Top Ten Causes of
Serious Behavior Problems in Dogs
- The wrong breed or temperament of dog is chosen for the type of family / living environment. Too many times, people choose a dog for its “look”, rather than its temperment. Also, people tend to ignore the fact that many dogs were purposefully bred to do a particular kind of work. If you get a “working lines” dog, you better be prepared make arrangements for your dog to do the type of work your dog was bred to do, or to find a dog sport that gives your dog an outlet. If you get a dog that was bred to hunt, don’t be alarmed when your dog kills a rabbit in the yard. Research your breed before you choose a dog. If you have children or other pets at home, a temperament test should be done to be sure the dog you choose will be a good match.
- Encouraging a dog to display protective behavior over the home. The most common behavior problem I see is stranger reactivity in the home and yard. The most common correlation to this behavior is an invisible fence in the front yard, or a dog that is allowed to patrol the house from the front window or door. While everyone appreciates a dog that makes us feel safe, nobody wants a dog who is a bite-risk and a liability to an invited guest to your home. Please see my book, The Sentry Dog, for more information about this subject.
- Giving a dog too much freedom too soon. Many well-meaning people want their dog to have a good life. However, dogs need structure and boundaries to keep them safe, especially when they are young. One hundred years ago, when dogs lived primarily outside on farms, they lived much shorter lives. They were often hit by cars or died of poisoning. If you allow your dog off-leash freedom before your dog has a solid recall, you are taking the same risks with your dog. If you give your puppy free reign of the house when you are not home, you take the risk that your puppy could chew an electrical cord or consume a poisonous cleaning solution. It is best for you to train your dog to accept a crate or a exercise pen for when you are not home. Also it is best to gradually work on introducing distractions with a class like Distraction Proofing class before you take your dog off leash at the beach.
- Setting a dog up to fail and punishing the dog, rather than setting up the dog for success and rewarding the dog. Imagine if you took a class on learning a foreign language in which the instructor chastised you every time you got a new word wrong. Now imagine that you took a foreign language class in which your instructor set you up to succeed, and praised you for your achievements. Which instuctor would you prefer? If you have ever had a teacher that made learning fun, try to remember what that felt like. Your dog is learning a new language, that he will never be able to speak, but must learn to understand. Set your dog up for success and keep learning fun.
- Using the outdated “dominance theory” of dog training, rather than a dog training method based on modern, scientific knowledge of animal behavior. If you fall for this very outdated method of dog training, your dog will learn to fear you, but not to trust you. You don’t have to prove that you are bigger and stronger than your dog…you only have to prove that you are smarter. True leadership is about controlling the things that the dog needs (like food), and making sure the dog has to WORK for a living. In other words, a dog should earn its meals, and sit before getting to go outside or sit before being petted.
- Not being more reinforcing as a dog trainer than the environmental reinforcements your dog is receiving. The greatest obstacle you face in training your dog is that squirrels are more exciting than you are. In fact, sometimes dirt is more exciting than you are. Dogs are reinforced by the environment at an alarming rate. If all you offer your dog is correction, and no reinforcement, your dog is going to choose reinforcement over correction every time. However, if you build a relationship with your dog in which the dog is reinforced by you a high rate for desirable behaviors, you will be a contender in the world of what the dog finds reinforing and worth its attention. Reinforcers can include food, toys, play, and attention.
- Believing that dogs should work simply to please you. Many people have the expectation that if they give a dog a home and provide it with food and medical care, that the dog should simply be grateful and obey the person out of gratitude. The truth of the matter is that if you don’t make the dog “work for its living” (earn its food and play) by offering appropriate behaviors, your dog will take those things for granted. Dolphin trainers have been using this “transactional relationship” philosophy for a long time. After spending time at Dolphin Research Center in a week-long program, I vowed that each new dog of mine would have to work for at least half of its daily intake. This philosophy of “nothing in life is free” works as well with dogs as it does with dolphins.
- Bribing your dog instead of rewarding your dog. The common criticism of positive training methods is that the dog won’t perform a behavior unless the trainer has a treat. The mistake that can be made by inexperienced trainers is producing the treat BEFORE the behavior (luring), rather than AFTER the behavior (rewarding). When using reward-based training, variable ratios of reinforcement need to be introduced to get reliable behavior performance. An educated trainer understands how to build a solid reinforcement history with incremental changes in expectations.
- Not seting up a multi-pet household for success. The most common behavior problem within a multi-pet household is resource guarding (growling, biting another pet to gain possession of a bone, toy, food, resting place, or attention). Resource guarding is a very ritualistic behavior in dogs that can gradually escalate over time. If you have resource guarding in your household, please consider setting up an InHome Consultation.
- Using shock collars, prong collars and choke collars. The use of shock collars in dogs results in one of two outcomes. Either the dog gets a “behavioral labotomy” and chooses “learned helplessness”, or the dog internalizes its rage, waiting for the moment the collar is not on to retaliate. While shock collar trainers promise guaranteed results, I see too many aggression cases that result from repressed rage in dogs. The shock collar trainer and the trainer using prong and choke collars, set the dog up for failure and then punish the dog. But meanwhile, an association is being made between the stimulus (stranger approching the dog) and the response (pain). Studies have shown that using shock collars, prong collars, and choke collars can actually escalate aggression over time.
I have been a Certified Behavior Consultant since 2004. In my many years of behavior consultations, these are the trends I have observed.
Michele Godlevski, ACDBC, CCBC-KA