Building Respect by Reinforcing Desirable Behaviors

 

I read a lot of books and articles about animal training… dog training in particular since there are so many articles about that.  Many of them use so many smart words and complex ideas that if I try to buy it all, my head begins to spin.  How could I possibly determine the future effects of genetic mayhem on an animal behavior will be?  How can we humans ever hope to read our dogs’ minds clearly enough to analyze the effect of being deserted by their immoral mothers at the tender age of six weeks?  Is it even remotely logical to pronounce that Fido is a victim of previous-owner abuse because he cowers when male humans approach?  And most of all, how can we be SURE any of that is relevant?  Fido sure ain’t talkin’!

 

It’s no wonder so many pet trainers… much less the average Joe Dog Owner… get confused and perplexed.  I’ve had four pet trainers tell me in recent weeks that their clients don’t want to hear about behavior.  I respectfully beg to differ.  They do, or they wouldn’t be the clients of dog trainers!  What other possible reason could anyone have for coming to see a dog trainer or behaviorist?  They don’t have to pay the big bucks to hear how adorable their pooches are.  They can do that by dropping by PetsMart for free on a Sunday afternoon.   They pay money to learn about how to manage their dogs’ behavior.  Pure and simple. 

 

I am beginning to get the impression that trainers are more afraid of hearing the word “behavior” than pet owners are.  What’s most perplexing of all to me is that many dog trainers who don’t want to talk about behavior are quite at home talking about things like leadership, respect and relationships.  If we can’t get a handle on behavior, how can we possibly understand anything about these concepts? 

 

 

The simple question here is, how do you determine when leadership is taking place?  How do you determine when respect is taking place?  How do you identify a good relationship?  You do it by observing behavior.  Creating change in these these concepts without considering their basic components is like trying to make a cake from scratch without knowing what ingredients go into a cake.  Unfortunately there is no convenient “relationship mix” you can pick up at the store and just add water.  If you want respect, you have to do something about behavior first.  Yours, AND your animals’. 

 

What these trainers and owners don’t want is to hear more complex terminology they don’t understand.  The good news is that it only takes a few easy-to-understand behavioral concepts to change behavior. 

 

The most important is reinforcement.  Behaviors that are followed by reinforcing consequences last.  When a dog sits, give him a treat.  When a dog is momentarily calm around dogs they’re scared of, give them a break from the scary dog.  Isn’t that a lot easier to understand and live with than, “Your dog must respect you or you’ll never fix Problem X.”  What on Earth is respect?  What does it look like?  How do you know when you have it?  By looking at behavior.  And behavior is built with reinforcement.

 

Reinforcement is also the basic principle for understanding undesirable behavior.  If you see an animal that persistently performs some behavior, figure out what the animal gets out of that behavior.  Does he dig because he’s bored?  If so, provide him with activities you prefer.  Does he dig because digging is fun?  Providing him with his own place to dig, such as a child’s plastic pool full of dirt with toys hidden inside, while making sure he doesn’t have access to your flower beds when he isn’t supervised. 

 

If you just know this much you’re well on your way to lasting and dramatic behavior change with your pets and your family.  If they learn that pleasing you always results in fun things happening (such as favorite foods and activities) they’ll love pleasing you.

 

Remember this:  The dog’s behavior is a reflection of what’s reinforced in his world.  It’s not a moral imperfection for Fido to be “disrespectful” nor for you to have a “bad relationship” with your dog.  Make desirable behavior work for Fido with reinforcement, and you’ll have a dog you can define as respectful.  The exciting thing is that once they learn that pleasing you is fun, respect and a delightful relationship will follow automatically. 

 

Kellie Snider, Copyright 2005