Michael Baugh CDBC
If your dog is doing something you don’t like, or, worse, something dangerous, a smart trainer or dog behavior consultant will ask the question: What’s the function of the behavior? It’s called a functional analysis. It’s also kind of a dog training joke.
What’s the function? WTF? Get it?
Our dog’s behavior has a function. They do what works.
Here’s an example. Our new puppy pees on the rug in the dining room. We don’t like it. WTF? Great question! The function of that behavior is to relieve the discomfort of a full bladder on an absorbent surface. If we’ve reprimanded our puppy in the past, peeing in the dining room might also serve the additional function of avoiding our scolding.
Here’s another example: Our dog comes to us when we call her. The function? Get a treat. Enjoy some additional play. Gain access inside. Anything we have in store that works for the dog.
Functional analysis asks what the existing behavior accomplishes.
Functional dog training asks what we can teach instead.
It can look a lot like basic training, with one notable difference. We might teach rudimentary cues like come or lie down, but we are teaching them with a specific function in mind.
It’s not magic. It takes a lot of practice.
Coming when called, to use that example again, can teach a dog to avoid a triggering situation on cue. (Yes, the pool guy is here. Come! Get a treat. Now, let’s go do something else.)
Similarly, lying down on a mat, in a bed, in a crate, or simply going to another room can become a functional alternative to barking or lunging. Aggressive triggers can become cues for calmer behavior.
What’s the function of this training for us? It can make our lives with our dogs easier and more enjoyable.
What’s the function for our dog? Pretty much the same. These newly learned behaviors create distance, predictability, and access to reinforcement. Those experiences can actually reduce the intensity of our dog’s big feelings. That makes their life easier and more enjoyable, too.
This is all pretty straightforward, but if your intuition tells you it’s hard work, you’re right. We are teaching our dogs alternative functional behaviors; that’s not terribly hard. Dogs are quick learners. We are also attempting to influence how our dogs feel in situations that have previously frightened or angered them. That’s the harder part.
Be patient.
Be kind.
We teach our dog these new functional behaviors in low-stress sessions. Use food. Model calm behavior. Train; don’t test. This is what trainers mean when they say, “Set your dog up to succeed.”
Add distractions gradually. Create winning experiences our dog can handle, ones in which our dog can succeed with their new functional behavior.
Back to that coming-when-called example: practice calling the dog away from the windows when no one is outside, then maybe when a family member is outside, then eventually when the pool guy is outside but we aren’t right up next to the window.
Oh, and what about that puppy? Take him out every two hours. Wait for the pee. Praise. Treat. Play. Wait a minute. There might be more, maybe even “big boy potty.” Treat that too. Make outside the place with the best payoff. Relief plus good times.
Back inside with your puppy, have some fun, cuddle. Supervise. Safely confine when you can’t. Lots of structure, routines, and awareness win the day. No need to punish accidents because we aren’t letting accidents happen. Well done, clever human.
Now we’re putting the fun back in FUNction.
Michael Baugh teaches aggressive dog training online and in Sedona, Arizona.