Using Dog Food Strategically to Control Pet Agitation

Do certain stimuli easily agitate your dogs?

• Do they bark and run around tirelessly at the ringing of the doorbell?
• Do they automatically jump on anybody who enters your home (and cause your friends to no longer want to visit you)? 
• Does the sight of the mailman send them into a frenzy — biting and mangling things in your home?

People who have witnessed your dogs’ behaviour probably think you’re in dire need of Cesar Millan’s dog training services. However, you can actually take care of this problem yourself.

Learning About Learning

Take a cue from Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning. Based on this learning procedure, when a neutral stimulus (like a bell) that in itself does not trigger a response (like salivation) is presented to a dog together with and a non- neutral or unconditioned stimulus (like food) which produces an unconditioned response (like salivation), the dog will eventually learn to associate the two kinds of stimulus with each other.

Over time, the dog will develop a conditioned response — he will eventually produce the same response (salivation) to the bell by itself that he previously experienced when presented with just the food.

You can thus use dog food to alter your dogs’ unpleasant behaviour, which is their response to specific stimuli.

Applying the Principle

The easy way to go about the situation is to pair the stimuli with an opportunity for the dogs to get something they like. In this case, it’s the yummy treat – it doesn’t matter if it is a dry treat or a small amount of their favourite wet dog food in a bowl.

Pet specialists recommend this action:

• When the barking, howling, running around, or mangling of objects commences due to the appearance of a stimulus, get hold of your dog and softly (but firmly) tell him to shush or be quiet 
• When he heeds your instruction – meaning he stays still and quiets down – that’s clearly a win in the situation
• Be ready to immediately provide him a treat and loving words of encouragement

You may be thinking that it’s counterintuitive to provide positive reinforcement to a negative and definitely annoying behaviour. Over time, however, your dog will learn that his sensitivity to the changes around him is appreciated by his human. However, the way he violently reacts to these changes is not.

Apart from dog food, you can also use toys as a diversion when the pup is agitated. Some people say that toys may be less effective compared to food, however, as canines get rather excited when they get the idea that it’s time for play.

Staying consistent for the goal

Overall, this strategy is definitely worth giving a shot if you have a hypersensitive dog. And the best way to ensure its efficacy in controlling how agitated the dog gets when exposed to certain stimuli is to be consistent.

Consistency will help impress upon the dog’s understanding the link that connects:

• The cause (stimulus);
• The effect (his agitation and protective instinct);
• Your reaction (your firm instruction);  His final response (quieting down);
• Your complete satisfaction (provision of reward), and
• His ultimate happiness (the treat). For more great pet care tips, check out the Pet’s Delight blog today.