What’s the difference between obedience training and behavior modification?
Obedience training teaches your dog to perform specific cued behaviors, while behavior modification addresses your dog’s reaction to a particular person, place, or thing.
How do I know whether my dog needs obedience training or behavior modification?
If you’re interested in training your dog to perform cues like Stay, Come, Heel, etc., then obedience training will help you reach your goals. Behavior modification addresses issues like fearfulness or aggression. R+K9 can help whether your dog needs obedience training, behavior modification, or both!
Jill handles R+K9's behavior cases and specializes in reactivity and aggression.
How does behavior modification work?
Eliminating your dog’s aggressive behavior like growling, lunging or shallow bites will only suppress those obvious signals - it won't resolve the aggression. Your dog will still experience the same emotions but loses his or her ability to communicate through warning signals. This is often the case when a dog “bites out of the blue” – he or she was previously punished for growling, which extinguished the most obvious warning signal.
Behavior modification investigates why your dog reacts the way he does, as well as what triggers his response. When we know what is triggering your dog to react and why, we can intervene and address the underlying cause.
How do I get started?
Behavior modification begins with a two-hour meeting to evaluate your situation, assess your dog's issues, and discuss your training goals. It's a deep dive into your dog's background and behavior. The evaluation includes a comprehensive follow-up report with your dog's customized training and behavior modification recommendations.
Will you come to my house?
In-home behavior modification is available in the greater Winchester, Virginia area. At our behavior consultant's discretion, we may make exceptions due to extenuating circumstances and travel further distances for an additional fee.