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Basically,
dogs learn through trial and error, this means that they will try something out
once and see what happens, if the result is good they will do it again, if the
result is bad then they won't. So, for example, if your dogs jumps up on
you and you pet him then something good has happened and he will keep doing it,
if you ignore him when he jumps up then something bad has happened and he will
not do it again.
If a dog
continues to repeat the same behaviour and the result is
always the same then that behaviour will become learned, so
if you always pet your dog when he jumps on you then he will
learn that it is a great way of getting your attention and a
pet and will do it every time he wants your attention.
Most behaviour
problems in dogs are learned when they are pups, as a small,
cute puppy it is very easy to accidentally reward a
behaviour that may seem cute at the time but as an adult may
become annoying or even dangerous. In the example of a
dog that jumps up on you, this will have been very cute when
the pup was small and you may have find it very hard to
resist bending down to play with him or even picking him up,
but when the dog grows into an adult this will be an
annoying habit and if he is a large breed of dog he runs the
risk of knocking someone over. This is why it is so
important to make a list of rules for your puppy as soon as
possible - before you even get him, if possible. When
you make your list of rules keep in mind that whatever
behaviour you encourage now will have to still be acceptable
to you when he is a fully grown adult and for 14 or more
years, also keep in mind that he will not understand the
difference between being dirty or clean so every behaviour
that you encourage must still be acceptable when your dog is
covered in mud from the garden!
If, like many
people, your dog has already learned some bad habits then
first you must work out what each individual behaviour is
trying to achieve, for most problem behaviours it is
attention but this is not always the case.
Maybe, your
dog is begging for food or a treat, if you give your dog
what he wants then he will continue to do it, but if you
stop then eventually he will stop too. Some dogs steal
food from the counter top, this behaviour is hoping to
achieve extra food, the first thing to do is to remove all
food from the counter, this takes away the point of the
behaviour for the dog - I would also suggest taking a good
look at your dogs regular diet, if he only gets fed once a
day bump him up to twice a day, not all dog foods are equal
and some contain allot of fillers and not allot of good
quality ingredients this will give him the feeling that he
is full but it will quickly wear off and he will be hungry
again, buy the most expensive food you can afford.
If your dog
likes to steal your underwear this is probably for a game,
attach a house line to his collar and place an item of
underwear in a place he would normally steal it from, use an
item that you don't mind getting ruined (just in case) and
wait for him to take it, as he heads off with it, take hold
of the lead and bring him back to you, take hold of his
collar with one hand and the underwear in the other and just
wait for him to drop it (he will, but you must be very
patient), in the mean time try not to look at him or touch
him and definitely don't chase him to talk to him, not even
to tell him off. The end result is that you got your
underwear back, but he didn't get chased or any attention.
If you can
apply this way of thinking, and a little imagination, to
your dog and any behaviour you would like to change you will
be winning in no time.
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