Monthly Archives: November 2017

If anybody tells you that dog behavior modification is fast, easy and simple to do, that person would be lying to you.  In order to modify the behavior of a dog, you really need, at a minimum, 3 weeks.  Whenever I am going to work with a dog, I do a meet and greet to make an assessment of the dog and the expectations of the pet parent.  Abby, a 2 1/2 year old Beabull, ate so fast that she would toss her cookies right after she inhaled her food.  I tried a lot of different things, including a funny looking dish and at the beginning it worked, but later on she went back to puking on and off.  Because of that, I changed the way I did things with her: she started by eating in her kennel; I did not talk to her at all, no commands, nothing; I was the only one feeding her; and all I asked from her was to give me eye contact right before I put her dish down.

So, how is Abby doing right now?  She hasn’t tossed her cookies in a long time and I no longer have to use the funny looking dish I got for her unless I want to.  What I was doing with Abby was behavior modification, and I can tell you from experience that it takes time, consistency, patience, repetition, and a thorough knowledge of dog body language that most pet parents lack.  For that reason, I’d recommend that you find the right person to help you.  Ask a lot of questions, and don’t buy the, “I can fix your dog in 1 week for only $1,800”.  If you find someone like that, don’t walk, run, and run fast.  Behavior modification takes time and depending on what you are trying to change it can be quite complex.