I saw something on Pinterest this morning that reminded me just how much people don’t know about dogs — and how confident they are in their ignorance. Somebody responded to a pin about dog enrichment activities by assuring the pinner that praising a dog for digging is “the worst thing you can do,” because it teaches the dog to dig up your yard or even tear up your carpets indoors.
If this were true, then praising a dog for relieving itself outside would teach the dog to relieve itself in the house — and yet, somehow, when we praise our dogs for relieving themselves in an appropriate location, they don’t interpret that to mean we want them to urinate and defecate wherever they like.
Housebreaking is a prime example of teaching what I call an “instead of” behavior: Instead of relieving yourself in the house, relieve yourself in the backyard.
When your dog is engaging in an instinctive behavior in a problematic way, “instead of” is one of the most powerful phrases in your vocabulary. Here are some good examples:
- My late rat terrier, Scout, liked to chew on shoes, so I gave her an old Birkenstock in a discontinued style that didn’t feel quite right on my feet. She loved it because it looked and smelled like the shoes I wore every day, but she could chew on it with impunity because it was hers. (Scout was a smart, highly transactional little dog and seemed to relish the idea of having her very own shoe to tear up.)
- I’m teaching Marley that instead of chewing on Kleenexes, she should chew on her plushies. She needs to chew, and she prefers soft textures, so Lamb Chop is taking one for the team.
- I taught Ramona that instead of pestering us for handouts at dinner, she should go to her place board and wait until we give her permission to come and collect a treat.
- I recently advised a client to teach her heeler mix to herd a yoga ball instead of herding her toddlers.
Used correctly, with proper supervision and training, instead of tools such as dig pits, herding balls, chew toys, retrieving dummies, and the like can provide a safe, appropriate outlet for instinctive behaviors and help working dogs settle in and focus instead of getting bored and trashing your property. Each tool is a little different, but in general, you train dogs to use these the same way you train them to relieve themselves outdoors: Every time you catch them doing an instinctive behavior in an undesirable way, you correct them, redirect them onto an acceptable alternative, and immediately mark and reward when they use it. As with housebreaking, you’re allowing them to fulfill their needs; you’re just asking them to do it in a specific context.
If you’re having trouble getting your dog to stop doing something you don’t like, figure out what need the behavior is fulfilling, and then come up with a more acceptable way for him to meet that need. Dogs are concrete thinkers, and “don’t” is pretty abstract. Instead of is much clearer and easier for them to understand and perform.
If you live in the Tucumcari area and need help with training, my next group class starts April 6. It’s $50 for the six-week course, with proceeds going to Paws and Claws and the Tucumcari Railroad Museum. Advance registration is required; sign up here:
Tucumcari Dog Training 
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