As you likely know, old habits die hard! That’s why it’s important that we focus on teaching our dogs GOOD habits before they develop BAD habits. Remember, your dog is always learning, making associations, and figuring out how the world works. Each time you interact with your dog, they are learning what they can and can’t do.
Research shows that for humans, it takes 21 days of consistent practice to form good habits, and can sometimes take a long time to break. Our dogs are very similar! Once habits are established, you do it without giving it any thought – it just happens automatically!
Think about your habits with light switches. When you enter a dark room, you automatically flip the light switch so you can see. No thought required. But what happens when the power is out? You keep flipping that light switch. Oops! You KNOW the power is out and that flipping that switch won’t do anything, but the habit is engrained in you. It’s going to take time to rewire your brain into a new habit.
Establishing good habits with your dog from their first day with you is MUCH easier than trying to stop or change something that has become a ‘bad’ habit. Think about your super cute 10-pound puppy. We love that they want our attention and affection! We let them jump on us, we cuddle them constantly, and they’re always by our side. None of that is a problem when they’re tiny puppies, but when they’re 80 pounds those cute behaviors are suddenly BIG problems. No one wants to be jumped on, smothered by, and constantly followed by 80 pounds of dog.
What are good and bad habits?
Well, there’s no hard definition for what your dog should and shouldn’t do! Ultimately, that is up to you, your lifestyle, and the people around you! We all have different ideas on what our dogs should be allowed to do, and things they should never do. There really isn’t any morality to your dog’s behavior. When thinking about what habits you want to form, think about how you’d answer these questions:
- How would I like my dog to greet and interact with visitors to my house? New people they meet on walks or out and about?
- Do I like my dog to get on the furniture with me, or would I prefer they stay on their own beds?
- Are dogs allowed in the kitchen? Near the dining table?
- How would I like my dog to greet me when I come home?
- Do I want my dog to ask permission for things they want?
- Do I want my dog to wait for my permission to go out the door, down the stairs, or to greet people?
- What are some bad habits I DON’T want? Stealing objects? Getting into the trash? Searching the counter or table for scraps? Jumping on me or other people? Dashing out the door?
As you think about the answers to these questions, reflect on any habits your dog has already formed – good or bad! Once you have identified your dog’s current habits, you’re ready to start changing them! Don’t forget – this might take quite a bit of work. Remember our light switch example? That applies here too!
Sometimes the most difficult part of changing our dog’s habits is changing our habits in relation to our dog. We need to make sure we’re REPLACING the old habit with the new one we want to teach, and PREVENTING the old one from occurring in the first place! This will speed up your progress immensely.
Replacing Habits
When you’re trying to stop your dog from doing one habit or behavior, you must always tell them what they SHOULD do instead. Saying “no” isn’t enough. “Don’t jump on guests.” Is not enough information for your dog. What should they do instead? Should they pee on them? Eat their shoelaces? Hump their leg? No, those aren’t good either!
List out the habits you’d like to change, and then make a list of Good Choices your dog can make instead! Start training those good choices apart from the habit you want to change first, then start applying those new skills to your problem areas. More on that later!
Preventing Habits
Management and Prevention is the most important part of teaching your dog new habits and keeping them out of trouble! Every time your dog jumps on someone, they practice that skill and strengthen that habit. Each time they jump, that means that’s even more work you have to do to UNTRAIN jumping on people. They are just digging that “jumping on people” hole deeper, instead of climbing out of it.
Prevention Examples:
- Setting up puppy gates so your dog can’t get into the kitchen to counter-surf
- Buying locking trash cans so your dog can’t dumpster dive
- Putting your dog in a crate or dog-safe room when you leave
- Putting away shoes, socks, and dirty laundry instead of leaving it within puppy reach
- Putting your dog on a leash, behind a gate, in their kennel, or in another room so they can’t jump on guests as they come in the door
- Setting up a gate so you can come in the front door without getting jumped on, and so your dog can’t dash out an open door
- Offering a wide variety of textures and types of chews to prevent chewing on furniture
- Meeting your dog’s sleep, exercise, social, and mental stimulation needs so they aren’t bored, too tired, or too excited to make good choices
Good Habits Example: Polite Greetings
Does your dog enthusiastically greet everyone that comes to the door? How might we tackle that behavior?
Prevent the Habit
First things first, we need to prevent our dog from practicing jumping on people! All our training isn’t going to do any good if our dog has access to keep jumping on people and digging that behavior hole deeper! After you’ve made sure that all your dog’s needs are met, you’re ready for the management step. Here are some possible ways to prevent jumping:
- Have your dog on a 6-foot or shorter leash, and keep them away from guests and doorways. Hold the leash, or tie it to a piece of sturdy furniture
- Place your dog in their kennel or dog-safe room until they calm down, then bring them out on leash
- Set up puppy gates to keep your dog out of the room you and your guests are in
- Give your dog a food puzzle or long-lasting chew to keep them occupied while guests are in the house ( you should also still use a leash or similar to prevent jumping)
Alternative Behaviors: Replace the Habit
There are quite a few things our dog could do that would be more socially acceptable than jumping on our guests! Remember that you need to train these skills WITHOUT guests first. The first several times you have people over will also be training sessions. Don’t forget that the more practice your dog has jumping on people, the longer it can take to teach them to greet people politely.
- Sitting to say hello
- Performing a trick (spin, shake, etc)
- Going to their crate or bed when they hear the doorbell or knocking on the door
- Bringing a toy to greet people
- Standing still to say hello
Default Behaviors aka Say Please by Sitting
Default, or automatic, behaviors are a great habit to establish with your dog, and can go a long way to preventing bad habits from forming! Anything can be a default behavior, but most people choose “sit” as their default behavior.
When picking a default behavior, think about your dog’s current behaviors and your expectations of your dog. Are there default behaviors your dog already performs? Are there some that might be helpful? Sometimes our dog has a default behavior that they’ve learned that we might need to change! A default behavior is a behavior our dog automatically does in a certain context. Jumping and racing around when it’s time to put the leash on is a default behavior. Sitting because he wants a treat can also be a default behavior!
Default behaviors are not only hand for preventing problem behaviors, they’re also a way that our dog can let us know they need or want something, or might be asking permission to do something! I often teach “sit” and “eye contact” as default behaviors. Here are how those might work in real life:
- Brody sits and waits before he can jump out of the car
- Brody sits at the door and waits for permission to go outside
- Brody gives eye contact to ask to go say “hello”
- Brody gives eye contact to ask for me to throw his toy
- Brody sits and gives eye contact if he is unsure about the environment
- Brody sits and gives eye contact if he’d like a treat, affection, or something else from me
How to Teach a Default Behavior
Start with a routine situation you do multiple times a day, and start with a behavior your dog already knows. If your dog doesn’t know how to sit, you’ll have to teach that first!
Sit for the Leash
- Keep treats on hand at the doorway or location you put your dog’s leash on.
- Ask them to sit, reward them. (new cue)
- Grab the leash, clip it to their collar, reward them.
- Head out the door!
- Repeat this every time you put the leash on your dog.
After 3 to 5 days, start testing your dog. Go to the doorway and grab the leash. Wait 10 to 15 seconds. Did your dog sit without you asking? If they did, clip the leash on and give them a jackpot reward! If they didn’t, just repeat steps 1 to 5 a few more times before you test again. They weren’t quite ready yet.
Summary
When you first start training your dog, all of this can seem very overwhelming! Especially if you have a puppy or adolescent dog that struggles with attention and self-control. Everything is achievable with time and patience! Don’t forget, “patience is a virtue”. Take your time, be kind, and be forgiving if your dog makes mistakes. How many times have you tried and failed to create a new habit? Probably too many times to number!
The big takeaway is to always be working towards your long-term goals and expectations with each interaction you and your dog have, but also understanding that they are living beings and won’t always be perfect, just like us.
Overall, you should be seeing progress towards your goals and expectations for your dog, and expecting delays and slip-ups from time to time.