McAllen Dog Boarding When training dogs at our McAllen dog boarding facility we always try to learn about the antecedent of the dog's behavior. An antecedent usually activates a behavior. For example, if your dog barks at the sound of a knock on the door. Finding out what makes your dog bark can be a big help to teaching him to behave and be quiet. The pattern usually happens this way: antecedent, conduct, consequence, good behavior, and a prize. It is important to do all these things in order to teach your dog to not bark too much. An excellent way to find an antecedent is to keep note of when your dog usually starts up the barking and what has happening before the barking started. Note exactly what you think caused the barking and then see how long it takes him to calm down or stop. After doing this you will begin to notice when you are advancing in the training or if you're just going around in circles. You will know if you are doing the job right if you keep record of the minutes and seconds and each time these become less. Good dog trainers write these things down to see their results. We often times only tend to notice when our dogs are barking and not when they are being quiet. Part of the barking solution is praising and acknowledging the dog when he is being quiet. Each time you do this, you are encouraging him to be quieter more often. You can pay attention to your dog by petting him, playing with him, letting him inside, or letting him out, or whatever works. You will begin to notice that he barks less within a few weeks or days depending on the amount of reinforcement and on how severe the situation is to begin with. |