Change your behavior toward your dog’s annoying habits and you can control the incidence of annoying behavior.
Let’s say you have a Golden Retriever (by the way, I love Goldens and I’m not picking on them purposely) who continuously jumps up on you when you get home from work, return from running errands, or even just take out the trash. You allow him to jump on you while you laugh, make eye contact, and baby-talk to him. He continues to jump on you because your attention on him is affirming. After a while, you get tired of this behavior. You seek out solutions to jumping: Maybe you’ve been told to say “no!” or “down!” or “off!” in a stern tone. Possibly you’ve been advised to turn your back for a few seconds when he jumps. Likely you’ve read to raise your knee to block his jump. Perhaps you’ve seen where pushing a dog away is the solution. Do any of these strategies work? They may work for some dogs, but I know a surefire way to get any dog to stop jumping: ignore him.
“Ignore him?” you ask. “Don’t I need to reprimand him for this inappropriate behavior by saying ‘no,’ ‘down,’ ‘off,’ raise my knee to block the jump or push him away?”
A lot of dog owners think their pets inherently understand the meanings of the words “no,” “down” or “off” and that dogs should know what we mean when we push them away or block their jumps. They should respond accordingly, shouldn’t they? Dogs are smart, but their intelligence is equivalent to a 2- to 3-year-old human child.
Think about a toddler’s development at age 2 or 3. Let’s say your child regularly throws a tantrum in the grocery store when she doesn’t get what she wants. And I mean an all-out tantrum: screaming, throwing herself on the floor, kicking you, hitting you, sobbing. You want this behavior to stop and other shoppers are looking your way thinking 1) Thank God that’s not my child! and 2) How will you handle this? Do you give her what she wants so she’ll stop this embarrassing behavior? Or do you ignore your child’s outburst and appear as if it doesn’t bother you at all?
Some parents may quickly shove the wanted item into their child’s hands, as this is the quickest way to shut down a tantrum. But others may want to teach their child that they can’t have everything they want when they want it and are willing to endure the sights and sounds of a long and drawn-out tantrum, just to show children who’s in charge.
So what does giving in to a toddler actually tell the child? The lesson: I can have a tantrum whenever I want something and I’ll get the thing that I want. My behavior is rewarding.
What does ignoring the tantrum tell the child? The lesson: my mom or dad pays no attention to me when I have a fit. They don’t look at me or talk to me. My behavior isn’t rewarding.
The way you communicate with your dog regarding inappropriate behavior is similar. If you’ve allowed your dog to jump on you and you’ve given verbal reprimands to stop, you’ve pushed him away or you’ve raised your knee to block the jump, you’re actually reinforcing this behavior. “How am I doing that?” you ask.
When you interact with your dog in any way – laughing, talking, making eye contact, raising your knee toward him or pushing him away – you’re giving him attention. Dogs don’t care what kind of attention they receive, as long as they get it. And when they find that jumping, or other inappropriate behavior gets them what they want, they continue doing it because it’s rewarding.
Let’s say you’ve tried other remedies for your dog’s annoying habit and nothing has worked. You’re willing to try ignoring him for however long it will take until he gets the message that jumping isn’t rewarding. Be prepared to exercise patience!
Here’s how it works: The first time your dog jumps on you, you stand in place and stare straight ahead. You don’t talk to your dog, make eye contact, push him away or raise your knee. You’re not acknowledging him in any way. When jumping doesn’t work to get your attention, your dog may start frantically jumping on you. Keep staring straight ahead. He may keep jumping, or he may begin whining, barking and/or pawing at you – this is also to get your attention. Continue to stare straight ahead.
You can see through your peripheral vision that he’s confused by your behavior so he sits down. At that moment, say “yes” and give him a treat. You’re marking and reinforcing the sitting behavior.
I guarantee you he’ll jump on you after you say “yes” and give him the treat, because you’ve paid attention to him. Go back to ignoring him until he sits or stands but just isn’t jumping. Again, the moment he stops jumping, say “yes” and reward him with the treat.
My guess is that he’ll jump because you’ve once again given him attention. Go back to ignoring him. If he does jump, the episode won’t last long, because he’s now putting together that when he sits, he gets a treat. When he jumps, he gets nothing.
As you continue this exercise, you’ll find that his jumping decreases markedly. His rewards are your attention and treats. He recognizes this and is willing to stop jumping for the rewards.
