Oh Behave!

In the midst of grocery shopping the other day I stole a few minutes to browse the magazine aisle. One headline jumped out at me. “HOW TO TRAIN THE PERFECT DOG,” it read, against a slick color close-up of a certain celebrity dog trainer.

“Ahh, the Perfect Dog,” I sighed as I moved on in search of apples. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of this creature. Loads of people are convinced he or she exists. You know, the dog who never barks, digs up gardens, or chews stuff. PerfectDog never jumps on people or pulls on leash or begs, and wouldn’t dream of raiding kitchen counters or garbage bins. PD loves other dogs, plays Perfectly with all dogs, and adores everyone all the time, vets and groomers included. PD never gets scared or growls or whines. PD stays, sits, lies down, leaves things alone and comes when you call, anywhere anytime, even if gophers are salsa dancing in front of his nose — and he does all this the first time you ask.

Early attempts at counter surfing

I hear folks lamenting a lot about their dogs’ imperfections. “Viv’s almost perfect. If only she’d quit barking when the doorbell rings and stop begging at the table,” they say with grim looks on their faces. Some rate their dogs’ level of perfection. “ Fred’s 80% perfect. If only he’d stop growling at men in hats.”
Almost? 80% perfect? Fred and Viv sound like top students to me. So why the sad looks on the guardians’ faces?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for well-behaved polite dogs. I know what it’s like to live with and train a dog with behavioral issues. My dog’s got a few. But what’s up with holding dogs to a canine standard of perfection? I’ve been on the planet for a while, I’ve lived in three different countries and traveled quite a bit. Yet, I don’t know a single human who can claim the title of Perfect. Why do we expect dogs to be perfect when we aren’t?

I’ll continue to ponder that question. I do know that many humans tend to focus on what’s wrong with stuff, rather than what’s going well. We home in on how badly Fred pulls on leash, or how obnoxious it is when he won’t stop chasing the damn pigeons. We barely notice the times that Fred does walk nicely on a loose leash, or the times we called him to come away from dog play and flying Frisbees, and he did.

If you were to take a “bowl-half-full” approach, you’d probably be surprised at how brilliantly Fred behaves and how often. Try an experiment. Pick an evening when you and Fred will be at home. Make a note of every time he behaves politely or in a way that you like over a pre-determined time period. I’d bet he behaves well significantly more often than you’d thought.

If you aren’t in the habit of noticing Fred’s polite manners, you may not think to reward him for his wonderful behavior. Rewarding good behavior is fun for your dog, and there are sound reasons to do it. Behavior that’s rewarded increases in frequency and intensity. This isn’t a matter of opinion. It’s a tried and true principle of behavioral science. Rewarding Fred for good behavior makes it more likely that he’ll do the behavior again. Timely rewards give him important feedback about which behaviors you like.

By the same token, not rewarding Fred’s good behavior will cause that behavior to disappear or extinguish. If you like the way Fred’s behaving, let him know. Reward that dog! He’s earned it.

When you start observing all of Fred’s lovely behavior something else may happen. You may be pleased with him, or tickled, heck – you might even feel proud of him. Instead of harboring constant low-grade frustration about Fred’s behavioral flaws, you might start thinking, “Fred sure is a great dog. I love the way he sits when he’s trying to get my attention. I love that guy.”

The bowl-half-full approach doesn’t mean we should ignore problem behaviors. If those arise they should be addressed as soon as possible through positive training. But noticing and rewarding Fred’s good doggy manners will make your relationship that much more positive and harmonious, and go a long way to ensuring that Fred behaves politely again and again.

As for that elusive PerfectDog, more on him in Part II of this post, “Dogs Will Be Dogs.”

Chances are every dog owner knows first hand the havoc those canine teeth can wreak on your stuff. I’ve taught training classes where some owners have muttered sheepishly that the dog ate last week’s homework handout, while others have lamented the destruction of their favorite shoes, the legs of their heirloom coffee table or their kids’ favorite toys.

Chewing is a fact of life for pups, adolescents and many adult dogs, and serves useful purposes from Rover’s point of view. Besides being a way to investigate objects, chewing relieves the discomfort of teething, exercises jaws, keeps teeth in good shape, relieves boredom and is enjoyable. It just plain old feels good. Given that, it’s unrealistic to expect dogs to learn never to chew. Though some dogs don’t chew much, most mutts must have a legal outlet for chewing.

Chewing the right thing

But dogs don’t know that your stuff is off-limits when it comes to chewing. They don’t care about how much things cost or an object’s sentimental value. As expert trainer Jean Donaldson puts it in her book, The Culture Clash, “It’s all chew toys to them.” Shoes may as well be rawhide. Sofa pillows may as well be giant stuffed animals . . . So how do you teach Rover what’s OK to chew and what isn’t?

First, prevent Rover from chewing the wrong stuff. This is easier than it sounds, keeps Rover from developing bad chew habits (i.e., discovering that it’s fun to chew leather gloves), and keeps your angst to a minimum.

Limit Rover’s access to just one room or area of the home, especially when he’s not being supervised. Chew-proof the area by removing every potentially chew-worthy item. Spray Bitter Apple on things you can’t move like door frames, siding, or large pieces of furniture. Bitter Apple does wear off so you’ll have to do repeat applications while you’re chew training Rover.

Once you’ve chew-proofed the area, get Rover hooked on appropriate chew toys. Chew toys should be safe – Rover shouldn’t be able to destroy or eat them – and attractive to him. Kong makes a wonderful line of chew toys, many of which you can stuff with food or treats to make them even more tantalizing to Rover. Busy Buddy and Premier also make great chew toys that can be stuffed. Sterilized hollow bones and Nylabones are another option.

Put some chew toys in Rover’s area. He should have access to legal chew toys at all times. Now, when he gets the urge to chew, he’ll automatically chew the right thing because you’ve already removed the illegal chew objects!

Until Rover is chew-trained, he should only have access to his chew-proofed area when you’re away from home. When you are home, supervise him extremely closely. Why? So you can give him feedback when he decides what to chew. Whenever he gets one of his legal chew toys, praise him handsomely. If he’s about to chew the wrong thing, interrupt him before he puts his mouth on the object. Say, “Uh Uh,” then direct his attention to one of the legal chew toys. Praise him when he takes it.

Dogs are creatures of habit and chewing his chew toys will be inherently rewarding to Rover. Over time, Rover will be far more inclined to direct all chewing behavior at his stuff, not yours.

Last but not least exercise Rover every day. The more tired he is, the less energy he’ll have for chewing when he’s home.

If these steps sound like too much work, take a moment to think of all the things you don’t want Rover to chew. The vast majority of your possessions are off-limits to him. You probably own hundreds if not thousands of things he’s not allowed to chew. It would be far more time-consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous to Rover (think choking hazards, intestinal obstructions, high vet bills) to intervene each time he chews the wrong thing, which he’s almost certain to do. You could also drive yourself batty in the process!

As with so many dog behavior issues, it’s safer and wiser to adopt an ounce-of-prevention strategy when it comes to chew-training.

An earlier version of this article first appeared at www.Incirclepets.com.