Animals don’t always behave how we would like them to, so how do we effectively change their behaviour?  In recent decades, harsh methods have traditionally been used when attempting to adjust unwanted behaviours and unfortunately, many owners today are still subjecting both dogs and cats to physical or severe verbal punishments in a misguided effort to stop them from inappropriate behaviour.  However, continually saying no, yelling at or physically punishing your dog or cat is not actually teaching him the behaviour you want.  In fact these methods are far more counter-productive than most owners realise as they damage the animal-owner bond, and place stress on the animal.  When a dog or cat is under even a mild level of stress, it affects the brain’s ability to function and learn.  I am sure many of us can relate to this experience ourselves – imagine sitting in a classroom with a teacher screaming at you or being in fear of being rapped over the knuckles with a ruler if you get a wrong answer.  It is not a conducive environment to learning, or to growing a trusting relationship with the teacher!

So what to do if your dog or cat is doing something you don’t like?  Firstly we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what the motivation for the unwanted behaviour is.  Your dog or cat may be acting out of boredom, frustration, fear or anxiety.  To effectively change the behaviour we must first have an understanding of where it stems from, as this will determine what path we need to take to turn it around.  Often unwanted behaviours arise simply because the dog or cat is being true to its species, and knows no other way.  So let’s use the example of a cat scratching furniture.  He isn’t being naughty - he is simply performing a normal and necessary feline function.  So what do we do?  We don’t yell and we don’t punish or spray with cat with water – this may move him on temporarily but it isn’t teaching him a more desirable behaviour.  Instead we ensure we provide adequate scratching areas within the home, make the furniture a less-attractive scratching option, and work to actively teach the cat using stress-free and rewarding methods where we would like him to perform his necessary scratching behaviour.

Dogs and cats do not come pre-programmed knowing how we expect them to behave.  It must be realised animals do not have an understanding of “right” and “wrong” - this is a human concept.  Animals also do not have the ability to link punishments with a past deed (and for those who believe this to be incorrect because their dog or cat looks guilty - what is really occurring is your animal is reading your angry body language and is acting submissively in order to appease you).  With dogs, too often people become frustrated and state they are dominant or defiant.  For example a dog that won’t come back when called is often labelled as disobedient – instead we must blame ourselves for not having put the time and effort into training a solid and reliable recall.  As owners, it is our responsibility to work with our dogs to teach them the behaviours we want, and to do so in a way that is positive and will keep the dog motivated.  Instead of focussing on your dog’s unwanted behaviours and responding negatively to them, do a turnaround and start setting him up for success – ensure there are lots of opportunities for him to get things right instead of waiting for him to make a mistake and then punishing him.  If we use the example of a dog pulling on the lead – he isn’t being “dominant”, he simply wants to get going and he hasn’t been taught any other way.  Instead of ineffectively shouting and jerking the dog back on a choker chain or prong collar, why on earth wouldn’t we instead put the time and effort into encouraging the dog to want to walk happily beside us?  We must show our dogs the behaviours we want from them, instead of simply punishing what we don’t like. 

When we are faced with more complex behavioural problems, it is vital we deal with the situation in a way that takes into account the dog or cat’s motivations and learning processes.  Take aggression for example.  Let’s say a dog growls at a small child.  The dog has never been in contact with small children before and is very unsure of the situation so is growling in order to protect himself.  The owner yells and hits the dog for his behaviour in the belief this will stop further aggression.  In reality what has the owner really taught the dog?  The dog has learnt that small children are even more frightening than he first thought!  He now has a very negative perception of them and next time he comes into contact with small children he will associate them with not only fear, but also the negative experience of being punished.  Quite likely his fear and aggression will escalate.  With a positive focus, we could have set this dog up for success by changing his perception of small children to a positive one, and worked to teach him calm and rewarding behaviour around them.  Lets now look at an example of a cat urinating indoors on the carpet.  The owner rubs the cat’s nose in the urine in an attempt to teach it not to do it again.  What has the cat really learnt?  To fear the owner, and to only urinate on the carpet when the owner is not about, or to find a more secluded part of the house to urinate.  With a positive focus, we could have reviewed the cat’s situation, found out why the cat felt the need to urinate on the carpet, and worked to de-stress and retrain the cat using positive and non-confrontational methods.

It’s time for a turnaround in our thinking.  Let’s develop relationships with our dogs and cats based on mutual respect and use positive methods that really work.  Yelling and punishing might make us feel better, but such measures have no meaningful place in effective dog and cat behaviour modification.  There is a saying “abuse begins where knowledge ends”, and this is extremely true in the field of animal training.  Let’s be positive and proactive, rather than negative and reactive animal owners.