12/05/2025
The Dopamine Loop: Why Your Dog Does What It Does (And Why It Sometimes Looks Like Madness)
Dogs donât do things âjust becauseâ. They donât leap onto the kitchen counter for philosophical reasons. They donât bark at pigeons because theyâre debating politics. And they certainly donât spin, zoom, chew, chase, or chaos-their-way through life because you âhavenât said the command clearly enoughâ.
They do it because of dopamine.
Dopamine is the brainâs little motivational spark plug. It drives desire, behaviours, repetition, and habits, good or bad. And once a dog gets caught in a dopamine loop, you end up with patterns that repeat themselves faster than a Spaniel spotting a tennis ball.
Letâs take a deep dive into how this loop works in dog training, why it influences so much of your dogâs behaviour, and how you can use it for you rather than spending your days yelling âOi! Get off that!â while your dog pretends itâs never heard English in its life.
1. Stimulus: The Spark That Lights the Fuse
Every behaviour begins with a trigger. A stimulus.
For your average dog, this could be:
⢠A squirrel doing the worldâs worst attempt at being sneaky
⢠Another dog existing within a five-mile radius
⢠The lead appearing
⢠The postie daring to breathe near the front gate
⢠You opening a packet of crisps (which obviously means treats for them)
This spark activates the anticipation of pleasure. The moment that little brain says, âSomething brilliant might happen here!â, dopamine wakes up like a Labrador hearing a fridge door open.
And then the chase beginsâŚ
2. Dopamine Release: The Brainâs âOoh, Lovely!â Moment
Once your dog has been triggered, the brain produces a dopamine hit.
This is not the pleasure itself.
This is the motivation to get the pleasure.
Itâs the reason your dog can go from âlying peacefully like a furry throw pillowâ to âlaunching across the room like a buzz sawâ in 0.3 seconds.
This chemical surge fuels the behaviour:
⢠Chase the squirrel
⢠Bark at the window
⢠Charge towards the ball
⢠Nick the sandwich
⢠Jump on grandma
Whatever the expected outcome⌠dopamine tells them itâs a grand idea.
3. Pleasure: The Reward That Seals the Deal
Then comes the payoff.
Your dog does the thing, and the brain says,
âYes, that was tremendous. Letâs do that again. Preferably immediately.â
That payoff might be:
⢠Successfully chasing something
⢠Getting a toy
⢠Receiving your attention (even if youâre shouting)
⢠Snatching food
⢠Winning control of a situation
⢠Relieving stress through barking or movement
Even negative behaviours can feel rewarding because the dog gets something from it, dopamine doesnât judge. Itâs simply along for the ride.
This is why a dog who gets reinforced by self-rewarding behaviour (chasing, scavenging, fence-running, herding children, etc.) can be an absolute pain in the backside unless you build your own reinforcers that compete.
4. Desire for More: The âAgain! Again!â Phase
This is where trouble starts.
Once your dog has experienced pleasure from a behaviour multiple times, the brain begins to anticipate it earlier and more intensely.
That anticipation releases more dopamine.
More dopamine leads to more motivation.
More motivation leads to faster, stronger behaviour.
And suddenly youâre wondering why your dog has turned into:
⢠A window-barking alarm system
⢠A squirrel-obsessed park missile
⢠A lead-biting crocodile
⢠A ball addict who stares at you like you owe them money
The brain now wants more. And more. And more.
5. Reinforcement: The Glue That Hardens the Loop
Behaviour repeated becomes behaviour reinforced.
Behaviour reinforced becomes behaviour learned.
Behaviour learned becomes behaviour expected.
This is where owners often unintentionally add petrol to the fire.
Examples:
⢠Dog pulls â owner follows â dog learns pulling works
⢠Dog barks â owner shouts â dog gets attention
⢠Dog jumps â owner pets â dog learns jumping = contact
⢠Dog guards â owner backs off â dog wins space
Every action has an outcome, and if the outcome feels good or avoids something bad, the behaviour strengthens.
You cannot negotiate with dopamine.
You can only train through it or against it.
6. Habit Formation: The Behaviour Becomes Automatic
After enough repetition, the behaviour becomes hard-wired.
At this point, your dog isnât thinking.
Theyâre not choosing.
Theyâre not evaluating your training cues.
Theyâre simply following a loop their brain has carved out like a hiking trail.
This is why:
⢠Reactive dogs rehearse reactive behaviour
⢠Pullers pull
⢠Jumpers jump
⢠Ball-obsessed dogs become ball addicts
⢠Barkers bark for reasons even they probably canât explain anymore
Habits donât need dopamine, theyâre just automated.
Breaking them requires deliberate, structured training.
So What Does This Mean for Dog Training?
Now we get to the good stuff: how to use this loop properly.
1. Control the Stimulus
Stop giving the dog access to the behaviour youâre trying to fix.
If the dog rehearses it, they strengthen it.
Simple as that.
This is why management tools, leads, long lines, anchors, boundaries, crates, structured environments, arenât ârestrictiveâ. Theyâre educational.
They stop the loop from running until youâre ready to re-programme it.
2. Create New Dopamine Pathways
You must make yourself more rewarding than:
⢠The squirrel
⢠The jogger
⢠The noise
⢠The environment
⢠Their own internal chaos
This is where play, food, engagement, markers, obedience, scent work, and structured routines come in.
You arenât fighting the dog.
Youâre competing with dopamine.
3. Reinforce the Behaviours You Want, Not the Ones You Donât
No more rewarding jumping.
No more rewarding pulling by moving forward.
No more rewarding barking with attention.
No more rewarding chaos by giving freedom.
Reward calm.
Reward focus.
Reward clarity.
Reward boundaries.
Reward neutrality.
You must feed the behaviours you want to grow.
4. Break Old Habits with Repetition, Structure, and Consistency
Changing a habit requires:
⢠Interrupting the old loop
⢠Replacing it with a new loop
⢠Repeating the new loop until it becomes the default
Humans struggle with this.
Dogs are brilliant at it, once you give them the path.
But you must be consistent.
If you change your rules every day, you will drive your dog insane and not in a fun âSpaniel zoomieâ way.
Final Thoughts: Train the Brain, Not Just the Dog
Your dogâs behaviour is not random.
It is not malicious.
It is not stupidity.
It is not defiance.
It is chemistry.
Once you understand how dopamine drives your dogâs urges, behaviours, and habits, you stop taking their actions personally and start training with strategy instead of emotion.
You teach the dog how to win in ways that work for both of you.
You build new habits that actually serve everyday life.
And you stop old habits before they become a lifetime hobby.
Remember:
If you donât guide your dogâs dopamineâŚ
The environment will.
And the environment rarely trains dogs well.
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