Not all undesirable dog behaviors necessitate training solutions; The best way to stop a dog from doing the unwanted behaviours is sometimes to control the dog's environment.
What if there was a you could change the way your dog acts without having to train him?
Well, it's possible for these things to happen. These objectives can be achieved through management, which is the art of controlling your dog's environment to prevent him from being reinforced for undesirable behaviors. It is an extremely valuable component of any effective program for behaviour modification or training.
For most training and behaviour modification, management is the best response to the majority of enquiries that professional dog trainers receive, such as "How do I stop my dog from..." (insert behaviour)
While the dog is learning a new, more appropriate behavior, management is often required. It takes the pressure of of both of you to “get it right” - if you’re not able to train, manage.
How to Change a Dog's Habits in Three Steps?
I get my clients to implement management & training with a three-step method for reprogramming or preventing undesirable behaviors: The formula heavily relies on management.
Step 1: Rephrase the problem: Choose what you want the dog to do rather than what you don't want him to do.
Step 2: Control: How will you prevent the dog from receiving a reward for the undesirable behaviour, as rewarded behaviours are reinforced; essentially, the dog is more likely to repeat the actions. He will be less likely to do them again if you can prevent him from being rewarded for them. Believe it or not, the management portion of this step is frequently the easiest step.
Step 3: Train: rewarding your dog on a regular basis for the desired behavior that was identified in the first step. Despite the fact that this is the hardest part, your efforts in Step 2 will make it easier to work with.
The three-step procedure can be used to deal with a number of behaviours that owners frequently describe as unwanted . Here are some examples.
Examples of when dog management is preferable to training include:
"How do I stop my dog from jumping up?"
Step 1 - rephrase : How can I teach my dog to sit or at least keep all four feet on the ground when greeting others?
Step 2 - Manage: Make sure your dog doesn't get rewarded for jumping on people by controlling his environment. The following tools are available to you:
A lead to keep him under control when people come near; Only when he sits or stays on the floor can they give him a treat or attention.
Crate, pen, and closed doors allow you to keep him safe and prevent him from practicing his jumping-up behaviour when you are unable to closely supervise her interactions with guests. Stay at a distance where he can not jump up at the guests
Education. Before they meet the dog for the first time, provide your guests with information about how to respond appropriately to his jumping up.
Exercise - mental and physical exercise to ensure you have met the needs of your dogs, prior to your guests showing up.
Step 3 - Train: Reward him on a regular basis for sitting or staying on the floor when greeting guests.
"How do I prevent my dog from destroying my books, furniture, shoes, and other belongings?"
Step 1 - rephrase: How can I get him to only chew on his own appropriate items?
Step 2 - Manage: Keep him from getting rewarded for chewing on objects that aren't appropriate. Shoes, books, and furniture all have a nice texture that is appealing, especially if the dog is a puppy or young dog who is teething. You can control this behavior with a variety of tools:
Restrict access to areas such as play rooms/children’s rooms.
Putting him in a crate, pen, or on a lead if necessary, or removing him from the room when non-chewable items could within dog's reach.
Keeping a close eye on the dog and offering appropriate chew toys to keep her away from inappropriate objects will help.
Exercise - mentally and physically; a bored dog will find things to occupy themselves with!!
Step 3 - Training: Give him Kongs filled with food that she can't resist chewing on, as well as other safe items such as beef hide, pizzles, yak bars. He will eventually develop a strong preference for chewing on items that are acceptable if he is given the opportunity to do so, and your personal belongings will remain safe.
"How can I get my dog to stop stealing food from the counter, coffee table, and table?"
Step 1 - Rephrase: How can I get him to only eat food in his bowl or on the floor?
Remember, dogs are opportunistic in nature. Zero morals in regards to food. In the wild, a dog who eats food when and where he finds it is smarter and has a much better chance of surviving than one who ignores food because it is above eye level.
Step 2 - Manage: It is obvious that the food he finds on counters tastes good. So never leave your dog alone in a room with food on the table (even for a minute) or leave food on the counter to reward him for counter-surfing.
Make use of these tools for management:
shut doors or use baby gates to prevent access to room if the food must be left out.
Cupboards. Put away food! Simple!! Never offer it as a countersurfing opportunity.
Crates and pens; to stop him from getting food you don't want him to have whilst you are eating.
Exercise; I think we know why now!!
Step 3 - Train: keep rewarding him for ignoring the food on the counter and keeping all four feet on the ground around tables and counters with food. He will learn to offer his "mat" behaviour in the presence of food if you generously reinforce him for lying on his "mat" in areas with food.
We could go on, but you should have figured it out by now. Rephrase, manage, and train are the three simple steps you can use whenever you face a behaviour challenge to create a plan for managing and/or changing the inappropriate behaviour.
Management Will Make Your Life Easier
There are also situations in which it makes far more sense to manage the environment to prevent the behaviour from occurring rather than devote time and effort to training.
Criticism of the Behavior Management Method
Some professionals in dog training criticize management. Some trainers will say, "Management always fails," . They mean, for instance, that if you rely on baby gates and doors to protect your elderly cat from your cat-chasing dog, there is a good chance that someone will fail to completely close a gate or door at some point.
Every time I hear this, it makes me shudder a little "they should just learn!!!!" Management is a crucial aid in a successful training program in my view, and it can also be crucial to the long-term success of living with canine behavior issues. A well-thought-out and well-implemented behaviour management plan, will make HUGE improvements to training.
Naturally, that does not mean that we completely forego training. There are times when we choose to manage the dog's behaviour for the dog's entire life, and there are many situations in which we manage behaviour until we are successful in training or modifying behaviour.
Management has a high risk of failure, and two factors determine whether we choose management as a short-term or long-term solution:
1 - The possibility of managerial failure
2 - The repercussions in the event of management failure
If the probability of management failure is low and consequences are minor, then management can be a realistic solution. The higher both factors rise, the more important it is to work to modify your dog’s behaviour rather than relying on a lifetime of management.
Probability of Management Failure
In any given situation, a number of factors determine the likelihood of management failure. These are some:
– The number of people living in the house. There is a greater likelihood of error among more people.
– Family members with children.
– Humans in the home—adults or children—who aren't committed to the management plan—or, even worse, who intend to defy it.
– The degree of domestic activity. The likelihood of a management "oops" increases with environment chaos.
– The dog's steadfastness. The greater your dog's persistence and determination to overcome management efforts, the greater his chances of success.
Consequences of Behaviour Management
Failure If you fail to manage a counter-surfer, you might lose the cheese sarnie, you left on the counter or, even worse, the Christmas Turkey!! However, if you are in charge of a dog that does not get along well with children, you run the risk of having a child who is hurt or worse. And that really is something we don't want!!!
What management are you implementing in your dogs training to set them up for success?
Dont forget, there are some areas which may need deeper investigation as to why they may be finding it harder to change the behaviour. Get in contact if you feel you need some pointers.
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