Why Management is Essential

Research shows that adult dogs are roughly as intelligent as a 2-3 year old human child. You would never leave a child alone without proper management- a playpen, toys and a baby monitor. Without management children will get themselves into trouble, be disruptive to others, color on the walls or could even get hurt. When thinking about managing your dog it’s important to view her as your furry, four-legged child that needs & deserves your constant guidance and oversight. Management is a crucial piece of any good training or behavior-modification program. To change behavior, you need to stop the dog from practicing the unwanted behavior while training the dog to do the behaviors you prefer instead. Whether you are looking at a short-term or long-term management solution, the better you are at management, the easier & faster it is for you and your dog to succeed.

Management is necessary while the dog learns new, more appropriate behaviors. Teaching your dog a new way to act often takes months of daily training sessions and hundreds (sometimes thousands) of repetitions. It is unrealistic to expect a dog to not jump on the counter when there’s food left out. Manage the situation by not leaving food out or by not giving them access to the kitchen when you can’t watch them. It’s unrealistic to expect a dog to not run out of an open door. Manage the situation by having an x-pen around the door or hold the dog on a leash when the door is open. It’s unrealistic to expect a dog to not run off when loose outside. Manage them by having them on a long line (a 15 or 20 foot leash). As you can see management – the practice of controlling the environment- is absolutely essential to maintain a safe environment and have a well-behaved pup. Dogs naturally do things like chew, jump, run, chase & dig. Expecting them to not do what is natural for their species is unrealistic. Management keeps them safe & well-behaved, and it keeps us sane!
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I know you may be thinking “but I don’t want my dog to be in the crate when guests arrive” or “my dog should know it’s wrong to chew the remote control.” Unfortunately, this type of thinking just isn’t realistic when dealing a member of a different species. While we should love & teach them like they are our children we must not forget they are a totally different species with completely different needs, innate behaviors & communication repertoire. Dogs do what works for them to get their needs met. They take cues from the environment about how to behave and based on what worked in the past in that scenario (what was reinforced) is what they are likely to repeat. If you want your dog to stop repeating a naughty behavior and do a good behavior instead, you need to manage the naughty and then train for the good. Contact me to get your pup started on a training or behavior modification plan, management included!