12/08/2025
Obedience Is Not Behaviour
There’s a fundamental misunderstanding in the dog-training world: obedience and behaviour are not the same thing. You can teach a dog a perfect sit, down or heel, yet still struggle with lunging, reactivity, chasing, guarding, or any other dangerous or unwanted behaviour.
Why? Because obedience commands do not change how a dog perceives a situation. And until that perception shifts, the behaviour stays firmly in place.
Unwanted Behaviour Must Be Addressed Directly
A dog indulges in a behaviour because, from the dog’s perspective, it works. It’s beneficial, rewarding, fun, relieving, or simply habit.
To change that behaviour, the dog must learn, through clear and consistent consequences, that the behaviour no longer improves the dog’s situation. Only then can the dog choose a different response or stop altogether.
This has nothing to do with:
• Luring with food
• Endless engagement games
• “Mental stimulation”
• Over-exercising the dog
None of these tactics erase the dog’s belief that the unwanted behaviour is necessary, effective, or enjoyable. You cannot bribe a dog out of a behaviour it finds self-reinforcing.
Why Most Trainers Avoid the Real Issue
Far too many trainers focus on everything but the problematic behaviour. Not because the alternative work is what the dog needs, but because they lack the knowledge, experience, or confidence to address the behaviour head-on.
So instead, you’re sold:
• Engagement training
• Food-based obedience
• Stimulation plans
• Multi-week “progress packages”
All of which keep you on the books, spending money, while your dog’s actual issue remains untouched.
The Real Concept Is Simple But It’s Not Easy
Stopping unwanted behaviour follows a straightforward principle:
1. Prevent the dog from rehearsing the behaviour for a period of time.
Every repetition strengthens it.
2. Reintroduce the dog to the context where the behaviour typically occurs.
3. Control the outcome so that performing the behaviour no longer benefits the dog in any way.
When the dog repeatedly experiences that the behaviour fails to achieve its goal, the behaviour loses value and begins to fade.
Simple in theory but ex*****on is where things get complicated.
Where Most Owners Struggle
The variables around behaviour modification are incredibly nuanced:
• The dog must make the correct association without you directly influencing or overshadowing the learning.
• Timing, body language, environmental control, and clarity all matter.
• The dog may need a conditioned alternative behaviour to fall back on (something incompatible with the problematic behaviour.)
• The transition from controlled setups to real-life environments must be done carefully.
This is where genuine experience matters. Behaviour is not something an “overnight expert” can fix with a handful of treats and a training package.
Work With Skilled, Experienced Trainers
If your dog is displaying behaviour that is unwanted or dangerous, you need guidance from trainers who actually understand behaviour. Not just obedience routines.
Professionals who can read a dog, shape outcomes, and engineer learning in a way that changes the dog’s perception, not just its tricks.
Because at the end of the day:
Obedience is optional.
Behaviour is not.
