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Stop bad behavior before it starts

One of the first tools in every dog trainer’s toolbox is what we call “management,” or managing your dog’s environment, so he or she cannot practice the unwanted behavior. In fact, many behavior problems can be eliminated using management alone. So, what do we mean by “management”? And why is it such an important concept in dog training?

What we mean by “management”

Managing your dog’s environment simply means to observe and make choices about the setting to prevent unwanted behavior. For example, if your dog has a terrible cat-chasing habit, you would make sure he or she is on a leash every time the cat enters the room. You have removed the opportunity, using the leash, for your dog to chase the cat. This prevents the dog from practicing the unwanted cat-chasing behavior (and remember, practice makes perfect), while we teach the dog an alternate, acceptable behavior.

For example, what if your dog gets into the kitchen trash? This behavior is not ideal, because not only is the dog making a mess, he is endangering himself with anything inedible or poisonous he might eat. The easiest way to stop this behavior is to use management — put the trash can inside a cabinet, get a trash can with a lid the dog can’t open, or put a gate up in the doorway so the dog can’t get to the trash. “Management” is not a single solution, but looking what happens before the behavior, and altering the situation to make the behavior less likely.

Proactive vs. reactive

Management has two components: Observation and proactivity. This is opposed to what we sometimes do when our dog behaves in a way we don’t like — observation and reactivity. When we manage our dogs’ behavior, we want to be on the lookout for environmental triggers, or scenarios, in which the dog might perform the unwanted behavior before it occurs. We then make the choice to be proactive — to react to that potential situation before the dog does, and to change our behavior to help the dog.

Let me give you an example. If I am out walking my dog, and she sees another dog, I might tense up because I think she is going to bark at that other dog. I hold my breath and tug on the leash as the other dog gets closer. When the other dog is close, sure enough, my dog lunges and barks. I yell, “No!” and yank the leash.

That’s reactivity on my part. I am reacting to my dog’s behavior after it has happened, even though I saw the other dog before my dog did, and I predicted she would bark and lunge. Not only is this a useless way to train my dog, but she’s being rewarded for barking at the other dog. How is she being rewarded? Usually the other dog moves away, which makes her feel safer.

So, what would proactivity look like in this situation? One proactive action would be for me to turn and walk in the other direction as soon as I saw the other dog, before my dog had a chance to react. In this way, I both prevent the barking and lunging behavior, and prevent reinforcing (rewarding) the dog for that behavior. You can likely think of other ways to alter the picture to keep the lunging and barking behavior from happening.

Why is it so important to manage our German Shepherds’ environments?

The short version is this: Managing the environment can prevent the dog from practicing an unwanted activity. When your GSD practices a behavior you don’t like and is rewarded for it, the stronger that behavior will become! We use management to protect the dog’s training. Our goal is to teach our German shepherds a new behavior we do like. Without management, we are teaching dogs that unwanted behavior still pays.

And, most importantly, management is a requirement when the safety of the dog, other animals or people is at stake. German Shepherd owners know the importance of management for dogs who don’t yet come when called. Another example: If I think my German Shepherd is likely to jump up on a child, I can put pressure on the lead close to my dog’s collar, to keep her feet on the ground. While this action alone won’t train my dog not to jump, it prevents her from knocking the child down or jumping up or bumping the child’s face. Holding the leash changes the picture, so I can give my dog a massive reward for sitting, or turning her head away from the child.

Management gives us a chance to teach our German Shepherds calm behavior, while minimizing or eliminating those we don’t want.

 

What to do when your puppy bites

Puppies use their mouths for many reasons. Teething, exploration, taste, play, and chewing are just a few. Plus, your puppy needs to learn bite inhibition so he or she can regulate those powerful GSD jaws as an adult dog. So what do you do when those needle-sharp baby German Shepherd teeth are tearing up your clothes or skin?

First, let’s cover a few DON’Ts:

  • Don’t hold your puppy’s mouth shut. Besides possibly hurting your puppy and causing him to retaliate with a hard bite, think about what puppies do when they play — they mouth each other! If you start interacting with your puppy when he puts his mouth on you, he will be likely to try that strategy again the next time he wants your attention.
  • Don’t smack or hit your puppy (on the face, or anywhere else). Besides hurting your puppy, hitting teaches him to be wary or afraid of human hands — definitely not an association we want our adult German Shepherds to have!
  • Don’t shout NO! or Stop! If this worked, it would have worked the first time, and forevermore! Instead, shouting at your puppy teaches him to be afraid of you or to ignore you (or maybe both).

Here are some strategies to try if you find your puppy is biting too hard:

  • Decide what “too hard” is. Remember, your puppy NEEDS to bite. Biting with puppy teeth is how your pup learns how to be gentle with his or her mouth. You want your puppy to bite you! However, you get to decide how hard is too hard. My rule of thumb is if the bite leaves a red mark, that is too hard. If your puppy bites too hard, say “Ouch!” in an unpleasant tone, and stop playing with your pup for a moment. IMPORTANT: You should never allow your puppy to mouth or bite babies and children. Kids aren’t capable of appropriately telling a puppy how hard is too hard, and biting can easily become a game, or could hurt the child. Have kids play with the puppy with toys or feed your GSD puppy treats for being calm.
  • Use toys. Use a tug or fluffy toy to encourage your pup to bite a toy instead of your hands and clothes. Remember to trade your puppy the toy for a treat each time you want him to give it up, so he learns to give you the toy quickly and easily!
  • Teach a desired behavior. Teach your puppy to chase a treat up and down the stairs, or to walk nicely on leash, or to fetch something, instead of biting.
  • Create some downtime. Using a leash, tether, crate or other barrier is a good way to help your puppy calm down when he or she is to excited to play appropriately. If the “Ouch!” technique isn’t working, or your puppy is disinterested in toys and only wants to bite you or your clothing, it’s time to shift to a calmer activity. Use the teaching calmness technique as above, or put your puppy on a leash, temporary tether, or crate with a stuffed Kong or other tasty chew toy. Try playing again in a little while, after a potty break!

Q&A: Older dog biting and mouthing

Q: I have a one-year-old GSD. He is a very sweet dog with tons of energy. I have trouble walking him, so to give him exercise I throw balls around and run him around the backyard. Still sometimes he can get bitey. I know he just wants to play, but sometimes he jumps on me and bites hard. Once he starts doing this it’s really hard to get him to stop. How should I handle this? I’ve searched for tips before online. One recommended to turn away and cross my arms but he is so big he can knock me down or will just continue to bite me anyway. How should I proceed?

Either a tether or a Gentle Leader headcollar can be effective in these situations.

Buy a Gentle Leader and train him to wear it; he should drag a leash anytime he is loose so biting, mouthing and other inappropriate behavior can be interrupted.
Here is a video on acclimating your dog to a head halter:

Teach your dog to love the head halter

Tethering him to a sturdy or stationary object while you are in the same area is another way to prevent inappropriate behavior, but tie him only using his collar or a harness, and NOT the Gentle Leader!

When your pup gets bitey, say “Ow!” in an unpleasant voice, and stop playing with him for 5+ seconds, then try again. Use toys as an intermediate when playing with him, like the fetch game you describe. If he bites you or grabs your clothing, pick up or step on the leash so he cannot reach you (if he’s wearing a Gentle Leader), or step outside his tether range (if you are not playing fetch and he is tethered). Try playing with him again in 20-30 seconds, or as soon as he’s settled into a sit or down on his own for three seconds.