How can I keep my dog from barking?
The first question you should ask is, “What’s behind my dog’s barking?” At Beyond the Dog Sarasota, our approach emphasizes function behavior training, which means our goal is to understand the cause behind the barking, not just the barking itself. Questions we may ask include “Does your dog bark by their food bowl, and does this usually mean she is hungry?” or “Does your dog bark at the neighbors through your window because he wants them to leave?” Since these functions originate from different causes, the treatment methods will vary. If you’d like additional information on behavior modification, we explore this topic in greater detail in our articles “
How Can I Help My Reactive Dog?” and “
What is Behavior Modification with Dogs?”
What’s causing my dog’s aggressive behavior?
A dog may be aggressive for many reasons, including genetic factors, negative experiences, and not being correctly socialized. Over time, these behaviors can be self-reinforcing, leading to more severe behavioral issues. For example, if they bark at the delivery driver to tell them to leave, their behavior can be reinforced because the driver will always leave. This behavior can worsen over time as barking behavior is reinforced.
Do you use punishers in training?
Beyond the Dog does not use prong/pinch collars, electronic shock collars, choke chains, or any punishers. Instead, we use positive reinforcement techniques that implement consequences through time outs, leash pressure, and other non-painful, humane alternatives in our training. We follow the guidelines set by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists.
How is a dog behaviorist different from a dog trainer?
Dog trainers usually specialize in obedience training or teaching specific tasks like agility or field dogs. Dog behaviorists will perform obedience training and be more knowledgeable in how dogs behave and learn. This includes behavioral issues such as reactivity, biting, and housebreaking. A dog behaviorist can also identify behavioral issues in puppies at an early age.
Can trainers ensure their results?
Behaviorists and trainers can’t ensure training results any more than a teacher can guarantee a student’s success. It’s unethical to promise complete success in training outcomes, as the success of training depends on various factors. These factors include the owner’s commitment to reinforcing the learned behaviors and regularly maintaining the training. However, we can confidently say that Beyond the Dog has taught thousands of dogs with various behavioral issues. During this time, we successfully modified behavior through science-based training methods, which has led to lasting results and happy clients.
Is positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement more effective for dogs?
How are positive and negative reinforcement different? An example of positive reinforcement would be to give your dog a treat after completing the “place” command. Your dog is more likely to repeat the “place” command because of the reward of a treat. Negative reinforcement is when a behavior is more common because something is taken away once the behavior is performed. An example of this would be to shock a dog when it fails to perform the “place” command, with the discomfort of being shocked removed when the dog successfully performs the command. The dog will learn to perform “place” to avoid being shocked. People would choose positive reinforcement, and dogs are the same when given a choice. A recent study has shown that dogs who receive negative reinforcement have greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol than dogs who receive positive reinforcement training.
