Solutions to Breed-Specific Behavior Problems
Dogs with persistent behavior problems are often exhibiting behavior that is related to the job they were bred to do — herding, retrieving, guarding, or chasing things that move. When a dog has a behavior problem related to its original working ability, think of it as hard-wired behavior or a behavior that a dog's genetics have preprogrammed him to do. Consider the Border Collie that chases and nips at heels, the retriever that is obsessed with having everything in her mouth, or the terrier that barks or chases squirrels. In these cases, the genetics of the dog determines his behavior.
When teaching your dog to generalize her behavior, a good rule of thumb is to give only one command. If the dog doesn't respond appropriately, get out a treat and help the dog perform the behavior. Repeated commands will condition your dog to respond more slowly to commands in public places.
Constant and Patient Reinforcement
What hard-wiring means for you is that without the appropriate training and practice, it will be harder to stop the dog from practicing the undesirable behavior.
Here are several things to keep in mind when you are retraining dogs like this:
Keep the rate of reinforcement high.
Build up your dog's bank account for good behavior.
Train your dog to perform the behavior for a longer period of time.
Consider teaching a trick as a replacement behavior.
Money in the bank is each click and treat for the right behavior. No one can ever have too much positive reinforcement for good behavior. When you are trying to change hard-wired behavior, you must increase the likelihood that your dog will offer the right behavior by making sure the bank account is full.
If you are going to change the dog's mind about an instinctive behavior, you need to provide lots of reinforcement for the alternate behavior. A high rate of reinforcement means that you keep your standards low and reward the dog for even attempting the new behavior. You don't up your criteria or expect multiple repetitions; you simply reward the new behavior as often as possible. This way it will be more likely for your dog to respond to a given situation with the right behavior because he has been rewarded so frequently.
Money in the Bank
Each reward for the new behavior is money in the bank. You are building a reinforcement history that has to compete with a natural and self-rewarding behavior. Building a strong reinforcement history takes time and practice before it will eventually replace the old hard-wired behavior with the new desirable one.
