There are several ways to define behavior, but one of the ways behavior can be defined is the way an animal or human reacts to a paritcular situation (or stimulus). Behavior Modification, then is the systematic approach to changing behavior.
In other words, unlike dog obedience training that trains a dog to perform specific actions when requested, behavior modification looks to change a dog’s reaction to situation, a person, a thing, and animal, etc..
While some behavior modification makes use of obedience training techniques such as teaching a dog to sit or lie down, these taught behaviors are called on as tools in an overall program that hopes to change how the dog thinks, feels and acts. Lying down and “sit-stay” (where the dog sits when asked and stays seated until given the signal to go) may encourage deference or relaxation for example in combination with other methods.[1]
Change the behavior AND the attitude
It is important for people to understand that when we try to treat dog aggression, we are looking to change more than simply what the dog does.
The danger in focusing only on what the dog does
K9aggression.com sometimes refers to behavior modification as “attitude intervention” Why? Two reasons:
1. People get fixated on the other definitions of behavior and solely focus on what the dog is doing and ignore the internal process that needs to be addressed, such as anxiety components and the dog’s physical responses (i.e. the fight or flight response of the nervous system).
2. People skip or ignore the two most fundamental aspects in addressing dog aggression:
- Avoiding the triggers that cause the aggression
- Foundation training allowing the behavior modification process possible
Four main steps to modifying a dog’s attitude and behavior
- Environment Control
- Foundation Deference Training - passive behavior modification
- Foundation Relaxation Training - passive behavior modification
- Active Behavior Modification