When an issue becomes a problem
Settling for something now can become worse later

If someone says to me “I have a slight issue with my dog pulling” I know exactly what they mean. That this is actually a significant problem for them. A ‘slight issue’ implies a ‘minor irritation’. Something you wouldn’t contact a dog trainer for. A visit to the chemist rather than the doctor. But they might be embarrassed and the call to the dog trainer might feel like an admission of failure. Incidentally, don’t be. And it’s not!
But tell it how it is! Better to know “he’s a Tasmanian Devil” rather than “he’s a bit lively” before I walk through the door! But how we describe our dog’s behaviour has a lot to do with our expectations too. What is no issue or a little issue to one person might be a (bigger) problem to someone else. Some people want their dog to bark at the door, others don’t. And that’s fine.
An Issue
On another level it doesn’t matter how we describe things, but just for today let’s define an ‘issue’ as a less desirable dog behaviour that:
- we barely notice, or
- we do notice it a lot but we are willing to put up with it, or
- we don’t think it’s ideal at all but that’s just the way it is
Now, there’s a big range of behaviours that this might cover. And don’t get me wrong, dog training should be about embracing some beautiful ‘flaws’ or idiosyncrasies in your dog. No-one should want a micro-managed robot. We are not perfect, and neither is our dog! But once we have some parameters in mind for letting our dog be a dog, a typical ‘issue’ might involve, say, mouthing, excessive barking or pawing or jumping up, or running over uninvited to things. Let’s hold that thought for now.
A problem
Let’s define a ‘problem’ as something that:
- restricts your life or makes it stressful for you or others in some way, or
- interferes with your well-being or safety, or
- interferes with your dog’s well-being or safety, or
- directly impacts other people’s or dog’s well-being and safety
It is likely of course to be many of these things as they are inter-linked. And there might be a huge variation in degree. There can be a big difference between keeping a ‘lively’ dog near to you with a visitor at home and managing a reactive dog in a public space. But the first point, that a ‘problem’ restricts or stresses your or others’ lives in some way, covers all of these shades.
Now, we might describe a typical ‘problem’ as something that might involve, ooh, say, mouthing, excessive barking or pawing or jumping up, or running over uninvited to things. The very same things we might call an issue!
When an issue becomes a problem
Puppy mouthing is an issue, biting is a problem. A small dog jumping up at your calves might be an issue. A dog, whatever their size, jumping up on a toddler or a senior person, is a problem. Pulling on the lead might be an issue, pulling you to the ground is a problem. At what point do they cross-over? Is it when the dog grows to a larger size? Sometimes. But always, an issue becomes a problem when the dog is able to practice and rehearse it to the point that it becomes a ‘normal’ behaviour for them. Not all issues become problems, but they are more likely to than not.
Let’s call the Dog Trainer!
Not always. But often I come in when an issue has become a problem. In other words, a behaviour has become entrenched to the point that what works for the dog and what works for their parent(s) are polar opposites. And that’s okay, we can always address this with training. This does become harder though, if the dog has had years of practising the old behaviour. You may not think it’s significant now, but there’s a good chance it will be. Far easier to get on top of it either at the first signs of an issue, or even better, to pre-empt issues in the first place. Puppy training is so important for this reason: we are steering and encouraging the puppy to learn to make the right decisions. This takes a little work and practice, sure, but it’s easier than trying to correct a problem later.
What are we reinforcing?
We might be commendably trying hard to correct some issues with our dog and puppy but if these are not working, we could be contributing to the dog continuing the behaviour. A good example is rewarding anxious barking by petting our dog and telling them it’s okay. Or it could be that we are just ignoring it. Because a lot of dog trainers say this, including me! But this should only apply to certain behaviours and situations. Sometimes if we ignore it, the dog thinks we are telling them it’s acceptable to keep going. For example ignoring barking at anything that goes past the window allows our dog to keep self-reinforcing this. It works because the nasty person walking past always goes away!
When doing nothing is doing something
If an unwanted behaviour is focused on you, like barking for attention, ignoring this is actually doing something, because one thing here we are teaching our dog is that this doesn’t work. But if your dog’s unwanted behaviour is focused on something else and we are ignoring it, our dog is enabled, to keep practising it, to get really good at it. Here, an issue becomes a problem because we have been ignoring it.
What we settle for is what we get
This is often said in dog training. But more often, settling for something now can become worse later. Living in denial is one of the biggest reasons an issue becomes a problem: “it’s no big deal really, I can cope with it, it’s just how she is”. A good dog trainer is there to help with any problem. But even in the apparent absence of any issues, training your dog to a higher level not only pre-empts their emergence, but also contributes so much to your dog’s well-being, and yours!