11/15/2023
There are five natural outlets for dogs: running, digging, chewing, barking (guarding) and play (chase and acquisition, aka hunting and predatory behavior). These are natural behaviors that all dogs desire, some more than others. It is our job to provide our dogs outlets for those behaviors as there is no way to extinguish these behaviors 100%, because these are the fibers that make a dog... a dog.
How do we minimize unwanted behaviors? Training and management!
What's the difference between the two? And how do you know which to utilize?
Training does NOT change your dogs’ preferences, personality or desires. Training allows us to get more control of our dogs by interrupting their thought process with a task that is incompatible with the behavior we are trying to mitigate. Those tasks are heel, sit, down, stay, and recall, generically speaking.
For instance... Your dog (we'll call him Max) is chasing a squirrel, and suddenly it darts across the street. You call out, "Max, COME!" and Max turns on a dime and runs back to you (because you have trained Max well through the process of repetition, with evidence-based, scientific training techniques).
Did your recall prevent Max from being squashed by the oncoming car? YES.
Did Max want to catch the squirrel? YES.
If Max still wants to chase squirrels in the future, does that mean he is NOT TRAINED?! ......NO.
Why? Because chasing prey is innately DOG. And 'Training' is not 'Programming.' We cannot CTL+ALT+DLT hardwired system components!
Training uses incompatible behaviors to eliminate problem behaviors. For example, a dog cannot jump on your guests if they have a bomb-proof sit, or they are on their place cot (stay). The dog cannot lunge at passing dogs (or try to visit them) if they are busy focusing on heeling while on leash. Training interrupts the natural behavior and replaces it with something HUMANS value, instead.
Management prevents a dog from being able to perform unwanted behaviors by creating an environment that supports our behavior goals. Supervision, using a leash, using a crate, fencing or barricades, dog runs, etc. are all examples of management that can block the opportunity for the dog to make bad decisions.
So ultimately, Max cannot be loose and unsupervised around squirrels. He needs a human to interrupt that innate, voice in his head that says, "GET THE SQUIRREL..." AND/OR, he needs a fence, or some form of containment to prevent him from chasing the squirrel into the street (aka Management).
More examples....
Digging? If your dog is digging in the yard, you cannot train them out of it. You can supervise them in the yard, and interrupt the behavior with a training command. You can correct (punish) digging as it occurs, you can build a dog run with buried wire or concrete flooring, and/or give them an appropriate area to dig (doggy sand box with toys and goodies burried inside!). This is the training/management COMBO.
The same goes for barking at passer-bys out the window (guarding), aggression towards prey animals or other dogs (same), a desire to run off if given the opportunity (looking at you, huskies!), and other primal desires our dogs are born with.
It is important to both respect our dogs for the animals they are, and help them navigate our very human world safely.
Learn to think like a dog trainer by asking yourself if you have spent the time to teach the dog what to do INSTEAD. What does your dog know (well), and how can that skill counteract what your dog is doing that bothers you, or is unsafe?
What form of management can help you block the unwanted behavior in the first place?
