A dog in the same set of circumstances will always repeat the same behaviour.
If you do nothing to change the circumstances, you will continue to get the same behaviour.
Simple, right?
So why do we often ignore dogs (and not change the circumstances) when they’re offering unwanted behaviour? I can think of a few reasons.
1 – We hope they’ll grow out of it.
Many people think their young dog will grow out of certain behaviours as they get older and “calm down”. But energy levels don’t really change until they hit old age, so you’ll be waiting for a very long time. In the meantime, the dog is forming stronger unwanted habits behaviour every time you let them get away with it.
2 – We assume ignoring them will decrease the behaviour.
For something to decrease a dog’s behaviour, it needs to be negative to the dog. Ignoring them is neutral and gives zero feedback – they do not understand that the behaviour is unwanted. Many times, the behaviour is self-reinforcing, meaning that the dog is getting positive feedback every time they practice the behaviour, making them more likely to do it again in future.
3 – We don’t want to be “mean” to our dog.
Many people are hesitant to offer negative communication to their dog because it makes them feel bad. But your dog does not need you to be their best friend. They need you to teach and guide them as a parent or teacher would. This involves setting fair boundaries and sticking to them regardless of whether it makes you the “bad guy”.
Here is the choice: You can ignore the behaviour and be constantly frustrated with your dog. Or you can address the situation by offering the necessary communication to decrease the unwanted behaviour, which then creates the chance to provide positive feedback when your dog does wanted behaviour instead. Your relationship with your dog will be so much better for it – less frustration and negativity, more calm and positivity.
