Stay CALM!!!!

Sometimes our dogs embarrass us with their actions and we think the best way to respond is to yell at our dog because 1) it’s a very natural reaction us and 2) people around us will see that we’re handling the situation. For instance, your dog is barking his fool head off while you’re on your walk because he sees another dog across the street. You start shouting at him so he’ll calm down. Now you both look like fools barking.

If you’re barking (yes, to your dog, shouting is barking) and stressed, then your dog will be even more tense because he’s reacting to your elevated response. He doesn’t know why you’re yelling, just that you’re yelling. Set the example for him.

At first don’t even talk. Quickly remove you and your dog from the stimulus. Then breathe. Take a moment for the both of you to calm down.

I suggest carrying a fanny pack with you on your next walk. You can store your keys, baggies, phone and most importantly, smelly treats. Dogs use their nose for everything (recent research has indicated that dogs may remember routes by the smell, not by visual clues), so the smellier the treat, the better.

When you see the stimulus again that triggers your dog’s reaction, remain calm (fake it if have to). Next, before your dog gets to that threshold where he doesn’t hear you, either:  place a treat in front of his nose; or call his name, walk the opposite direction and reward him with the treat as soon as he turns his head. If you think your dog can handle seeing the dog, then the treat in front of the nose should get his attention and reward him with it. Have another treat quickly available and keep this treat slot machine going until the stimulus is gone.

If you think your dog’s reaction will escalate quickly just upon seeing another dog, then use the walking opposite direction method. It’s important that he sees the other dog (or whatever causes the reaction) first and then immediately follow with the calling of name, turnaround and rewarding for turning his head and paying attention to you. You have to be quick. Have more treats ready to keep rewarding for paying attention to you and not the stimulus.

The goal is to associate that stimulus with a new feeling, pleasure. It doesn’t matter if it’s fear or aggressive based. Both emotions look and sound very similar to most people. You want to condition him to stimulus = good.

As long as you keep him under that threshold, you will be making progress. If you let him get past that threshold, he isn’t capable of making cognitive decisions. He will not be able to focus on you, no matter how hard you try putting that treat in front of his nose. Plus, it may make matters worse. He can shut down completely or transfer his irritation to you. Neither is healthy.

By using these methods, it’ll be obvious to people that you are working with your dog to improve the behavior. I can personally speak on this level with one of our own dogs, Tristan. He was HIGHLY reactive on leash to dogs not behind a gate/fence on walks in our neighborhood (notice how specific it was). His was fear-based, but it sounded like he wanted to kill the other dog; not, what he was really thinking, which was, “OMG! Get away from me! Get away from me! You’re not getting away from me!! Why won’t you get away from me?”

And his frenzied response would work because eventually the other dog went away. But from his point of view the dog left the scene because of his hysterical behavior, not because the other dog was leaving anyway. So he was being rewarded for that response.

When my husband and I worked with him, people walking their dogs were very encouraging. They would smile and say how well he’s doing and what good boy he was. By us reacting calmly and encouragingly, people reciprocated. With everyone in a relaxed manner, we were able to modify his behavior with longer lasting results.

His “final exam” was when we encountered 2 small dogs wandering the neighborhood. They came right up to him in a friendly, non-threatening approach and he kept his focus on me the entire time. What a good boy!! J Oh, and did I mention that I was by myself with our 2 other dogs on this encounter? It didn’t happen overnight, but with consistent training, he was able to make new and better associations.

Remember, no one wins a shouting match. Remain calm and be the example for your dog.

Training Before Behavior Modification

You might be thinking, “What does teaching my dog commands have to do with teaching her not to do that annoying habit?” It has everything to do with it. Training and behavior modification go hand in hand (or paw in paw as the case may be); they are not isolated skills despite what a certain popular dog psychologist may lead us to believe.

So many times I’ve heard people say they love everything about their dog, except (fill in blank). They wish she wouldn’t do this or that. Ask them what they would like her to do instead and they tilt their head a little and look confused.

We get so focused on what we DON’T want our dog to do, that we forget what we DO want our dog to do. For example, if you don’t want your dog to jump on people, what would like her to do instead? Sit? Go to her bed? Well, tell her that. It really can be that simple.

That was my Ah-Ha moment in dog training. When my trainer explained instead of focusing on what not to do, focus on what you want your dog TO do.

I can say, “No, no, no, stop it, stop it, stop it, blah, blah, blah…” all day long to my dog. But if I never tell her when she’s doing something right, she’ll try to keep guessing (and consequently be stressed) or worse, give up and resign to being a blob. Does this sound familiar in our own lives? How many of us have had bosses where we felt like we can’t do anything right because our boss was always pointing out the things we did wrong. Yet she never gave us appropriate feedback of what she wanted to see happen instead?

Also how many times have we completely ignored when our dog was being a well-mannered little girl and only comment when she goes berserk? We just missed tons of opportunities to say, “Yeah, good job!”

In every behavior modification, I start by teaching owners and their dogs basic (and sometimes advanced) commands. Then, we move towards that goal of getting rid of those annoying habits (from our perspective!). I’ll sometimes put those annoying behaviors on command to give the dog an opportunity to still ‘misbehave’, but it’s in a controlled setting. And I control it by turning it on and off.

Going back to the jumping example. This is where teaching your dog commands meets behavior modification. Teach your dog to sit. If your dog is sitting, she can’t be jumping. If sitting is still too tempting for her to bounce up, then teach her to go to her bed. This removes her from the super excited situation of “Oh my God, my butt is wiggling so hard that I can’t control it”. It also gives her something to do that will teach her the self-control she needs until the situation isn’t so exciting anymore.

You can also teach your dog to jump on command. WooHoo, an opportunity to be a dog and jump. Have you seen how dogs greet each other? Especially labs and bully breeds. They don’t just shake hands, how do you do; they body slam each other like basketball players coming off the court after a 3-pointer. Just be sure to immediately follow the jump cue with a sit cue to keep her from getting too excited again. 

Kajta, Jump

Kajta, Sit

So, the next time you get frustrated at what your dog is doing, tell her a command instead. By consistently giving her things to do, you’ll also be building upon your relationship in a positive way. 

Cheers!