Dog Behavior Modification
Could Re-Train Your "Dominant" Dog
My dog is Dominant!
He pulls on me, jumps on me, and worst of all won't get off the couch without growling.
Not only that, but he growls at other dogs when we are out for our walk. He's always been dominant and won't change.
Does this sound familiar?
Guess what? This is not dominance, this is a training problem.
The word dominance has been widely used as the explanation for almost every behavior - dog, human, and even bird - that we don't like.
There's a catch to trying to explain (and ultimately change) behavior using dominance.
Dominance is a construct!
It's like trying to describe the color orange to someone.
Orange is constructed out of red and yellow.
It's a reddish, brownish, yellowish color. What I see as orange, you may see as brown. Not only are there several tones and shades of orange, but there are several intensities as well. And when you put another color next to orange as you might in a painting, the orange changes.
If you are going to try to change your dog's behavior (or match paint) you have to identify the specific behavior that you want changed.
Barking is a specific behavior.
Growling is a specific behavior.
Jumping on people is a specific behavior.
Behr paint 230B-6 Orange Burst Lot 309 is a specific hue of orange.
Once you identify the specific behavior you can choose a behavior to replace it with.
If your dog barks, you can teach quiet.
If your dog jumps on people, you can teach sit for people.
Using dominance theory in dog training is not only misguided, it's downright harmful. It has caused dogs to be hit, choked, shocked, rolled, jerked, and abandoned all in the name of training. Imagine being choked because you saw red and not orange?!
Dog behavior modification is just a fancy way of saying training.
If you'd like to talk with me about your dog's behavior modification or training, you can fill out the form below or call me at 609-870-3601.
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