How do you stop a dog from doing something you would like it not to do? It is not always easy, especially when the dog has made up his mind to do it. Here are some tips to help you change your dog's bad habits.
Steps
Step 1. Dogs act according to what they get
Any behavior of the dog, good or bad, is kept because that way the dog gets what he wants. If it is bad behavior, think about what he gets that way and eliminate it; wrong behavior will cease or change. For example, dogs normally jump on people when they enter the house because they somehow attract attention when they do. Don't give him any attention and you will see that he will stop jumping on him and try to do something else. You can divert attention by saying "oh" with disgust, then turn around and leave the room (closing the door works particularly well). Wait a few seconds and try to re-enter the room; repeat the procedure until the dog behaves differently. Reinforce the new behavior by entering the room and giving the dog the attention it seeks.
Step 2. Dogs do not generalize well and are very contextual
It means that they are not able to make progress in learning as people do. We see a paper tree and consider it as a tree. We see a real tree and consider it as a tree. We see a tree on TV and consider it as a tree. These are generalizations. Dogs don't think that way. For your dog, these are 3 very different things and they can't all be trees. A dog example: You teach your dog to sit by giving him a cookie, but always practice in the kitchen. Now you KNOW that you have taught your dog the "sit" command and you take him outside where your husband is and you try to make your dog sit but he looks at you dazed! Dogs are very contextual and do not generalize well! Your dog understands that the "sit" command means he must SIT when he is in the kitchen. You must teach him in 3-5 or more different places before he realizes that the command "sit" has the same meaning EVERYWHERE! "Sitting" in the kitchen is not the same as "sitting" in the garden or in the dog area and so on; that's how your dog thinks.
Step 3. Determine why your dog repeats that wrong behavior
What do you get from that wrong behavior? Your attention, for better or for worse? Does it turn into a fun game for him? Again, take away what you get by doing this and that bad behavior will change.
Step 4. Observe your behavior
Are you at his complete disposal and yell or do you persuade him to stop with a ruse? Maybe that's just what your dog wants from you. The attention that is expressed with anger is still attention; your dog craves to be noticed and to be part of the pack. If you notice him or focus your attention on him only when he throws a tantrum, you are responsible for his bad "education".
Step 5. Eliminate behavioral stimuli
Once you have established what your dog gets by behaving badly, you can eliminate the attention or action that stimulates such behavior.
Step 6. If you have adopted an adult dog with habits that seem impossible to change:
relax, I'm not. Remember that dogs are very attached to the context in which they find themselves and this is to our advantage. Now the dog is part of a new pack and has a new home and if you set your boundaries and expectations right away as soon as he enters his new home, he will learn. Sometimes when dealing with innate behavior like that of a border collie looking after the children in the neighborhood instead of the flock of sheep, you can't easily train them not to. It is much easier to manage the situation by keeping him away from running children than to try to train him to break the habit.
Step 7. Eliminate material stimuli
If you have some objects, toys, plants, etc. in your house or garden. that seem to arouse reactions in your dog, consider eliminating them, at least until the dog is free from obsession with that particular object. It may require some detective work or it may be incredibly obvious! Give him a game he likes, which he will play with for an hour. Get a rawhide bone, a real bone, or a game that is safe to chew on. If there is a way to fill it with treats, the dog will spend even more hours trying to get the treats out. The concept of "taking a plastic Easter egg, filling it with treats and then putting it in an even bigger egg" is good, but ingesting the plastic could endanger your dog. Use your creativity to create a safer version.
Step 8. Reward positive behavior
When your dog behaves the way you want, for example he lies down instead of barking, reward him. He is more likely to repeat that desired behavior rather than the "wrong" one. After you abandon the incentives for wrong behaviors and constantly introduce incentives for the right behaviors, your dog will soon learn which reaction you prefer.
Step 9. Moderate your behavior
Try to stop screaming, convincing your dog with a trick or reacting in any way that gives your dog the impression that you are enthusiastic, willing to play or focused on him. Although you may be very irritated, even angry, the dog may mistake your attitude for wanting to play or "join him". Resist the temptation. Ignoring it and staying silent is better than screaming; clean up the mess he made later, after sending it somewhere else.
Step 10. If the dog runs away from you and goes into hiding, you have a lot of work to do to mend the damaged relationship with him
Your dog's trust in you has been damaged and it will take a lot of persistence and positive 'reinforcement' training on your part to fix the broken relationship with him and turn it into something wonderful!
Advice
- Make him a game he can use.
- Search the internet for "clicker training" or "positive reinforcement training". This is the "method" of learning used by those who train dolphins to teach them all those wonderful behaviors.
- Use rewards when he behaves well.
- Enroll your dog in an obedience class to open the lines of communication. Your dog will behave much better if you learn how to communicate what you want, as well as what you don't want.
- If the obedience course is not enough for you, you may want to consider going to a kind of "dog psychologist" who can communicate with your dog trying to find the cause of his wrong behavior.
Warnings
- If you have punished your dog more than 3 times for the same behavior, the punishment is not adequate. Remember, insanity means repeating the same things over and over and expecting different results!
- Punishment does not eliminate the root behavior, it only weakens it temporarily. Punishment techniques must be performed in perfect timing - anything done after 3 seconds will have no effect on the behavior you want to discourage, as the dog will no longer associate punishment with wrong behavior.
- Do your research before choosing a trainer!
- Come up with a way to make the dog's environment "punish" him and not you. For example, a pile of empty soda cans arranged so that they fall when the dog goes to the garbage can.
- Remember that once your dog's misbehavior has been temporarily discouraged with punishment, it is a good time to teach him what you would like him to do. That would be a good time to use positive reinforcement to teach him what to DO instead of what NOT to DO.
- Punishing your dog physically will ruin your relationship with him and possibly make the problem worse. The punishment does not have to be physical, removing all attention from him or cleaning the dog's face with a cloth soaked in water can be punishments that the dog understands. Don't hit or abuse your dog in any way. It is a crime but, worst of all, it breaks the bond between man and dog.
