Eight Steps to Eliminating Your Dog's Bad Behavior

1: Distinguish what your dog is doing wrong - Don't worry about what you think he is feeling or thinking, just determine the actual behavior that is bothering you.

2: Make a written record of the bad behavior - Write down any bad behaviors you see for a week. Note how many times they occur, the time of day that they occurred and the circumstances surrounding the occurrence (what was happening inside and outside the house). This will give you clues to what is actually causing the behavior, help you see any patterns and will be your baseline from which you can measure improvement from week to week.

3: Find out if there is something physically wrong with your dog - Get a thorough examination at the vet and make sure there isn't some underlying physical cause of the problem.

4: Compile a list of words, phrases and objects that make your dog feel good - use your knowledge of his/her behavior and responses and write down the things that excite your dog the most (i.e. "Go for a walk?", seeing a doggie treat, the sound of a leash, etc.)

5: Develop a hypothesis - theorize why you dog is doing what he is doing, whether the behavior is filling a psychological, biological or social need and determine an alternative behavior that might fulfill this need. You may have to do a little spying and testing to determine this. Try to think like your dog.

6: Head off the bad behavior - Now that you have a theory as to why the problem is occurring try to prevent the bad behavior. You may want to use one of the "feel good" items from your list, give him something more interesting to do, or block his access the the area where the behavior is happening and make them forget about doing the bad behavior.

7: Create a new habit - Find an appropriate behavior that will fulfill your dogs needs and using positive reinforcement train him to do this new behavior as a distraction from the bad behavior until it becomes a habit. Give tons of praise to encourage the new behavior.

8: Measure results - Once you have begun to establish a new habit continue to track the incidence of bad behaviors and compare it to the original record. If you see improvement, continue to add consistent reinforcement. If you don't see improvement, go back to your hypothesis and consider the assumptions you have made about your dogs motivation and possible causes and start again.

More detailed step-by-step dog training information


Save Your Dog's Life    Video Training Course    Dog House Training    Dog Training