Dog Behaviour Quotes

“Humans have not changed the dog's way of behaving to any significant degree compared with the changes we have made to its physical structure.”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“Every problem that we address in this book comes with a clear message. Dog problems are caused by humans! We create an unnatural environment for dogs and we often have little understanding of their needs. Our expectations are frequently unrealistic!”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“The secret to modifying the problem is to produce an alternative behaviour which we find acceptable, and which the dog prefers to do.”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“When knowledge runs out, aggression hastens in”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“At no time should the lead be used as a forceful training aid. It should only be used to ensure your dog's safety or to comply with local or governmental regulations.”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“The lead is used as a safety precaution for your dog, not as a training aid”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“Changing the environment can change the behaviour.”
― David Weston, Dog Problems: The Gentle Modern Cure

“I've come to see many behavioral issues in terms of a dog's level of stimulation. To make a generalization based on experience, many overstimulated dogs are reactive, environmentally vigilant, or unable to think. Conversely many understimulated dogs tend to disengage, wander off, and sniff.”
― Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog

“Is all stress bad?
For the purpose of this book, when I describe a dog as "stressed" I mean he is in a state of distress that needs to be alleviated through the various tools I offer. It should be recognized, however, that stress is a normal part of learning and living, and that not all stress is the bad type of stress we call distress. There is also a good type of stress, called eustress. This type of stress is what my sister-in-law, who is a serious runner, feels when running a marathon. I imagine that dogs that live for agility experience the good type of stress running a course. Dogs also experience stress when learning something new, and it is up to us to teach them in a manner that leaves no room for distress.”
― Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog

“I have seen students allow themselves to be intimidated by instructors, either because those instructors have put impressive titles on their own dogs, or because they have a very strong personality, or both. If you go against your gut feelings about your own dog because an instructor wants to fit a square peg into a round hole, you can set your training program months back, or worse.

The right instructor is out there for the CU dog, though he or she may be harder to find than an instructor who has had a lot of success with dogs whose personalities are closer to "bombproof."


If an instructor asks you to do something that you think is wrong for your dog, how ever, don't be so impressed by performance titles that you blindly accept the sugges-tion. With few exceptions, agility instructors are not behaviorists and don't always understand the principles of behavior modification: it's not their job to.”
― Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog

“A BEHAVIORAL PROGRAM
CU is not an agility class though it can help with agility-related behavior problems.
CU is also not an obedience program though it incorporates aspects of operant conditioning, which is the method I use in training obedience skills. CU is a behavioral program. Many of the core exercises are based on the principles of desensitization and counterconditioning, which are principles used in behavior-modification pro-grams, not in obedience classes.”
― Leslie McDevitt

“Arousal is not drive. Drive is a primal force at work, such as prey drive or sex drive. Dogs given a job that channels their drive are satisfied and eager to work.
Do not mistake the intense eagerness of a dog in drive for arousal. Arousal is a behaviorist's word for excitement. When I say "overaroused," I mean overexcited.
As the Goldilocks Rule states, dogs that are overexcited-in other words, past their arousal threshold-cannot think as clearly and will not perform as well as those that are under threshold. Some handlers think they can shape the extreme excitement of arousal into agility drive. Actually they cannot get a clear-headed performance from an aroused dog until they teach him to relax and help him lear to think through his excitement.”
― Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog

“You are going to see this concept pop up time and again in this book. The Premack Principle is simple and powerful and plays a critical role in my training methods.
It states that what the dog wants to do (called a "high-probability behavior") can be used to reinforce what you want the dog to do (called a "low-probability behavior").”
― Leslie McDevitt, Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog

“I know that most or all of you have been told by your instructors that to train your performance dog you must be the center of his universe, the most interesting thing in his life.

I understand, however, that you are not always able to be the most interesting thing in the world. I understand that sometimes your Westie might think a running rodent is more interesting than you. And that's okay! You can train your dog anyway.”
― Leslie McDevitt