3. I will not punish my dog for behaviors that stem from fear.

I will not punish my dog for barking IF/WHEN my dog is barking because of he/she is afraid or frustrated.  I may have to do some investigating to determine if my dog is afraid or barking to demand something.

I will try and remember that aggression stems from fear.  This means that when my dog is behaving aggressively (barking, growling, lunging) the cause was something that upset/scared my dog.

I will NOT make my dog's fear worse by punishing behaviors that my dog is not in control of (flight/flight is a reflex).

I will consider that my dog is frustrated, upset or fearful and needs Classical Conditioning.

I will give my dog only one definition per word.  I will consider that my dog might not be stubborn or stupid, but that she might NOT KNOW what I want.

I will take the time to deliberately teach my dog a new word when the situation calls for it.   I will also help my dog with hand-signals if needed.  I will be patient with my dogs, because while they are good at listening, dogs are limited in their language abilities.  

I will accept that my dog may know the word "DOWN" as a position (one that calls for the legs and belly/side to make contact with the floor).  I will try not to get mad at my dog for not really understanding all of the meanings this word.  If my dog is lying on the couch and I yell at her to "GET DOWN" I will understand that she might just lay there and wag thinking the whole time: "I AM, NOW WHERE IS MY REWARD."

I will remember that my dog is "LISTENING" to both my body language and my words -most dogs are better at reading body language that we realize.  I will try to remember, when my dog fails to respond, or responds incorrectly to my commands that she may have been missing a piece of the puzzle, or that I may have failed to see that she never really knew the word at all, but was "cheating" by reading my body language all along.

Take Home Message:  If your dog isn't doing what you want, maybe they really don't understand your words!  Consider that your dog may be guessing what you want an awful lot of the time, and that your dog might be a very, very good mind reader.  So good that they have you fooled into thinking they understand everything... except when they are being bad.  For more on fool-proof commanding read this.

I will remember that my dog comes from a long line of beggars, scroungers, and clever food-finding survivalists.

I will not hold this survival skill (one my ancestors liked and bred to keep) against my dog.

I will not expect my dog to feign a mere casual interest in food.  

I will try to understand that to my dog, walking around with food (aka: holding an ice cream cone or a sandwich) is practically inviting them to share.  If we wanted to keep it to ourselves we would surely behave this way; bring our food to a quiet corner, hunker down, and eat it quickly! 

I will try to remember that putting food down, or leaving food unattended is the same as putting out an all-points-bulletin "UN-NEEDED, UN-WANTED FOOD!"

Take Home Message: Dogs like food.  Dog's like food a lot.  Dog's don't beg; they ask with their eyes!

THEY LOVE OTHERS DOGS...  Why do they show it like this?

* What makes a dog behave badly on-leash?

* Is your dog trying to embarrass you?

* Is there anything you can do to change your dog's behavior?

Leash Reactivity is a common problem for dog owners/guardians.  True leash reactivity is defined by aggressive looking displays that are only seen when a dog's mobility is restricted by a leash.  

A similar problem called Barrier Frustration occurs whenever a dog is repeatedly allowed to see or hear something that it is never allowed to interact with.  This consistent exposure and repeated frustration eventually causes aggression.  In mild cases the aggression ceases if the barrier is removed.  In sever cases the aggression becomes so entrenched that even when the barrier is removed the animal will remain aggressive.  Most cases of barrier frustration involve aggressive displays towards people or dogs seen through fences or windows.

The last and final cause is a Classically Conditioned Response.  In other words the dog is taught to be aggressive.  I'm not suggesting this is done intentionally, but rather the opposite.  Classical Conditioning is a type of learning.  When an animal is Conditioned Classically (also called Pavlovian Conditioning) the animal is taught a relationship between two things, places, or events.  The relationship is INDEPENDENT OF THE ANIMALS BEHAVIOR, THOUGHTS, or ACTIONS.  

A typical case-evaluation for Classically Conditioned Leash Aggression looks like this.

1. The puppy is separated from its litter-mates and brought into its new home.

2. The puppy is unnecessarily kept away from all other dogs and puppies until all puppy shots have been given.  Incidentally most puppy shots are not complete until the pups are about 3-4 months of age.  By this age the pup is already through all of its Socialization Period and too old to acclimate to new people, places, and experiences quickly and easily.

3. The puppy is then allowed to interact with other dogs for the first time in about 2-months.  At the same time many puppies are unfortunately introduced to their first training collar.  In an ideal world an anti-pull harness would be worn and used by the puppy form the moment it first enters its new home.  Sadly many people are still using choke and pinch collars on young pups.

4. The puppy (on-leash) encounters its first dog.  In excitement the puppy pulls forward and the collar tightens.  The puppy pulls forward again and barks.  The handler, not knowing better and wishing to teach their dog good manners, jerks the leash back and "corrects" the puppy for the inappropriate barking.  At this moment the puppy DOES NOT LEARN:  barking is bad.  Neither does the puppy learn that barking is wrong.  Instead what the puppy learns is that everything is fine, UNTIL THERE APPEARS A DOG and then bad things happen.

**Imagine that you were in a dark parking garage and someone came up behind you and grabbed you.  You scream and so they stab you.  Would your first response be, "Oh, I probably would have been OK if I didn't scream."  No you would scream because it is your natural, human response to fear.  Barking is a dog's natural response to frustration or fear.  It makes no more sense to your dog that the leash correction is barking than it would make to you that screaming when grabbed from behind is the cause of imminent pain.

To further cement this relationship of events (Dogs + Leash = Yucky) the dog then gets to play off-leash with puppies in class or at the park or daycare.  When NOT ON A LEASH the puppy pulls towards a new dog and is immediately given access to the dog.  No pain, no choking, no problems.  The dog draws the obvious conclusion (Dogs + NO LEASH = Everything is Fine!)

Reward-based training does NOT mean that dogs never get in trouble...

Punishment can be used to make certain behaviors disappear.  By definition a punishment is anything that makes a behavior go down in frequency.  Punishments do NOT need to be traumatic, or physically uncomfortable for your dog.  Punishments, like time-outs serve as a consequence for naughty behavior without hurting, scaring, or upsetting your dog.

When rewards are given (+) trainers say they are using Positive Reinforcement (R+).  Treats, toys, and access are all examples of GIVING REWARDS

When rewards or freedom is taken away (-) trainers are using Negative Punishment (P-).  Time-outs, Attention removal, leashing, tethering and games of tug or fetch ending are all examples of HUMANE PUNISHMENTS.

Both R+ and P- are considered humane by the dog.  I NEVER hurt dogs that I train.  I have never found it necessary!  Timing-out a dog is all that is needed to teach them to STOP certain behaviors.

The following are considered "unpleasant" to dogs.  Things that hurt may be successful in teaching a dog to STOP certain behaviors.  However they have additional risks.  Furthermore, Hurting an animal that is AFRAID is NEVER, EVER APPROPRIATE!!!

Positive Punishment does not mean (+) as in GOOD!!!!  Positive (+) means ADDED.  A Positive Punishment make behavior go down (all punishers drive behavior DOWN) because of something YUCKY ADDED (shock, slap, leash pop).  Dogs find P+ unpleasant!

Negative Reinforcement does not mean (-) as in bad!!!!  Negative (-) means subtracted.  A Negative Reinforcer makes behavior go up (all reinforcers drive behavior UP) because of something YUCKY ENDING (choking stops, ear pinch stops, pinning ends).  Dogs find R- unpleasant!  They comply with commands taught by R- because if they do not the yucky stuff continues to happen.  Only when they sit, stop barking, or lay down does the torture end.

TIMING OUT A DOG

1. Mark it!  It is important to catch your dog attempting to do something naughty.  If you are late, or missed the naughty behavior there is nothing you can do, but admonish yourself.  If you do catch your dog in the act, give a big, loud "Too-bad!" or "Uh-oh!"
2. Immediately follow the marker with action.  Be calm and deliberate.  Remember you are trying to bum your dog out, not freak them out!
3. Remove your dog from what they were enjoying.

If your dog was getting attention and then jumped on a guest, stop petting the dog.  Walk out of the room or lead the dog to a leash that is secured to a wall, door or banister.  Clip the dog and walk away.  Say as little as possible:  "Too-bad."  Get dog, clip walk, walk away for 5-10 seconds.  Unclip the dog.  Repeat if necessary.

If your dog jumps to steal food, mark-it and time-out your dog for 5-10 seconds.  Shut your dog in the bathroom, or put the dog on a tie-down

If your dog was naughty while playing off-leash, mark-it and then leash your dog.  Leave the park after 3-strikes.

If your puppy nipped while playing, mark it (Ouch!), drop the toy and walk away.  End the game after 3-strikes.

If your puppy fails to perform a known command, such as sit, mark it and DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG A SECOND CHANCE.  Put the toy down, or put the treat back in the jar.  Even toss the bone into the crate, but shut the dog out so they can't get it.

NEVER PUNISH (even with time-outs)  Growling, Snarling or Fighting.  These behaviors are likely rooted in fear.  Contact a certified trainer who can help you apply Classical Conditioning to fix the underlying fear.