Correcting Negative Behavior

Hello PACmembers....

The most common question I get asked is "What do I do when my dog....?" You can end that phrase with just about anything you want (i.e. jumps on me, nips, chews on something...). The answer is simple - replace the behavior, and then separate the dog from the situation.

Yesterday we talked about how to reward positive behavior, and I still want that to be your focus, but it's only fair if we let the dog know when he has done something wrong as well. As an example, imagine trying to learn to drive, but the only communication you got from the instructor was when you did something right....you would end up in a lot of accidents.

So to prevent these "accidents" in dog training we you TIMEOUTS. First, I am going to explain how to implement timeouts, and once that is clear I will explain very briefly why they work.

Here is the procedure:

The first thing you and your family need to do is pick a correction word. It can be anything you want except for the dogs name or the word "NO". We don't use the dogs name because we want the name to be something positive, and we do not use the word "NO" because it is to readily heard in everyday conversation (especially if you have kids). Some good options are "bad", "stop", "aah aah", "foohee", "nine", or "wrong". You can use any word, and as long as everyone uses the same word it will not effect the training. In our examples we will use the word "bad".

Now how to we teach the meaning of the correction word....

When you catch your dog doing something wrong, pull out your no nonsense tone of voice and use your correction word..."bad". Then immediately replace to the negative behavior with something positive. When you are just starting this process I recommend a chew toy for ALL negative behaviors. (You will be amazed what a dog CAN'T do when he has something in his mouth.) Stick the toy directly into the dogs mouth. Most dogs new to this sequence are going to spit out the toy and go right back to what they were doing. This time, use the correction word..."bad", calmly grab the dog by his collar, and walk him into his crate. Close the door, and walk away, out of the dogs line of sight, for about 60-90 seconds. Then come back, let him out, and start the whole process over again. (This last part was the timeout ;-)

Here's an example:
I walk into the room and Toby is chewing on the table leg. I immediately say "bad", and I stick the nearest toy directly into his mouth. Toby drops the toy and heads straight back to chewing on the table leg. This time I say the correction word..."Bad", and I CALMLY grab him by the collar and lead him into his crate. I step out of the room for 60 seconds, and then I come back and let him out.

That is all there is to it. You can use timeouts to solve just about any problem you maybe having (nipping, chewing, jumping, etc.). I recommend keeping a sheet of paper and a pen nearby so you can make little check marks when you do timeouts. That way over the course of a couple weeks you will see the check markers dwindle each day, and know that you are making progress.

I can already hear what you are thinking...."I thought we weren't supposed to use the crate for punishment?". You are right. Here is the difference...as long as you are calm when putting your dog in the crate, the crate is not the punishment. The punishment is the separation from you and from the situation. This process will actually improve your dogs crate training as making frequent trips in/out of the crate will cause him to become more comfortable with it.

How do you know when this is working? The answer is two fold. First, observe your dog when you use the correction word. Does he start searching for a toy? This shows he understands that he needs to replace the negative behavior or he will have to go be by himself. Second, if you are doing fewer timeouts each day, that should mean you are seeing less negative behavior which means the timeouts are working. Or, maybe you are just being lazy and need to step it up....

Why do timeouts work?

First, it is important to understand that timeouts fall under the operant conditioning quadrant of negative punishment. Meaning you are taking something away to diminish a behavior. We teach the dog that when he demonstrates a negative behavior he is removed from the situation and must be by himself. This is obviously unpleasant for the dog so the behavior begins to diminish. One important key to OUR timeouts is the attempt at replacing the behavior. I always want to be fair so I give the dog a chance to do was is right prior to punishment. But I only give that chance one time.

Today, start implementing your timeouts. Continue rewarding all positive behavior with treats. Next thing you know you'll have a well behaved dog because now you are communicating consistently and clearly!

Good Luck. I always get tons of questions on this topic so please don't be shy.

Have a great day....your dog is!

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