Impulse control is a learned ability to not have a spontaneous, knee-jerk reaction. This is done by using teaching/training methods that condition a dog to have self-control. Lack of self-control or impulse control is not age-related meaning it’s not a stage a puppy will grow out of as they mature. Self-control is a learned behavior for humans as well as canines and replaces negative responses with positive ones. The positive responses then reap the desired reward. The reward is not a treat. The reward is what your dog desires at the time. Allow me to give you an example.
If I walk into your home and your dog runs toward me and jumps on me with the desire to get my affection and my attention, he is demonstrating a lack of self-control or impulse control. If I pet him and show him affection and attention while he is jumping on me, I am giving him what he desires at the moment, but I am also validating his negative, unwanted behavior and he will continue to run and jump on people to get the desired attention he seeks. So, what do I do? If I step back and slightly bend at the waist making it difficult for him to jump on me, and firmly say “NO’ at the same time, followed by asking him to “SIT” I am beginning a process of conditioning him to sit instead of jump. By petting him when he is sitting and saying “GOOD BOY”, I am giving the dog what he wants, which is my attention, but only when he gives me what I want which is his positive response/controlled behavior. Replacing jump with sit is a simple learning exercise that is one of the first steps in impulse control. By repeating this game-like/teaching activity for a few minutes at a time, I am conditioning the dog to respond correctly, and we both get what we want.
Another early training lesson is to sit/stay at the door before going out. The exercise would be to have your dog sit/ stay about two feet back from the closed door and face it, with you at his side. You open and hold the door open for the count of ten and your dog is not allowed to stand up and approach the open door until you give him permission to walk out with you at his side. I will go into how to do this in another post. Right now, the importance is understanding why your dog needs to learn these basic methods of impulse control. What is the reward for sit/stay at the door? Simple. The reward is going out for a walk!
Why is teaching sit, and sit/stay so important? Both exercises are the basic skills needed to have a foundation of understanding in place when teaching other reactive control skills like passing a person, another dog, a bike, or someone running by you during a walk or sometimes a car. Teaching your dog to sit/stay when guests arrive, is one of the most requested training lessons pet parents ask for.
Most dogs are not aggressive, but they are reactive and some of those reactive behaviors may appear to be aggressive or if not conditioned properly, may in certain circumstances, escalate into aggression.
