The one thing you need to know about dog behavior

***Dogs do what works for them...always; and they don’t feel guilty about it.***

That's it.  If your dog is exhibiting some behavior then it is working for them.  Otherwise, they wouldn't be doing it.  The trick is to understand what's working.  

We can use it to our advantage to teach a behavior.  For example, you want to teach your dog to sit, you give them a treat every time their butt hits the floor when you say "sit". Now, that behavior works for them so they are going to repeat it.  

Or we want to stop a behavior.  For example, your dog barks at you and you give them attention by looking at them or even telling them "no." That behavior now works for them and they will repeat it.  To change the behavior we have to take the attention away.    

The top 4 most common things your dog is looking for is

• Attention
• Food
• Release extra energy 
• Relieve boredom

These are not the only things but they are the place to start.  

The concept is easy, it’s applying that gets tricky.  Sometimes it's super obvious (your dog jumps on the counter and gets to the food) or not so obvious (your puppy is whining in the crate for attention, not to go potty).  This episode is chock full of examples on how to apply this. 

Now you know my secret.  This is the same place I always start when trying to teach or stop a behavior.  It takes practice, but if we take a hard look at our dog’s behavior (and ours) you will see the pattern.  

Press play to listen to the full episode with more details and examples.  Enjoy!