What is Behavior
Modification?
By Marty Guerra
Each week I receive dozens of calls from
dog owners who ask me how to resolve the various problem behaviors that
their dogs are exhibiting. Almost always, they ask when the next obedience
class is and how to sign up. I then explain to them that while obedience
training is a very important factor in raising a well-mannered, manageable
companion, obedience training is not the cure for every behavioral problem.
What their dogs really need is a Behavioral Modification program. Behavior
Modification is the means to resolving behavioral issues. Obedience training
cannot accomplish behavior modification. In fact, teaching obedience commands
to solve a behavioral problem can and often does get in the way of helping
the dog resolve his or her problem. For instance, if a dog is stressed
or anxious in a given context, forcing him to perform some obedience exercise
sit, lay down, whatever, can add to the stress or anxiety. That, in turn,
does nothing to change the stress or anxiety he may have within that context
and leaves the dog with the same behavioral problem. Or, if your dog is
doing something you do not like, having him down-stay may stop the behavior
at that time, but again, it does nothing to address the behavior or its
possible cause.
Obedience training can give you the control
needed to prevent a number of potential life threatening situations. For
example: If the door is left open and you see your dog letting himself
out, you can safely call him back using your recall command. Or if your
dog slips his collar, you can command him to sit (he can't run off when
he's sitting) to get the collar back on, etc. Obedience Training can also
serve to strengthen the bond between you. It builds understanding, mutual
respect, and teaches you how to "speak dog."
Although the benefits of obedience training
are many, it has little to do with behavior modification. For example,
if your dog is in the habit of running off, your recall command may stop
and return the dog to you, however, the recall command does nothing to
address the running off in the first place. Or, if your dog is aggressive,
you may be able to "call the dog off" but again, it does nothing to address
the aggression or its possible cause. If your dog is fearful of something
and you can get him to sit or lay down, it will not change the dog's fear
response.
Behavior modification utilizes the behaviors
differently. Significantly, behavior modification programs address the
underlying reasons for the problem behaviors. This is done by identifying,
analyzing and appropriately reconditioning the dog's out ward physical
signs which indicate the dog's internal physiological and psychological
state. It is the underlying physiological and psychological state that
behavior modification alters and which obedience training cannot address.
Although there are similarities among obedience training and behavior
modification, behavior modification differs in goal, outcome and reward
structure. It IS hard work and there are no quick fixes.
The vast majority of behavior problems
that are presented to me are the result of inappropriate communication,
over-permissiveness (spoiling) and/or anthropomorphism (treating the dog
as it were a human). Other times, problems are simply the result of unfortunate
relationship dynamics. Fortunately, most of these problems are resolvable
with some education and work on the part of the owner. The owner must
first understand that dogs come to us genetically predisposed to behave
in certain ways. Some dogs have higher propensities to be aggressive,
fearful, "dominant" subordinate, etc. The level at which these behaviors
present themselves depends on many factors. So, how we love, raise and
interact with our dogs will have a huge impact on how the dog develops
and what behaviors grow and become problematic.
There are a number of considerations behavior
specialists look at when dealing with behavior problems. First, we make
sure the dog is healthy; we want to rule out any medical factors. Second,
we check the dog's environment; we want to rule out any environmental
factors. For example, we look at the relationship between the dog and
all family members. We take into consideration the dog's breed or mix
and any predisposition the dog may have toward a particular set or pattern
of behavior.
Case History: Ralph's Story Ralph is a
2 year old miniature Dachshund. His owner, a single female presented him
to me with a problem greeting people that came to their house. He was
"very aggressive." Ralph had everything he ever wanted, he slept with
his "Mom" sat in her lap, barked at her for attention and other things,
had food whenever he wanted it and clearly was the ruler of his domain.
Ralph developed a strong territorial aggression
problem. Anyone and everyone was a threat (in his mind) to his resources
and territory. Ralph's owner called his Veterinarian to ask for advice.
She was told that Ralph needed "obedience training" and then referred
her to a "trainer." The advice she received from the trainer shocked her.
She was told to "hit Ralph on the nose with a rolled up magazine until
he stopped barking and carrying on." She was also advised that if the
hitting did not work, she was not hitting hard enough and that it may
be necessary to hit Ralph hard enough to make his nose bleed. Fortunately
for Ralph, she could not bring herself to do this. The unfortunate thing
is that this is typically the kind of advice people are often given by
others.
After evaluating and gathering a history
on Ralph, I outlined a behavior modification program and worked with Ralph
and his owner over an eight week period of time and am happy to report
that the two of them are doing great! Ralph is now excepting of others
and no longer threatens and displays when someone comes for a visit or
when they are out for walks. Once we got Ralph to relax we were able to
implement the program with great success. The punishment advice Ralph's
owner received from the trainer would have only made the situation worse
and done absolutely nothing to address the underlying cause of Ralph's
behavior, which in this case, was the fact that Ralph thought he ruled
the roost. (I feel the advice was very irresponsible given the fact that
the "trainer" never took the time to evaluate Ralph or thoroughly interview
his owner). Ralph's owner learned how his problem behavior came to be
and they then learned how to change it without abusing Ralph in the process.
We also did some obedience training with Ralph and he has done very well
with that as well. I would like to point out that Ralph's owner deserves
the credit for Ralph's turnaround. She realized there was a problem, made
the commitment and put in the time necessary to achieve success.
When addressing a behavior problem, we
determine what kind of behavior we are dealing with. For example if we
are dealing with a behavior that is not harmful to the individual or others,
we can employ operant conditioning techniques such as: Extinction, Differential
Reinforcement, and Antecedent Control just to name a few. If we are dealing
with aggression (as with Ralph) or fearful behaviors, we would employ
Classical Counter-Conditioning and Desensitization.
In conclusion, to solve behavior problems
one must employ a sound Behavior Modification program, provided by a qualified
behaviorist, or behavior specialist. Obedience training, although important,
has little to nothing to do with behavior modification and should not
be utilized to try and solve behavior problems. As we saw with Ralph,
merely punishing the dog will do nothing to address the underlying reasons/causes
or the behavior itself and may fail or make the problem worse. But, as
we also saw with Ralph, if you understand and work to address the root
of the problem in an educated, consistent, clear, and humane manner, you
will be rewarded with an enjoyable companion for years to come.
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e-mail: mguerra@dogmanners.com
Phone: 342-2494
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