What is Bad Behavior, Anyways?
Our ideas of good and bad behavior are based on our own human values. Ripping up couch = bad. Ripping up boxes for enrichment = good.
I want to talk about the name of this blog for a minute. I chose it because it’s a little cheeky, and I love alliteration. Plus, according to many people, JJ’s actions would certainly fall under the “misbehaving” category. Like that one time she stole my Bojangle’s biscuit off the dining table while I was in the bathroom. And that time she stole cornbread off the counter while I was taking the trash out. (There’s a theme. It’s butter. She loves butter.) Or, we could talk about how she barks at the doorbell and lunges on leash.
But to JJ, this behavior isn’t bad behavior. It’s all functional – to her, the behavior serves a purpose. In many cases, the purpose of the behavior is simply to access a reinforcer. When she counter surfs, she gets access to buttery baked goods, which are objectively delicious and amazing. Bam – counter surfing reinforced. You can bet she’ll try and get cornbread the next time around too. Barking at the doorbell has a function too. The delivery person rings the doorbell, JJ barks, and they leave. To JJ, her barking caused the threat (aka the FedEx dude) to depart. The barking is reinforced because the scary thing went away when she barked. The same goes for barking and lunging on leash. Dogs = scary, and barking coincides with dogs leaving – either by chance or because their owners are now terrified of me and my dog.
It can be easy to assign human intent and emotions to our animals, or assume that they understand right and wrong. Maybe you’ve heard someone say that their dog was misbehaving “to get back at them for leaving” or “because he was mad you took his toy.” You’ve probably seen those “guilty” dog images on the Internet. But in reality, our dogs don’t understand human values, nor do they feel guilt. Your puppy doesn’t understand the difference between chewing on your human couch versus her dog toy. She can’t know that the couch is expensive and the toy is not. What she does know is that chewing on dog toys and similar things (shoes, couches, etc.) is fun and rewarding. It serves a function – it keeps her stimulated instead of bored.
The looks that we see dogs give us when we think they are acting guilty are really looks of discomfort or fear. The tucked ears, low tail, and big eyes are all indicators. Maybe you’ve yelled at them in the past or bopped their nose when they stole a shoe. Or maybe you’re not intentionally frightening your dog, but you’re still upset that the carpet is torn, so you’re acting different than usual. Maybe you’re tense and frustrated. Dogs have PhDs in body language, and can definitely read when humans are going to be interacting with them in pleasant or unpleasant ways. They don’t know what they did to make you upset (especially if you are catching them hours or even minutes after the undesired behavior) but they do know that you’re upset. And many dogs have learned that upset humans are just a little scary.
I am really interested in preventing, managing, and training for behaviors that we consider “bad” without the use of fear, punishment, or aversive methods. I can tell you that when JJ steals my biscuits, she does not usually look guilty afterwards. She looks downright pleased, because biscuits are delicious. And if she’s had access to biscuits, that’s my fault for not managing the situation, not her fault for stealing. I mean, who can blame her?
