The behavior that a dog has in its adult stage is directly related to the puppy's education and if it has been carried out correctly (socialization, positive reinforcement, animal welfare). When this has not been the case, strange, aggressive or fearful behaviors begin to appear.
In this article on our site we are going to explain to you whether or not it is possible to correct a dog's behavior and what kind of tools are used for this.
Do not forget that it is not always possible to modify the behavior of a dog, especially if we are not professionals or if the animal has this behavior deeply rooted. Keep reading:
What behaviors need to be modified?
The dog is an animal with its own autonomy, that is, we cannot control everything it does in its day to day life. Many people get upset when their dog does not walk with them on the street or when he runs around the house instead of being "calm". Each animal has its personality and understanding that we do not have a robot by our side is essential to continue with this article.
The behavioral problems, for example, are behaviors that we must modify since they do not allow the dog (also us) to carry a normal daily routine. Some examples of behavior problems are:
- Aggressiveness
- Separation Anxiety
- Fear
- Stress
- Stereotypes
- Barks
Even so there are other behaviors, such as the dog jumping on people, which is not always to our liking, and that makes us want to modify or eliminate this habit. Is that possible? Keep reading.
Is it possible to modify any behavior?
It is important to understand that it is not always possible to modify a dog's behaviors, especially if they are deeply ingrained. For example, a sparred dog will take a long time to trust other dogs not to bite him again, in some cases it will never be possible to create a normal play environment with another dog.
Another detail to take into account is the correct diagnosis of the dog's behaviour. Many people claim that their dogs are "aggressive" towards others, when really it is fear. Generally we can detect what the problem is, but sometimes we must go to a professionalto tell us what is really happening to our dog and why he acts So. The specialist, for example an ethologist, will also give us guidelines to follow.
Steps prior to behavior modification
Before starting to work on modifying a behavior, whatever it may be, it is important to take into account the animal welfare of our dog: if it suffers joint pain, is thirsty or does not have any comfort, it is important fix it beforehand. A dog that does not have animal welfare in his life will probably not respond optimally to our instructions. We cannot demand anything from him if we do not take proper care of him.
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is an excellent tool to reward the dog's behaviors that we do like. Using positive reinforcement is good for strengthening your relationship and also makes him understand more quickly what you expect from him.
If you're trying to modify your dog's chewing on your shoes, for example, rewarding him when he chews on his toys is a great way to reinforce a behavior. On the other hand, if your dog is extremely fearful, rewarding him when he interacts with other dogs will make him understand that this behavior is good. Use tasty treatsfor dog or frankfurter bits to increase the effectiveness of reinforcement and his attention on you
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to elicit reflex responses, after being repeatedly associated with an unconditioned stimulus. Once that has happened, the neutral stimulus is called the conditioned stimulus.
Classical conditioning allows you to modify behavior by controlling the stimuli your dog receives. It is widely used in dog training to solve some behavior problems.
How does it work?
For a few days you will need to "carry" your dog with a very specific sound. It can be a click, a kiss, a whistle, a snap of the fingers… After making the sound you must reward him with a dog snack, for example. You should practice for two or three days at home charging this sound. After this time, upon hearing this stimulus, the dog will come towards us to receive its reward.
If we have, for example, a dog that reacts very badly to other dogs, we can use classical conditioning to modify his behavior little by littleThe idea is that whenever another dog is found, and just before reacting or barking, we call his attention with this system and then reward him. We must not use the sound of the charge with anything other than the behavior that we want to modify since we could confuse the dog.
Being rewarded for good behavior is positive reinforcement. In addition, we distract him from the stimulus that causes him to react and at the same time we teach him that when he finds a dog he should come towards us instead of barking. After many repetitions the dog will begin to understand this new situation.
Behavior Modification Tips
Obviously we must reject any type of physical punishment or mistreatment of the dog when modifying a behavior. This type of behavior can cause serious consequences in your relationship that lead to really serious behavior problems such as aggressiveness towards people or phobias.
On the other hand, we need to make sure that you exercise properly for your physical needs. An excess of stored energy can lead to destructive or excitable behaviors. In addition, exercise usually provides well-being to the animal.
Tips
