Taken from one of my mentors - Pawsitively Unleashed! Controlling behavior through consequences All behavior produces consequences, and is a product of them. Simply put, when your dog does something, something happens (naturally or contrived), which increases or decreases the likelihood of the behavior in the future. If you call your dog to you and cause something unpleasant to happen, the likelihood of him coming to you in the future decreases as he will try to avoid this unpleasant experience in the future. Likewise, if your dog gets to you and cookies, games and/or attention appear, he will be more likely to come when called in the future as he will seek out the pleasant experience. Consequences are either naturally occurring or contrived, but always happen; think “for every action there is a reaction.” By managing or controlling the consequences you can better control your dog’s behavior. If you want your dog to respond to you in distracting situations, make sure the best consequence is you, as consequences can also be competing with one another. For example, at the dog park, the dog has many consequence options; he can come to you when called (and potentially have to leave the park) or blow you off to play with another dog, roll in something lovely, chase squirrels, gain attention from a fellow dog-parker and more. It is your job to make your dog see you as the best option there is.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:49:17 +0000
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