PavlovsPooch

Believe it or not, we sometimes reinforce our dogs bad habits when we yell at them, throw then off of us, or shame them. Simply reacting at all in ANY WAY can be enough to encourage the behaviors that drive you nuts. Dogs brains (much like human brains) recognize patterns and sometimes this pattern recognition can even cause false connections and correlations that can resemble superstition or to some degree even ritual. Consider this, everyday the mailman comes to the house. Your dog sees the mailman approach the house. Dog believes he is trying to invade the house and starts barking. The mailman drops some envelopes in your box and goes his way. The dog is now VERY PROUD because he scared off today's intruder. His action correlates with a predictable outcome each time the mail arrives. Now, if the mailman were to change his response to the barking and choose to leave only after the dog has quieted, the dog may even give up barking at the postman after his efforts stop producing an observable outcome (or reward). We begin by observing problem behaviors and to find the pattern your dog has become familiar with and the solution begins by taking away the predictable outcome your dog is expecting. Action without results can become unsatisfying pretty quick and no one wants to keep doing something that doesn't get results. Let's assume your dog is jumping for attention. When the dog realizes jumping doesn't get results, they will stop and once the dog settles down we reinforce the calm greeting by showing affection or with a treat.

Aggression/Anxiety/ and Nervous behaviors such as nervous bladder, destructive chewing or obsessive licking that can result in bald spots are a few different ways your dog is dealing with emotional turmoil. We want to spoil our dogs because they are one of a kind and love us unconditionally.
What most of us never consider is that giving our pup everything it could want can actually create insecurity and mental distress for them. You see, dogs/wolves live by a heirarchy that determine how the conduct themselves, who breeds, who eats first, and even their responsibilities and their spot in formation. This is natural for them and makes them feel secure. Now you have to realize, packs can habe hundreds of wolves and the Alpha is the uncontested shot caller, so the odds your dog would have been Alpha are pretty low and that is why spoiling them can result in so much distress. When we give treats without commands or when we let the dog win when we play with them we communicate to them that we are not ready to be the leader because from the dogs perspective you've unwittingly sent the message that they have to take on the responsibility of Alpha (despite instinctively knowing this isn't their rank). This communication has been going on under the radar to us but loud and clear to our Lil Buddy who now believes you need him to protect you and the house, and when you leave for work he becomes a nervous wreck or tears up anything he can because it feels like he isn't doing a good job. He may become possessive over toys, food, territory, etc. He may even try to intimidate you and flat out ignore your commands. This is why the BEST thing you can do for your dogs happiness is to give them peace of mind afforded by having a definite purpose. This is what sets us apart from other dog trainers. We don't just fix behaviors. We want you to understand just what a big deal you are. For your dog and the world around you. As you develop confidence handling your dog it will become obvious that improving the way your dog perceives you begins by improving the way we treat ourselves.