Management: What does that have to do with my dog’s behavior?

Management has two purposes when it comes to getting your dog to listen to you and behave like you want them to. The first is that since we humans know better how to manage and navigate this world than our dogs do, it is up to us to teach them how they can succeed. The second purpose is, while they are learning how to succeed, we may have to manage their environment to set them up for success.

As has been discussed in previous blog posts like Roles and Responsibility, dogs are not born knowing how to live successfully with humans. Even more so, no dog is born knowing how to live successfully in YOUR home with YOU. Knowing what success looks like for you and your dog in your home is the first step to reaching your goals. Then you can begin to teach your dog how you would like them to behave.

Changing any behavior is a process, and setting the learner up for success will not only get results faster but will encourage the learner to try harder. Think about a time when you have tried to change your own behavior, such as cutting out sweets or stopping drinking soda. Did you keep sweets and soda around your house? Probably not because why make it harder on yourself than it already is, right? It is the same for our dogs.

If you have a counter surfer or a dog who steals things, the easiest thing to start with is removing their access to those coveted things. You can either close doors to rooms where things are that you don’t want your dog to have, put up gates, don’t keep things out on your counters, and keep things out of your dog’s reach. That is what we call management. Management by removing access is beneficial because it keeps the dog from practicing and being rewarded for the unwanted behavior.

Dogs do what works…for them, and if it works repeatedly…for them, they WILL continue to do it until it no longer works …for them.

Sometimes management is temporary, sometimes it is forever. That all depends on you and your dog. 

Another example is a dog who is reactive (barks, growls, lunges) to other dogs or sounds or people, etc. In the beginning, you have to manage the environment your dog is learning in, or they will not be able to learn. For example, when first starting out, you could go to a place where there is a lot of dog traffic (like PetSmart or Petco) and sit far enough away so that your dog can see the other dogs, but they don’t upset your dog. Then gradually move closer, rewarding your dog for calm behavior, as they get more confident that those other dogs are of no concern to them.

A good dog manager knows what success looks like for their dog in all scenarios and manages the environment to facilitate success.

What do you think you could do to manage your dog’s environment to help them be successful at behaving the way you want?