Real Life and Responsibility

Okay, so sometimes we get frustrated with our dogs and with dog ownership itself. This is normal, and it’s healthy to acknowledge our feelings. However, it is also healthy to follow up our venting with a search for solutions.

Here’s a little exercise to get you started. Get a piece of paper and make four columns. Put the following in each column:

1.In the first column, make a list of the doggy behaviors that drive you nuts. Keep it simple: jumps on people, barks too much, pulls on leash, etc.

2.In the second column, think very hard about how your dog is being reinforced for this behavior. In other words, what is the result, what does the dog get when she pulls on leash? Does she get where she’s going? When she jumps on people, does she get attention? What’s the payoff?

3.In column three, write what you would like the dog to do instead. This can be tougher than it sounds! You can’t use the word “not”. The answer can’t be, “I want the dog to not jump up.” The answer can be, “I want the dog to sit when meeting people.”

4.In column four, think about how you can reinforce the behavior you want in column three. For example, “Move forward only when the leash is loose.”

Now, look at column two. These are the things that YOU must stop doing. Column one will not disappear until column two stops happening.

Look at column three. These are the things YOU must start doing. Column three will not start happening until column four is happening consistently.

Yes, you have it right. I am saying that the answer to changing your dog’s behavior is to change your own behavior. You must make a deliberate, planned, intentional effort to pay special attention to the behavior you want from your dog, while also making a deliberate, planned and intentional effort to actively ignore those behaviors that you don’t want.

Acknowledging our feelings and venting our frustration is healthy and normal. It’s called feeling your feelings or expressing your emotions. However, doing so continually without ever taking the leap into implementing solutions becomes nothing more than whining and useless complaining. Our dogs can’t train themselves. It has to start with us.

Here’s to a new year of training and commitment to doggy solutions! What are your dog training resolutions for 2009?