Canine behavior consultants rely heavily on a procedure called counterconditioning. Implemented correctly, counterconditioning can successfully change a dog’s emotional and behavioral responses to a specific stimulus (situation, object, person, etc.) from fear, avoidance, or aggression to a positive association. It is a powerful and effective technique that we often recommend to clients with reactivity or aggression issues.
Don’t be afraid that you are “rewarding” unwanted behavior by pairing barking, lunging, whining with a food item. It is often counterintuitive to humans, but the research shows that it is not possible to increase fear, aggression, reactive, or phobic behaviors through pairing these behaviors with food. In other words, if your dog lunges aggressively at another dog in the distance and you give them a bite of their favorite treat immediately afterwards, your dog will not learn to bark at other dogs more; instead, the dog will begin associating other dogs with the treats. The more consistent you are, and the better you are at gradually exposing your dog to a trigger under controlled circumstances, the faster you will see a positive behavioral change.
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