I am often asked: "How do I stop my dog from jumping/barking/digging/chewing/chasing/escaping/[insert your own word]?"
And that is indeed a great question...and yes, how do you stop your dog from performing a behavior, which you dislike??

Well, first and foremost we need to first look at WHY your dog is choosing to perform this behavior in the first place.
And when doing so, I always think of this very well known saying :"Reinforcement drives behavior", meaning that most likely, your dog finds some kind a value in performing this behavior. And remember, finding value in doing something, is  always a great motivator.
We also know, that "Practice makes Perfect", or maybe I should say "Practice makes Permanent", due to the fact that through the process of repetition, this practice will eventually become a habit, an automatic action that requires little or no front of mind awareness. And that is thanks to the neural pathways. Practice over time causes the neural pathways to work better, and faster, thus becoming the new default behavior. Which makes absolutely sense from a neuroscientific point of view.  However, it can definitely still be very frustrating, when your dog once again jumps up and almost knocks over aunt Suzie. 
And to our dismay, unfortunately the neural pathways do not distinguish between "wanted" and "unwanted" behaviors. Nope. Neural pathways have absolutely no regard to whether you, as your dog's owner, actually approve of these behaviors. 
The good news is, we can change it ​ (Thank God for neuroplasticity and yes, old dogs CAN learn new tricks! ).
Which now leads us to the concept of Behavior Modification.

When wanting to change or modify a behavior, it is a two step protocol: 

1. First, manage dog or environment, so  the dog doesn't have access to practice the unwanted behavior. This is where a leash, a long line, a higher fence, baby gates, exercise pens, crates, etc. can be really helpful. Remember, when the dog is not actually performing/practicing the unwanted behavior, the neural pathways are no longer being used, thus the signals are being weakened. However, management alone will not stop the behavior from ever occurring again, as the dog will still perform this default behavior if given the chance. And at some point management will always fail!!  Which leads us to step two.
2. Think about what you want your dog to do instead of the current unwanted behavior: If he is a jumper, maybe a sit for greeting? If he chases the cat or the kids around the house, maybe a calm settle is a more preferred behavior? Instead of chewing on the couch, maybe chewing on a bone is a better option? Think about the specific behavior you want your dog to perform, and then teach your dog this new skill......while you reward the sh*t out of it!  Keep in mind: "Reinforcement drives behavior", so it is now your job to add a lot of value to this new wanted skill. And through practice and repetition, this behavior can now become the new default behavior, as your dog is creating new neural pathways in their brain. 

​
But please know, that this takes time. Especially if your dog has been allowed to repeat the unwanted behavior for many years. More practice equals stronger and faster neural pathways. So, in order for a behavior modification to be successful, it is of outmost importance, that you do NOT allow your dog to practice the "old" behavior, while you are still working on adding value to the new wanted behavior. In short, management is still important, as well as high value rewards and repetitions. 

Here is an example: 
Ranger (Labrador puppy) loves to chew on paper towels and be anything than helpful, when cleaning up a mess on the floor.
In the video below, I show you, how I am teaching him a desired behavior versus his own "go-to" choice. By starting slow, and reinforce the desired behavior (laying calming down), I am helping him making the right choice, which eventually will be his own choice, with less management from me. Why? Because he has learned, that not only is this the default behavior, I will ask for, when I sit down to clean up a mess with paper towels, but it is also rewarding for him when doing so. 
A calm down has proven to be a very rewarding choice for him.

This method also works with vacuum cleaning, shoveling snow, sweeping the floor, and so on. 
Give it a try, stick to the protocol, don't allow your dog to practice the unwanted behavior,  when you are not there, and you will see progress. 

 

New Year's Eve is just around the corner, which often brings visitors and loud noises, something that many pets find very stressful....my dogs included. So, it is important to prepare and have a plan for your pets for this upcoming celebration. Here are a few ideas that can be helpful: 

1. Make sure to give your dog plenty of exercise during the day. A nice long walk, maybe even on a long line, that allows your dog plenty of options to sniff, is truly the best. Being anxious and fearful takes energy, so a long walk/run combined with the sniffing, can really help tire your dog out physically as well as mentally, and help them rest better for the remainder of the evening. If a long walk is not an option due to the weather, consider increasing your dog's mental stimulation through training sessions and enrichment activities, such as "hide and seek food in the house", "roll out the towel" game, and much more. Get your dog tired, but no with any high arousal games. 
2. Play calming music. Did you know that there is calming music specifically for dogs? There are several CD's with music specifically composed to have an calming effect on anxious dogs. And now you can find a lot of this music on YouTube, Amazon music or Spotify. Try this link for a playlist on Spotify
3. Give your dog a chew, like a bully stick, or a "no hide rawhide.  Or you can make a stuffed, frozen Kong, or use a licky-mat with smeared yogurt or peanut butter on. Freeze it so it will last longer. The action of chewing and/or licking can be a great stress relief for most dogs.
4. Use calming chews. I have found that CBD calming chews specifically designed for dogs, has really helped Cedar take some of his "edge" off. I know there are thousands of different CBD products for dogs available online, which can all be very confusing. Instead I recommend, that you go to your local pet store, and talk to them directly about their experiences with the different CBD products they sell. 
   
5. If your dog gets so anxious, that it can not find rest anywhere in the house, or even when close to you, I highly recommend that you talk to your vet about pharmaceutical short-term options. Our dogs don't understand, why it sounds like the sky is falling down, so sometimes, this option is truly the best way to give them as much relief as possible.

I hope this was helpful.
​Happy New Year - I wish the best for you and your pet in the new year. 

Some of you might recognize the place, where I took this picture...yep, it is on Norm's Island. A nice little island with multiple paths, filled with trees and right by the river. And here, you are allowed to run your dog off leash. Something I have been doing every morning these last 4 weeks, since I moved into a 1 bdr apartment with no yard. And the dogs and I just love it. We go early, so we don't have to encounter a lot of people and dogs, and usually I walk about 1.6 - 2 miles whereas I am sure the dogs run closer to 4-5 miles, running free back and forth on the paths. I get sunshine and trees and exercises, and they get to run and sniff and just be dogs - something they are pretty good at.
However, as you might notice, Cedar is on a long line in this picture. And that is because something changed. 
Cedair is a black labrador out of a hunting line, which means, nothing has higher value to him, than following a scent through the bushes and woods. The seeking and the anticipation of finding the animal (scent), activates his SEEKING system, which releases the central neurotransmitter, dopamine through his body ( the "feel good" hormone)  and truth is, it is like crack cocaine to him. When he first get a scent of something, he is gone. For the first month, he did good on his recall. BUT the last two days, he would disappear and not respond to my recall for at least 10 minutes. I am sure he was having the time of his life and yes, he did always come back. And when he did, I NEVER yelled at him. No, that would only keep him away.Plus how could I punish a dog for doing something he was BREED to do. Instead, I rewarded him the best way I could in that moment, trying hard to add value to him coming back.  However, he was practicing and repeating a behavior, that I definitely did not want to continue. And not only was I losing his response to his recall - as an added "bonus"(sarcasm may occur), Murphy got to practice it too. Not that Murphy is truly that interested in following a scent. No, but he is a herding mix and breed to respond to movement in the environment. So chasing Cedar through the bushes was (and is ) the best game in the world and highly self -reinforcing. And if Cedar didn't respond to his recall, why should Murphy?  And again, how can I blame him for doing what he is breed to do....move and herd and chase 
Instead I had to realize that I had a gap in my recall training with Cedar ( he didn't perceive me as being of more value or interest, than the high he gets from his dopamine induced search) and I needed to change the set-up in order for both dogs to be successful on our walks.
So this morning, Cedar was on a long line. He didn't necessarily think it was that great. However, it simply was a safety issue when I no longer could trust him being off leash, due to lack of reliable recall. Being on the long line still gave him plenty of opportunities to sniff while also giving me a chance to train recall with lots of success. And being on a long line versus a 6' leash, he still felt he has options when meeting new dogs ( I highly recommend, that do don't take your dog on a 6' leash to an off leash area- it can often create problems due to your dog feeling restrained thus now not having the option to move away from other dogs). 
As an added bonus, Murphy would stay close and thereby also practice good and wanted behaviors ( as I mentioned earlier, his main motivation was to chase Cedar, not following a scent). 
So a successful walk, even though we only walked 1.6 miles today.

My story is to remind you of a few things: 
 - When a dog practices a behavior, it will become stronger. No matter whether we like it or not. He does it because it has value to him.
- If you don't like the behavior, you will need to change it and teach the dog the skills needed. First step is to manage the environment, or your set-up so your dog no longer have access to practice this unwanted behavior (in this case a long line).  Next step is to teach the dog the skill you would like to see him use instead ( in this case, practice his recall by trying to create more value and interest to me).
- There are certain traits within each breed, that you will need to be aware of, because it matters.
- And finally, when people say;"oh as a trainer, your dogs must be perfect?", I can truly answer, "yes, perfect at being a dog." Which means: barking, digging, chasing, seeking, searching, running, and so much more. And if that doesn't work for me, I better start working on some new stronger skills.
And for now, Cedar is simply going to have to stay on the long line until I can proof his recall enough, that he can safely be off leash again. 

 

 Yesterday, I was in a local restaurant to buy some lunch and the cashier asked me about my day and what I did for a living. And as I replied, I am a dog trainer, he asked me a very interesting question: "What is the one thing, you wished people know about dogs and dog training...if you could sum it into just one sentence?"
And without thinking, I quickly replied:" I wish people would realize, that they don't know anything".
I quickly followed this up with..." well, at least they don't know enough!"
It might sound a bit harsh, so I want to quickly elaborate on this, because the last thing I want to sound as is a snob, or someone who thinks she is better than everybody else...I know I am not. My Danish upbringing made sure of this (look up "jantelov" or Law of Jante" if in doubt about this statement...lol)
The point I wanted to make was, that if we - the dog handlers/owners - would realize we don't know everything, and that in fact we have a lot to learn ABOUT our dogs FROM our dogs, we would be much better owners. By acknowledging, we don't know enough, we can keep ourselves humble and keep our minds open to receive new information and knowledge.
And even though this can be a very frustrating state of mind sometimes ( believe me, I know!), it is also where you will grow and understand, that us human beings are indeed very  ignorant, when we believe, that we are "smarter and more intelligent " than animals.
The saying: "Ignorance is a bliss" is definitely true to some point. But the question that remains is this: Is it still a bliss, when it involves another specie, which you have taken into your household, but failed to try and understand? If your lack of knowledge leads to confusion and emotional distress to another specie, is it still a bliss? If your ignorance leads to physical and/or emotional abuse and distress in the name of training, is it then still a bliss?
If we are so intelligent, as most of us would like to believe,  why can't we see, that we still have a lot to learn? Isn't life in itself just one long journey of learning? 
After 10 years ( and counting) of working with dogs as a certified trainer, I still know that I don't know enough. Each dog that comes through my door will teach me something new. And my biggest fear as a trainer is, that I some day will forget this and no longer listen to the dogs with an open mind. That I instead will start to assume that I know what this dog needs. Because that is the day, I will fail you and your dog and even my own dogs. I am aware of this pitfall. And I hope, that I will always remember this.
 But for now, I can promise you this: If you allow yourself to have an open mind, and understand that YOU are the student, that will need to learn from your dog
(or other pet  you might have), you will find yourself in the presence of the best damn mentor you will ever meet.
Stay humble. 
Thank you.

Well, in behavioral psychology, “reinforcement is a consequence that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus”. [1]
Therefore, in positive reinforcement training, we like to use primary reinforces (such as food and play) to strengthen the behaviors, which we would like to see our dogs continue to offer.
But our dogs don’t only find reinforcement in playing and getting food from us when training. There are multiple scenarios throughout their day, which they find reinforcing.  And this often lead to behaviors, which we (the owners) regards as highly unwanted in our daily lives with our dogs. Here are a few examples that I often hear from clients:
My dog jumps on me and/or visitors.
My dog runs along the fence, barking at the neighbor dog.
My dog gets in the garbage.
My dog jumps on the counter.
My dog chases the cat.
and…well, you get the picture.
We might not like these behaviors, but for some reason, our dogs find value in practicing these behaviors – he finds it reinforcing - because frankly, otherwise he wouldn’t continue to do it!
Jumping: Your dog gets excited, when you get home (or when you have visitors over) and his first instinct is to greet by jumping towards your face. For him it is highly reinforcing to greet you like this. Oh and all the attention that goes with it..whoop whoop.
Running and barking at neighbor dog: Oh, the thrill of running and barking – so exciting, best game ever!
Garbage: yes, score – yesterday’s chicken pieces.
Counter surfing: Mmmmmm…butter.
Chase cat: Cat runs..yaaa the chase is on. Again, super thrilling and fun.
 
My point is, that your dog will continue a behavior if he finds it reinforcing. And he will NOT stop it UNLESS you understand how to modify a behavior through management and training.
Often (unintentionally) we are the ones helping to create these “rude” behaviors by allowing our dogs the “freedom” to practice these unwanted behaviors. Our dogs only do what comes natural to them.  Think about the greeting behavior for a moment: Our dog rushes to the door, super excited and shows his excitement by jumping. We react AFTER the fact he did the unwanted behavior and we correct the dog. But next time, we again allow him to rush to the door and since he doesn’t know what else to do in his level of excitement, he jumps again. And time after time, we correct him, yet still nothing works. Why? Because we don’t teach him that there is another behavior that is more reinforcing. And until we do, he will continue to repeat the same behavior over and over again.
Now, I know some of you will say, well just knee your dog in the chest or step on his paws. That will make him stop. I’m sorry, but that is just lazy and rude. Instead, let’s teach him the behavior we WANT him to perform at the door. A sit maybe? or just keeping all four paws on the floor? No matter what our goal behavior is, first we need to change the current set-up and routine. Why? Well, this quote I love might explain it best: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In this case it is us, the owners, who are clearly the definition of insanity, when expecting our dogs to behave differently even though nothing changes in the environment or set-up. So, to modify an existing behavior, we need to approach it in two steps:
First, manage dog so he can’t repeat the same behavior. Often a leash on or a barrier, such as a baby gate or exercise-pen, will help stop the dog from repeating the unwanted behavior, because now he can’t rush to the door. But this is only management.
Secondly, let’s train and reinforce the behavior we do want. Teach your dog, that when sitting, or just standing calmly, you or your visitor will walk closer towards him to pet him. But as soon as he pulls on leash, jumps, gets up from the sit, you (or visitor ) stops moving forward towards him. You don’t have to say anything. Your reaction to his action is an instant consequence which doesn’t work in your dog’s favor. And he gets that fast. As soon as he is calm or sits, you can now start walking forward again. He will quickly realize that there is a pattern: When  sitting or waiting calmly, he gets what he wants, which is your attention and petting. When jumping or pulling, he gets nothing.
It is our responsibility, as dog owners, to help our dogs navigate through our set of expectations and rules by teaching them, what behaviors we want in different scenarios.  And then reinforce the shit out of them, so our dogs learn these new skills and can be successful next time.

And in regards to the garbage can….just put it away. Problem solved.
  
 
 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement

LEAVE IT (stationary exercise)
 
Teaching your dog to “leave it” will help improve your dog’s impulse and self-control and is something we often underestimate the importance of. Yet, impulse and self-control are needed in order for a dog to successfully live with us in our world filled with expectations and rules. For example, it requires impulse control to NOT jump on a visitor, to NOT pull on the leash, to NOT run after the squirrel, to NOT steal the food out of the child’s hand, even though it is right in our dog’s nose height. Therefore this “Leave It” exercise is always included in my curriculum for my Puppy class as well as Basic Manner class.
 
Take five minutes every day and work on this exercise until your dog successfully understands the concept of “leave it” while you have treats on the floor. 

1. First take a handful of treats in your right hand and only two treats in your left hand.
2. Present your right hand as a closed fist in front of dog in head height. Your dog can lick, paw, chew on your hand. It is important that you try and keep your hand still. If you move your hand around too much, you will increase the chance of creating more arousal and/or frustration and thus less thinking, which will make this exercise much harder for your dog.
3. The moment your dog stops licking/chewing/pawing at your hand, mark with “yes” (or clicker) and quickly give your dog a treat from your left hand. Get your dog’s focus back on your right hand, still with treats and still presented as a closed fist. Repeat step 2 and 3 one more time.
4. With no more treats in your left hand, now when your dog stops licking at your right hand, open you hand to show treats. If your dog moves towards the treats in your hand, quickly close your hand again. Continue to keep your hand steady and in same position at all times. When your dog moves away from your closed fist, open your hand again. Continue to close your hand if your dog continues to move towards the treats every time you open your hand.
5. When your dog can look at the treats in your open hand for even just one second without moving towards them, mark with “yes” and give your dog a treat, by using your left hand to take a treat from your right open hand. Give the treat quickly to you dog and repeat. As long as your dog can control himself and leave the treats alone, continue every two to three seconds to mark with “yes” and reward him by giving him a treat from your open hand.
6. When your dog will successfully leave the treats in the palm of your hand alone for about five to six repetitions, it is time to increase the temptation by lowering your hand a little bit. Even just lowering your hand one inch, can make a big difference for the dog. Go back and repeat step 4-6 in this new position. Make sure you have a nice reliable “leave it” behavior from your dog on each level, before increasing the temptation by lowering your hand down to the next level. 
7. Slowly work your way to the floor. When treats are on the floor, you increase the temptation by moving your hand away from the treats.
8. The goal is to be able to leave the treats on the floor and have your dog leave them alone by choice. When you find your dog is successfully continuing to leave the treats alone, you can now add the verbal cue “leave it”. We always add a verbal cue as the dog is performing the desired behavior. For the final step, I would put treats on floor, move my hand away from the treats while making sure my dog stays focused and in control. I would then say,“leave it”, wait about half a second, mark with “yes,” and then give my dog a treat from the floor.

Reminders:
If you run out of treats in your right hand, release your dog from the training by saying "free" and give him a break while you prepare with a new handful of treats.
Short, successful sessions are always best. Take your time with this exercise. Spend several days working through the steps.
It is crucial that your dog does NOT have any success trying to steal a treat out of your hand. Remember, a dog will continue the behavior that works for him. This means that if your dog has continuous success in “stealing” the treat out of your hand, it is harder for him to learn that by leaving the treats alone he will get them faster.
No verbal corrections are needed. You only need to say marker word “yes”, the release word “free” and verbal praise, such as “good boy”.
Do not add your verbal cue “leave it” until your dog has fully understood the concept of leaving the treats alone. We are looking for 80-90% compliance rate, before adding any verbal cue.
To test (proof) the behavior and your dog’s understanding of this exercise, try to see if you can stand up, while leaving a treat on the floor. Will your dog still leave the treat alone? If yes, mark with”yes” and give your dog the treat. If not and he tries to eat it, quickly move your foot on top of treat to prevent the dog being successful in eating the treat!
When he masters this exercise, can you drop a treat on the floor and he will still leave it alone?
Can he leave his favorite toy alone? A bone? A piece of paper? A pill?
Keep thinking of new scenarios to help test your dog’s ability to leave things alone on the floor.

Video: ​Click here to watch video
(Please notice that in  the video, I do not show the first step with the two treats in my left hand. I had already worked with Two Dot for about 5 minutes and wanted to make sure we kept the video fairly short)

Now that your dog understands “Leave it” while being in a stationary position, the next step is to teach your dog to “leave it” when walking by the temptation. This is an increase in difficulty for your dog and an exercise that again needs to be taught step by step to help make your dog make good decisions.

With the colder weather approaching, I think it is the perfect time to remind everyone about the joys and necessity of mental stimulation - especially for our canine companions. When it is cold outside, we tend to spend less time on outdoor activities (which I absolutely get. In my dictionary it is stated: "Cold weather equals blanket, a hot cup of tea, cookies and/or popcorn and Netflix). However, this also means less outdoor time for our canine companions and that can turn into some very long and very boring days for them. And when bored, dogs tend to get very creative in their need for entertainment. All of a sudden the newly upholstered chair in the corner might just look like the best chew toy ever created.  The trash can turns into an extremely fun forage activity and your daughter's favorite teddy-bear is now seen as a fun "prey" that needs to be totally destroyed....all fun, rewarding and enriching activities for our dogs, but all very unwanted behaviors for any owner.
So what would be better than having to clean up the mess and having to hunt down the exact same teddy-bear, that Target had on sale 8 years ago? 
Yep, exactly: Prevention in the shape and form of mental stimulation!
A tired dog is a lot less ambitious when it comes down to planning the next big adventure (read: catastrophe) in your home. And nothing tires a dog out more, than making him use his brain and his nose.
Of course I am all about managing our dogs, so they don't even have the option to get into the trash can or into my daughter's room. This means we need to close the door to our daughter's room, use baby gates and x-pen to manage access to the upholstered chair and hide the trash can. But management will always, at some point, fail. Plus it doesn't really help with the mental stimulation or boredom factor. So I say, "let's bake the cake and eat it too" by combining the management  with the Canine Enrichment.
And not only does daily enrichment activities benefit your dog and your home, but it is also quite simple and fun! 

So where do we start? 
 
Well, first step 1:  Take your dog's food bowl away!
Yes, really that simple. Put it up in a cupboard or give it to your aunt. Or just toss it. Because the goal is for your and your dog to not see this bowl again. 
Now it is time to come up with new ways for your dog to get his food (see ideas below image).

Working with dog every day, no matter whether it is at the shelter or in group classes or in my private sessions, I often find that the one thing many dogs are lacking in their daily life, is ENRICHMENT! 
Often we, as dog owners, are good at focusing on the physical activities with our dogs, such as playing fetch, or take them for a swim or a walk. But  we tend to forget about the mental stimulation needed for our furry friends. And when we don't regularly meet the emotional and mental needs of our dogs, we oftentimes start to see an increase in behavioral issues.  And dealing with behavioral issues due to unmet needs, can cause a lot of unnecessary  stress on both  the owners, but definitely also our dogs. 
Adding enrichment to your dog's life, does not have to be expensive, which is why I started this new video series "How to make your dog happy". With these videos I am hoping to show you different ideas for enriching your dog's life, which you can easily implement in your daily routine.
Take the challenge and implement the ideas and let me know the results after you have tried it consistently for a month. 

Here is the first video: "How to make your dog happy...with a snuffle mat" !
Enjoy

Scenario 1:
You are driving down the street with your dog on the seat next to you. You see a dog and it's handler walking on the sidewalk and you automatically tense up , waiting for your dog's reaction. You know what is about to happen. Half a second later, your dog sees the other dog as you drive by and goes into a frantic barking mode, jumping all over you while spitting drool and scratching at the window with only one thought in mind: Need to get out and harm the other dog. In a split second your sweet calm Lassie turned into Cujo!! You instantly react with yelling, pulling, pushing or even slapping your dog.  Your reaction gives you a small sense of control and to be truthful, a small amount of pleasure in this otherwise embarrassing situation- you feel justified to react harshly and at least it shows the other handler that you are working on the problem...or are you?  Your correction used to work - well at least it would after you had passed the other dog, but you have noticed the behavior has escalated in intensity. And even more unfortunately, your dog seems to now cover when you raise your hand.

Scenario 2:
You are walking your dog around the neighborhood, as you have done everyday for the two months after you rescued your dog. You know that exercise is important and you enjoy your daily walks with your dog. Except for one thing: Every time you walk past number 2454 on your street, your dog starts to frantically pull on the leash and soon starts to lunge and bark at the Boxer, that always comes charging at the fence. You feel embarrassed and try to hurry past this house, but you have noticed that it's getting harder and harder to pull your dog away. It is almost like he doesn't even sense, that you are on the other end of the leash anymore. What is even worse, you have noticed that your dog has started to initiate this out-of-control behavior two houses prior to house number 2454. And after passing the house, your dogs now seems to be agitated for a longer period of time. It now can take up to 10 minutes before he even is able to calm down and walk nicely on the leash again. You are at your wits end. You don't want to stop walking your dog. You have heard too many stories about dogs that are just stuck in the back yard with no real exercise or interaction with the world outside. And how dogs are being surrendered everyday stating behavioral issues or lack of time and commitment. So when you decided to adopt your dog, you swore that you would commit to make sure your dog would get his daily walks. So you keep walking, hoping things to get better.

In both scenarios, the handler is being reactive, meaning: " acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it". This is what most of us do, right? React when our dogs displays an unwanted behavior. This reaction is often just a quick band aid..nothing more. In a way it gives us some sense of control in the moment we yank/pull/yell/slap, but the truth is, we often realize that our response doesn't help prevent the same scenario from happening again. 

Albert Einstein is broadly credited with exclaiming “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. 
I like that quote! It really applies well to dog training and especially, when we talk about being re-active versus pro-active. If we keep doing the same thing over and over again, putting our dogs in the same situation over and over again, knowing that based on past experiences,  the probability of our dogs reacting with an unwanted behavior, why do we keep on doing it? Do we truly expect a different result ? Or is it just because we simply have no idea what to do, besides a correction as a reaction? 
It is an interesting humane behavior, but unfortunately in these scenarios (as in many other scenarios), it only causes more tension and often an accelerated intensity in your dog's response.

Working with reactive dog and trying to change their unwanted response (barking, lunging, whining, and so on)  to stimulus in the environment to a more appropriate response (such as staying calm, ignoring other dogs ) is a great learning experience for most owners. It gives me a chance to teach them about body language (see a great video here)  and more importantly about behavioral threshold. A dog's behavioral threshold is when your dog crosses from one emotional state to another. I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about it here, but please read this excellent article "Across a Threshold" to help explain this concept. An article I consider a must read for all dog owners. Which brings me to the next step: how to be pro-active instead of re-active.

Consider scenario 1 again. You know your dog is reactive to all dogs he sees when driving. But when walking on a leash, he only occasionally will react. So that is where your training will start: where the probability of your dog being successful (as in not barking) is most likely.
Take him for a walk. Everytime he sees another dog, give him a nice piece of boiled chicken or hotdog. Something really yummy. Keep your distance (under threshold) so your dog can stay connected and focused on you. Repeat this behavior until your dog voluntarily looks at you expecting a reward when another dog approaches. Slowly see if you can get closer and closer to other dogs.
Next step. Now sit in your parked car and practice the same thing: Your dog sees a dog, he gets a yummy reward. We are trying to change your dog's emotional response - instead of feeling the need to react based on arousal, insecurity, worry or whatever might cause his initial reaction, his reaction is now looking at you and staying calm. BINGO. When your dog is a rockstar and can keep calm in your parked car, it is time to start driving. In this case I would highly recommend that a friend is driving, so you can focus on your dog. Driving makes any stimulus appear faster and therefore we often see an increase in the emotional response from our dogs. Just start slow, if possible. Repeat repeat. IF you get too close to what your dog can handle (over threshold) and he reacts with the unwanted behavior, just add distance as fast as possible and get your dog to calm down before proceeding. This is you being PRO-ACTIVE: Controlling the situation and environment, so your dog does not feel the need to change his emotional state while teaching him the behavior you would like to see instead. Such as looking at you and staying calm. Is this a quick fix? Nope, it takes time and repetition. But the reward is a dog that feels safe and that can better handle dog in his environment. That is a win-win situation for both you and your dog.

Scenario 2: Same thing. Walk your dog the same route until he tenses up. This is your cue that your dog is starting to anticipate the charging boxer two houses up and he is beginning to change his emotions, from feeling safe to worried. Stop there and work on rewarding him for staying calm. You can even toss a few treats in the grass for him to find and help redirect his focus from worrying about boxer to "yum, where is the treat?". Slowly work your way a bit closer, but constantly check in with your tension (take some deep breaths to relax) and your dog's stress and arousal levels. As long as your dog can stay connected with you and take treats from you, you are still under threshold. Only work a few steps closer towards the "issue" house and then walk away. Look at is as "pressure on, pressure on, pressure on, pressure off!" Walk away with your dog feeling safe and you will be able to build up on this experience next time, where you can get a bit closer. Repeat, repeat. Your dog will let you know when he is ready to go closer, which is why learning to read your dog's body language is so important. 

Being proactive means take charge of the situation, prepare a plan and look at it as a training exercise. You are your dog's teacher in life, so help him, guide him and teach him.
And never ever underestimate the power of "just hanging out" with your dog to help calm him down. Letting him acclimate to new surroundings or in settings, which usually creates a tense reaction in your dog and then pairing it up with yummy treats,  will give your dog the skills to handle himself better.
Watch this great video by Suzanne Clothier where she explains this very concept " Threshold, threshold and doing nothing". 

Be pro-active and be a teacher for your dog. The process will make you a better handler!
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Just the other day I was called out to do an in-home evaluation on a 5 months old dog, who was causing a bit disturbance in the house. This dog was a bit insecure and would bark and react to most things - especially people coming to the door, such as me - but the bigger issue was the jumping on the young daughter.
When I come to a house, I gather a lot of information as soon as I even approach the door: how the dog reacts to the knock/doorbell; How the owner handles the dog;  If aroused, how  long does it take the dog to calm down; etc. etc. 
Now this particular dog was definitely insecure, would easily get aroused and would continue to bark bark bark at me even though I ignored her, until........MAGIC!! Yes, I am a dog trainer, who runs around with magic pixie dust in my pocket to throw at the dog...the only thing that works! Seriously !! However. you might know it under a different name: Treats! Yep - that simple. Treats! After tossing a few treats towards this barking fluff ball, she soon decided to activate her brain and now I could even look at her before tossing her a treat - without any barking. My point here is this:
if your dog is insecure about something, then help your dog change it's emotional state of worry to something more pleasant, by creating a positive association using food! The point is to make the dog still feel safe, which is why I tossed the treat to the dog - yes even behind the dog . This allowed the dog to make its own decision, when to come see me. But until ready, I was still this awesome lady with awesome treats who didn't impose a threat  ....(FYI: This exercise works wonders. )
Now this particular dog had had no training, been to no class , had really no skills, but she was (and still is !) very food motivated, so within a few minutes , she had learned to offer a sit for attention, come in to sit, laying down, nose touches and follow me game. This dog was ready to WORK! She loved the attention, the interaction and was super eager to learn!! Such a firecracker and every trainer's dream: Great drive, focus and willingness to offer behavior.  Within a short time, both owners were really impressed with her and could see how ready this little fluff ball was to get some training. Which really leads me to the purpose of this blog post:
Just because your dog might be small, don't underestimate your dog's eagerness (and need!) to learn. Through training , not only do we teach them skills, but also confidence in themselves, so they can handle the surrounding world much better. Just think how overwhelming the world must be for a 5 lbs chihuahua or a 7 lbs yorkie? Build your dog up to be the best they can be. And get ready to be amazed by how much they will teach you in the process. A small dog might be small in size, but mighty at heart.
Let the training begin.....or continue :)
 
​Onward....