BH190: Adolescent Minds and Manners

 Sharon's Sample Lecture

Topic 5.3 Effective management

“Management” is a term used to describe any strategy that stops an “undesirable” behavior from occurring. Below is a list of common examples:

• Leashing a dog before guests arrive can be used to stop our dog from jumping up on guests,
• Blocking access to front windows may prevent dogs from barking at passing people / dogs / bicycles / cars, etc.
• Safety gates can be used in a home to stop two dogs from physically interacting (e.g. to avoid altercations, or when one dog is recovering from an injury and hence we don’t want the two dogs running/playing together).
• Barriers can be used to block access to “valuable resources” or entry points. This can prevent altercations between dogs in a multi-dog home.
• Confining dogs to a quiet area of the home (e.g. in a crate, x-pen, or behind a closed door) can be useful for helping our young dog to rest/sleep/relax in a busy household.
• Installing an additional fence inside a boundary fence creates extra distance between neighboring properties and can prevent fence running/fighting.
• Ensuring no items are left on benches can prevent a dog from accessing items via counter-surfing.
• Giving a long-lasting treat or chew toy to a dog to prevent frustration (and associated behaviors) during a period of confinement.
• Using a long line when out walking can prevent our dog from engaging in unsafe or inappropriate behavior (that could occur if off-leash in the same area).
• Avoiding placing our dog in situations that are beyond their current skillset can prevent the rehearsal of inappropriate, unhealthy, or unsafe behavior. Leaving an area as soon as our dog indicates they are struggling is also a management strategy that prevents the rehearsal of undesirable behaviors.

“Management” typically requires us to become involved ahead of time but may also be initiated at any time we recognize a problem. The actual intervention often involves physical control (e.g. a leash, long line, a safety barrier, a crate, etc.), but may include blocking a particular sense (e.g. using a visual barrier to block visual input, or using ear protection to block auditory input, etc.). On some occasions management incorporates the use of a previously trained behavior (e.g. stationing, or a cue to turn to us, or a strategy that helps our dog to leave an area with us).

Any strategy that stops the performance of an “undesirable” behavior could be labeled as management. However EFFECTIVE management includes two additional criteria:

• The strategy needs to prevent arousal from escalating to non-beneficial levels (or assist in reducing arousal back from non-beneficial levels).
• The strategy should not simply result in a switch from performing one “undesirable” behavior to a different “undesirable” behavior.

Examples - 

Issue: Our dog is over-aroused and is lunging and barking at other dogs in a class setting.

Ineffective management: We place our dog in a crate, however our dog continues to bark and/or spin/pace in the crate.

Examples of effective management options:

• We help our dog to get to a distance where they can stop the lunging/barking. Initially we continue to rapid feed, or do treat scatters, or treat drops, or cue simple behaviors with a high rate of reinforcement. As arousal comes back down, we gradually reduce our input/interventions and allow our dog to manage themselves at that distance.
• We place our dog in a crate or on a cot at a suitable distance, but we remain engaged with our dog and actively implement arousal lowering strategies (e.g. talking with them, giving them treats, giving then access to a long-lasting food item, etc.). We remain engaged with them until their arousal is back to a beneficial level and they are once again able to manage their own arousal/emotions/behaviors.

Issue: Our dog struggles to remain in control of their own arousal/emotions/behavior when guests arrive. This results in them jumping on our guests, and/or running around our house, and/or mouthing us or our guests, and/or redirecting onto our other dog/s.

Ineffective management: We place our dog behind a safety gate which prevents access to our guests and our other dog/s. Although our dog can no longer engage in those specific behaviors, our dog continues to bark/whine and/or spin/leap/pace behind the barrier.

Examples of effective management options:

• We train our dog ahead of time to be comfortable remaining in a more distant area of the house that provides visual blocking, and we place our dog in that area with a long-lasting chew treat ahead of our guests’ arrival.
• We keep our dog with us and on-leash during the arrival of guests (and potentially during the entire visit). We focus as much attention as is needed on helping our dog to remain at a beneficial arousal level (using treats, verbal interaction, chew toys, etc.).

When we implement EFFECTIVE management, we are preventing the rehearsal of specific inappropriate / unsafe / unhealthy behaviors, but we are also ensuring that our dog isn’t rehearsing a different but equally inappropriate / unsafe / unhealthy behavior. We are also ensuring that our dog isn’t being exposed to unhealthy levels of arousal or experiencing prolonged intense emotions.

 Julie's Sample Lecture

 Coming soon!