Why Is My Dog's Behaviour Getting Worse? Behaviour Is Driven By Consequences.

Behaviour = Consequence. Period.

We all perform behaviour to achieve a particular consequence. The consequence sometimes can be unintended.

For example:

1) Your dog sees another dog and barks or lunges towards him. You jerk on the flexi leash and yank him backwards to stop him.

You think you are teaching your dog not to bark at other dogs. What he is learning is other dogs predict discomfort.

2) You call your dog in from the backyard and close the door or from play in the park and put the leash on to leave. In both cases you give your dog a cookie.

You think you are rewarding your dog for coming to you. From your point of view coming when called = cookie.

From your dog's point of view, coming ended fun. The dog stops coming when called.

Both of those examples are of negative unintentional consequences.

With warmer weather I am seeing more people walking their dog. I see more dogs reacting negatively to other dogs.

I see more people yanking back on the dog's leash when they react negatively.

I will continue to teach my dog that barking and lunging dogs are good by crossing the street and feeding a steady stream of goodies as we pass by.

If your dog reacts negatively to others when on walks, seek the guidance of a qualified trainer who can instruct you on the proper implementation of Classical Counterconditioning and Desensitization.

At the very least, cross the street or change direction so you don’t continue to put your dog in a difficult situation.