Suzy's Blog

If you are dealing with a behavior in your dog that seems like it cannot be explained or changed you might be dealing with a decision your dog has made.

For example: I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a Boston Terrier, who had a sensitivity to his back and hind quarters. If he was being touched in a certain way it would trigger a bite response. The owners had him since puppyhood and the behavior started a few years ago. The biting was directed at anyone who was going to pet the dog by approaching over the head towards the back. The dog would bite regardless of who was petting.

While it is not really relevant to have the information to why this behavior started I found out that it started after having a severe skin problem a few years back that got the dog associating pain with being touched in this way.

Is your dog jumping on everybody coming for a visit? Are you worried your dog is going to knock someone over, or spoil that wonderful dress your neighbor just bought? Have you tried the suggested things from ignoring to distracting to pushing the knee in the chest and nothing is working?

Would you like to try something else? What else is possible? What if the possibility to change something would not be the same for each dog and the real trick would be to ask your dog what would change the behavior? Some dogs are a lot more sensitive to your thoughts, feelings and emotions than others. For those, the approach would be different to the dog that seems to never check in with you, is constantly 'distracted' and doesn’t seem to know their name.

Some methods used for one dog will be too harsh for another, and the other way around, a method not getting the message across at all! So first see what energy level your dog has and how much you are connected. Some dogs find it highly insulting to be walked towards directly and others will not react to that unless stepped on, literally!

Have you ever thought you might have picked the wrong dog? Are you having sleepless nights over your dogs behavior?  Are you one of the people that picked your dog by breed, or because she or he looked cute? Is there a possibility to change the situation you are in? Well, you have definitely challenged yourself by choosing a dog that might not be the right dog for you. Your energy levels just don’t match. You are not compatible. Now what? Would it be best to find a different owner for the dog and a different dog for you? Or can this be remedied?

There is definitely not a single answer to this situation. But you can start by asking some questions. The first question I would ask your dog is: 'Would you like to own somebody else?' Yes, just like that. Since we do not own them, they own us - after all who goes out to work to feed them? So, really who owns who? I realize this might be a tough question to ask, especially since you are probably attached to your dog. But have you considered that your dog might know a thing or two as well? And would it be possible that he or she might give you a hard time because it’s time to move on? Just one possibility.

If the answer is that your dog would like to still own you the next question might be: 'What can we do to change this behavior?' Your dog will know what it would take. The answers to this question might be plenty, or just a single one. You might get them from all kinds of sources, not just your dog. If you are willing to keep asking the question, you could be surprised by all the different possibilities that present themselves!

Dogs don’t respond to the words you are using.  Instead they respond to the energy and the pictures that you are sending with the words.  So if you are saying, "Don't bite", you are projecting the image of biting from your head. It is like if I say to you "Don't think of a green apple", not only will you think of one instantly, I am also projecting that image whether I’d like to or not. The word "don't" does not have a picture, so it really means nothing to the dog.  So they will bite which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. You are sending a message with the command of "Don't bite", and the energy of urgency along with the picture, of biting. From the dogs point of view you are commanding them to bite, so after the chore is done, they now get punished. For the dog quite a confusing moment.

This might sound really strange, but what if every demand we had of our dog was coming from the place of what should occur, not what should not occur. For example, instead of saying "Don't jump" to a dog jumping up on a person, say "All four feet on the ground" and see the difference. It is a different approach and it might give you a new way of looking at a scenario! Give it a try!