Dogs are always learning — from us, their environment and every experience in between. If you’re struggling with behaviors like destructive chewing, excessive barking or pulling on the leash, this guide will help you navigate these and other common behavior challenges with patience, positivity and a better understanding of your dog’s point of view!

Dogs learn through the immediate “consequences” of their behavior — what happens immediately after they do something. These consequences, positive or negative, determine how they will behave in the future. The most effective way to change your pet’s behavior is to reinforce, or reward, the behaviors you want to see your pet continue. For example:

• If a behavior results in something rewarding like food, belly rubs or any kind of attention, the dog is more likely to repeat the behavior.
• If a behavior does NOT result in something rewarding, your dog will offer it less and less.

For more information on how animals learn, check out our YouTube Playlist: How Animals Learn & Why Behavior Works

Step-by-step guide to solving behavior issues

1. Identify the behavior you want to resolve: This could be any behavior, but common examples include jumping on people, barking when someone comes to the door or pulling on leash.
2. Prevent the behavior from occurring: The more opportunities your dog has to practice the unwanted behavior, the better they get at it. This is how habits are formed. For example, if your dog jumps on people, don’t allow them to rush to the front door to greet guests entering the home. Instead, put your dog on leash until they have settled. Similarly, don’t allow your dog to run freely through a party where there are tons of people to practice jumping on. Instead, put your dog in another room or in their crate until you are ready to work on the behavior (Check out these videos: Crate Training Tips, Puppy Pen Set Up and Train Your Puppy To Be Calm in a Pen). If you are walking down the street and a person asks to pet your dog, you can have the person bend down to greet your dog or use a treat to encourage your dog to stay on the ground to greet. If this does not work because your dog is over aroused, you can lower the leash until it hits the ground, and then step on the leash to prevent your dog from practicing the jumping behavior. You are not pinning your dog to the ground, punishing them or intimidating them in any way — they should still be able to sit, lie down or stand up — they just can’t jump up on the person. You can do this inside too!
3. Identify why your dog is performing this unwanted behavior: Your dog's behavior serves a purpose. If you can figure out what your dog is trying to achieve, you can fulfill that need in another way. This will make the undesired behavior unnecessary for your dog. For example, if your dog is jumping because they want attention, show them that jumping is not an effective way to get attention. Alternatively, give them attention before they resort to jumping.
4. Reward the absence of unwanted behaviors: In the example of jumping, you should praise, pet and treat your dog any time they approach a person without jumping. Keep in mind: The reward has to be as valuable to your dog as the undesired behavior in that moment. If your dog is jumping to initiate social interaction, offering them a toy is not going to fulfill their need for social interaction. Instead, reward the absence of jumping with affection and attention. Or, if your dog is jumping to steal a taste of the food you're eating, reward the absence of jumping with treats.
5. Train a new desirable behavior to replace the unwanted behavior: Use positive reinforcement to teach your dog to sit when people approach by rewarding them with attention, praise and treats (For more: What is Positive Reinforcement in Dog Training?).

With practice, these steps will help reduce unwanted behaviors, like jumping, and replace them with desired behaviors, like sitting. This formula can be applied to any behavior problem you observe with your pet — check out our Quick Tips for Common Behavior Concerns for more guidance! Remember training your pet takes time, patience, practice and repetition...and it should be fun for you and your dog!

For more information on why we do not recommend using aversive methods, check out this video on Positive Punishment and this article Positive Reinforcement: Does it Work? If you're looking for a positive reinforcement animal trainer near you, check out our Local Trainer Directory and watch these videos on How To Pick a Trainer 101 and How to Find a Trainer That Won't Harm Your Pet.