Behavioral Modification

Behavior Modification is the means to resolving behavioral issues. Obedience training cannot accomplish behavior modification. In fact, teaching obedience commands to solve a behavioral problem can and often does get in the way of helping the dog resolve his or her problem. For instance, if a dog is stressed or anxious in a given context, forcing him to perform some obedience exercise sit, lay down, whatever, can add to the stress or anxiety. That, in turn, does nothing to change the stress or anxiety he may have within that context and leaves the dog with the same behavioral problem. Or, if your dog is doing something you do not like, having him down-stay may stop the behavior at that time, but again, it does nothing to address the behavior or its possible cause.

Obedience training can give you the control needed to prevent a number of potential life threatening situations. For example: If the door is left open and you see your dog letting himself out, you can safely call him back using your recall command. Or if your dog slips his collar, you can command him to sit (he can't run off when he's sitting) to get the collar back on, etc. Obedience Training can also serve to strengthen the bond between you. It builds understanding, mutual respect, and teaches you how to "speak dog."

Although the benefits of obedience training are many, it has little to do with behavior modification. For example, if your dog is in the habit of running off, your recall command may stop and return the dog to you, however, the recall command does nothing to address the running off in the first place. Or, if your dog is aggressive, you may be able to "call the dog off" but again, it does nothing to address the aggression or its possible cause. If your dog is fearful of something and you can get him to sit or lay down, it will not change the dog's fear response. Behavior modification utilizes the behaviors differently. Significantly, behavior modification programs address the underlying reasons for the problem behaviors. This is done by identifying, analyzing and appropriately reconditioning the dog's out ward physical signs which indicate the dog's internal physiological and psychological state. It is the underlying physiological and psychological state that behavior modification alters and which obedience training cannot address. Although there are similarities among obedience training and behavior modification, behavior modification differs in goal, outcome and reward structure. It IS hard work and there are no quick fixes.

The vast majority of behavior problems are the result of inappropriate communication, over-permissiveness (spoiling) and/or anthropomorphism (treating the dog as it were a human). Other times, problems are simply the result of unfortunate relationship dynamics. Fortunately, most of these problems are resolvable with some education and work on the part of the owner. The owner must first understand that dogs come to us genetically predisposed to behave in certain ways. Some dogs have higher propensities to be aggressive, fearful, "dominant" subordinate, etc. The level at which these behaviors present themselves depends on many factors. So, how we love, raise and interact with our dogs will have a huge impact on how the dog develops and what behaviors grow and become problematic.

There are a number of considerations behavior specialists look at when dealing with behavior problems. First, we make sure the dog is healthy; we want to rule out any medical factors. Second, we check the dog's environment; we want to rule out any environmental factors. For example, we look at the relationship between the dog and all family members. We take into consideration the dog's breed or mix and any predisposition the dog may have toward a particular set or pattern of behavior.

When addressing a behavior problem, we determine what kind of behavior we are dealing with. For example if we are dealing with a behavior that is not harmful to the individual or others, we can employ operant conditioning techniques such as: Extinction, Differential Reinforcement, and Antecedent Control just to name a few. If we are dealing with aggression (as with Ralph) or fearful behaviors, we would employ Classical Counter-Conditioning and Desensitization.

In conclusion, to solve behavior problems one must employ a sound Behavior Modification program, provided by a qualified behaviorist, or behavior specialist. Obedience training, although important, has little to nothing to do with behavior modification and should not be utilized to try and solve behavior problems.