Why Wellness is the First Step in a Training Plan
By Polina Semenoff, CPDT-KA
The majority of the time, it is not our first thought that our dog may or may not be doing something because of physical pain. Sometimes our dog might be displaying problem behaviors, or even new problem behaviors, because of something that is going on internally. A simple and much-overlooked example could be a puppy or young dog that is potty trained but has an outbreak of accidents in the house. Some troubleshooting that is usually suggested is more supervision during free time in the home and more opportunities for potty time outside; however, we can go a bit deeper and ask if the dog possibly has a urinary tract infection. Another classic example is a dog who resists getting dressed (putting on a harness, leash, or even a jacket). We might look at this as a lack of neutrality in handling, but it could also be that the dog has pain around their head due to an ear infection; when you put the harness on over their head they instinctively want to back away. It is important to consider all sides of the problem behavior when deciding on a behavior modification plan because it just might be that something isn’t right, not that the dog is stubborn or unruly.
Pain in our dogs is usually accompanied by avoidance strategies intended to minimize the chance of discomfort. On top of that, pain diminishes emotional capacity. A dog who usually engages with everyone at their daycare may all of a sudden be looking for opportunities to disengage or even might be snappy during play when they normally wouldn’t be. Because dogs are social animals, they could also display appeasement behaviors towards us when in pain: more pawing, leaning, and nudging could be interpreted as pushy or excessively asking for attention, when it could really be their attempts for communication. Some general signs to look for are touch avoidance, changes in routine, odd changes in personality, decreased interest in usual activities, and much more.
It is important to be mindful when observing changes in behavior as it is essential in identifying pain regardless of age. At My Dog’s Got Class, we follow the LIMA hierarchy. This acronym stands for Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive – it is a strategy that trainers use for behavior change and the first step is addressing nutritional and physical wellness. This is why we ask so many questions that many clients feel are not relevant to the problem behavior that they are experiencing with their dogs. There are five more steps after wellness and only the third step starts to deal with actual training. Sometimes we even recommend seeing a veterinarian before making a training plan. This approach to training really highlights the ‘big picture’ so that all aspects of behavior change can be accounted for so that a foolproof training plan can be created and executed. It is so important to not address the symptoms of a problem behavior but to look deeper as to why the behavior is occurring, whether it has to do with pain or not.
If you are interested in learning how to find and identify differences in your dog’s behavior, contact My Dog’s Got Class for a private session so we can work together on some detective work! Please visit: mydogsgotclass.com or email Adrienne at: info@mydogsgotclass.com.
