Understanding Canine Behavior: A Holistic Approach
Behavior is incredibly complex with many contributing ingredients and moving parts.
I recently joined a chat with a few other trainers with diverse training approaches and backgrounds, and an openness to learning and understanding each other's perspectives (such a beautiful thing!).
I thought I'd share what I shared on that thread regarding "behavior"...I don't really label the approach I take to working with people and their dogs. If I had to, it’d be "holistic" because I work primarily with behavior, which is incredibly complex and has many ingredients contributing to, influencing, and impacting it.
Key Ingredients Often Overlooked:
1) The Human End of the Leash: The information being shared by the dog's human/s daily—most of which they’re not even aware of.
2) Energy: It's not woo-woo; it's real, influential stuff. Strong energy and soft energy combinations between the dog and human—mentally soft and strong; ex. a soft energy human or dog with a stronger energy human or dog; many problems arise when there are major energy gaps between the two.
3) State of Mind: The level of excitement, arousal, and intensity. Even aggression and reactivity are overly aroused, overly excited, intense states of mind—just not so good shades of it.
and
4) Unmet and Unfulfilled Needs: This can be broken into four categories: basic, essential, individual, and breed-specific.
Trauma and Behavior
Trauma is also a factor, and I just created a masterclass around this (I have several masterclasses in my digital academy, the PackFit Academy).
Both humans and dogs are hardwired for connection, but trauma rewires us for DISconnection and PROtection, which is also reflected in behavior. So the focus must be on restoring what was lost.
Relationship Dynamics
Relationship and how the dog perceives their human plays another role. What does their human represent to them? Stress? Anxiety? Frustration? Impatience? Instability? Inconsistency?
(I go over this more in my upcoming book, "The Human End of the Leash: Dog Training's Missing Link"- available for pre-order here: https://www.packfit.net/books-and-ebooks)
Energy of the Dog
The "energy" of the individual dog also comes into play. Is the dog a soft energy dog (more passive and softer in nature)? If so, a little bit goes a long way with these guys, and a simple "No" with a low vocal inflection, pitch, and tone may be sufficient.If the dog is a stronger energy dog (stronger in will, more assertive, more confident, pushes and tests boundaries, more self-certain), addressing any not-so-desirable choices, states of mind, and behaviors will be different—and may involve "corrections."
Effective "Corrections"
No "correction" will be effective unless it matches the intensity level at which the behavior is being practiced, and "corrections" come in different forms. The key is to find which form the individual dog responds to. What one dog considers "unsavory" and displeasurable, another dog could give two hoots about.
Learning and State of Mind
Learning how to read body language, understanding the dog's existing associations that can "trigger" arousal/excitement, etc., is key. This is where the state of mind also factors in.
I explain "state of mind" to clients using a scale from 0 to 10. 0 is where the dog is cool, calm, and collected. Responses (as opposed to reactions) to stimuli happen here. When the dog starts creeping up the scale heading towards 9 and 10 ("no man's land"—the highest level of escalation and where it’s impossible to reach them at that point), there's an area I call "the window of opportunity". It's our chance to notice rising states of mind and address them, de-escalating state of mind and bringing them back down to calm.
"Punishment" and Learning
When it comes to "punishment", I define it differently. I define it as creating a level of discomfort that's meaningful to the dog.
Humans and dogs both learn through consequences, and there's nothing wrong with this. Turning the attention to what the dog will GAIN through making a certain choice, practicing a certain state of mind, or exhibiting a certain behavior is key. Is it attention? Affection? Meals? Treats? Getting let out of the crate? Getting leashed up for a walk? Getting up on the couch? Laying on the bed? If the dog is gaining anything pleasurable through practicing something, they're going to continue to practice this. This is where understanding of the 4 quadrants come into play.
I want to preface this by saying there's a massive difference between "punishment" and abuse. Punishment is NOT abuse (though this is highly dependent on the human delivering it and their emotional state).
Much like with raising children, they come to the table with their different personalities, so our parenting styles need to differ from child to child.
The Four Quadrants
All four quadrants work together (see graphic). They're each other's opposite and support each other. Adding something meaningful ("comfortable" or "uncomfortable," "pleasurable" or "displeasurable") and taking it away is the crux of it. Positive punishment could mean a spray from a water bottle, a pop on the leash, using spatial pressure (very much a canine language), a clap of the hands, etc. If it creates discomfort or displeasure, it's "punishment" (this word REALLY needs to stop being demonized, as well as the people who apply it in responsible, respectful, and appropriate ways).
Every dog, especially the more sensitive ones, will respond differently, so training approaches need to vary from individual to individual and from human-dog pairing to human-dog pairing.
My background as a board-certified health and life coach plays a significant role in working with humans and their dogs' problematic behaviors. It's definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Wanna' learn more? Check out our digital courses and masterclasses in the PackFit Academy! Here you'll gain access to what's not typically being taught in standard training programs--- and what these programs are missing when it comes to BEHAVIOR.🐶
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