionate welcome. They will learn to not jump on people who come over but to stay in a calmer state in order to get the affection reward.
example two: You're walking your dog down the street and a strange big dog surprisingly Berks from behind a fence and scares your dog. Do you think – oh my that was scary, my poor dog is so scared now. And you pet them and hug them and tell them it's OK. If you have a little dog, you might even scoop them up in your arms to snuggle and kiss them, telling them it's OK and you will save them from all the scary dogs. It feels good that we can protect our dogs and make them feel better.
BUT
What the dog has learned is actually the reaction of being afraid of dogs is correct because when a "scary dog" initiated that fear response in your dog, they reacted with fear and were rewarded with lots of affection. Next time they see a dog, they will respond with fear and it will lead to snuggles and affection.
INSTEAD
When you notice something scares your dog, lead by example and walk calmly and confidently past the scary stimulus. So, you're walking along – strange dog barks – you keep walking and show your dog everything is OK. Your neutral response will show your dog they should be neutral. I recommend you walk past the scary dogs a few times and encourage your dog to give you eye contact, or look to you for guidance. Show them that you are calm and confident and that this barking dog is nothing but neutral.
As dog owners of this day and age, we love our dogs so much and we find it easy to treat them like our children. We give them human thoughts and feelings – which is OK – but we have to remember that they are dogs and they live in the moment and learning a simple way. We are putting our dogs and giving them so much affection because we love them, BUT we have to be cognizant of when we are petting them to make sure that we are not eating our dogs bad habits. When your dog does something and gets pets for it, they will likely be doing that again and again expecting more pets, and that is why – you get what you pet! Think on that and if you have any questions, send them my way. CLICK HERE to CONTACT ME. I'm here to help!
Happy Training!
Aly
Dog trainer,
Animal behaviourist
Whitby, ON