Thursday Tip: On the importance of being patient There is nothing more rewarding than putting hard work into something and seeing immediate results. It gives us motivation and makes us feel like we are achieving something. When we train our dogs or work on their behaviour rehabilitation, quick results also give us a confidence boost and make us feel great. And it is very tempting to ditch the behaviour modification plan altogether if it doesn’t seem to be working straight away, it’s very easy to get discouraged and move on to the next trainer/behaviourist. However, before you do, it is vital to consider a few things. Firstly, behaviour problems don’t, or rarely do, develop overnight. If your dog is displaying a problem, you probably vaguely remember when it started, and also how it gradually got worse and worse until you contacted somebody to help you. Some people live with a problematic pet for months or even years before realizing that they can’t manage it any more on their own and their pet needs professional help. Therefore, if your pet’s problem has been going on for a while, expecting it to disappear within a week or two is very unrealistic – it can take months or even years to make progress, especially if the behaviour problem is quite severe, so writing a diary or making short video clips of your dog’s behaviour as you progress through the behaviour modification programme is a great help to keep the human side of the partnership motivated. Another thing to consider when working on addressing behaviour problems is that your pet is not a broken washing machine with a fault – it’s not as simple as going and replacing a part for it to work perfectly well again. Our pets, similarly to humans, experience emotions such as fear or anxiety, and behaviour problems often stem from dogs associating negative emotions with situations/people/other dogs (e.g. a dog can develop a fearful reaction towards other dogs or certain noises). Changing an emotional response towards something, especially if it’s a negative emotional response, does not happen overnight – humans don’t stop being scared of spiders after one session with a therapist, and so dogs shouldn’t be expected to overcome their fears in a single session. It takes time. Finally, it’s also worth remembering that when you work on your dog’s behaviour you will have good days and bad days, you will take steps forward, but also a few steps back. Dogs are not machines, they are living creatures, and they don’t always conform to what we would like them to do. It’s worth keeping in mind that they are, just like us, living, feeling organisms with their own motivations and desires, their own fears and phobias, their good and bad days. So while you work on your dog’s behaviour problem, remember to be patient; don’t expect results overnight; accept there will be setbacks and don’t get discouraged – just soldier on through them – and you will see great results! In a few months when you look back at where you were when you started, you won’t believe how far you’ve got! Written by the team at Pets in Practise, where determination and positivity works!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 07:18:44 +0000
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