When done correctly and when combined with proactive training, ignoring unwanted behavior can work. However, the time it takes depends on your dog's reinforcement history and their own personal enjoyment of the behavior. For some dogs, they get through an extinction burst quickly, while others can take quite a while.
While it might seem counterintuitive, ignoring your dog can sometimes work as a useful training tool. The idea is that when you react to an unwanted behavior, you are actually rewarding the behavior. So ignoring behavior is particularly helpful when what the dog seeks is your attention.
If an owner rewards the behavior, purposely or accidentally, the undesirable behavior will continue to linger. Even if the owner ignores her dogs 10 times, but screams “no” once, the behavior won't go away. To truly extinguish a behavior, it must be ignored each and every time.
This is why simply ignoring common problems like barking at the mailman, jumping on guests, pulling on the leash, etc. isn't an effective strategy. These are all behaviors that your dog finds rewarding, without any input from you. So they're likely to continue happening as long as nothing changes.
Let's face it: Bad behavior gets attention, even though it's not typically positive attention. But sometimes ignoring bad behavior is the best way to get it to stop. Believe it or not, giving your dog the cold shoulder when he does something he shouldn't, can be the first step to solving a behavior problem.
However, unlike humans, dogs do not understand the consequences of their actions, so regular punishment will be no good. Instead, you have to use negative punishment and positive reinforcement to help stop undesirable behavior.
In addition, if you suddenly stop paying attention to your dog, this will negatively impact them, and they may experience feelings of depression in addition to the other side effects discussed above.
Ignoring a dog that has suffered with severe anxiety whilst alone – until he gives up trying to interact - is unkind and counterproductive because it actually adds to their anxiety.
While it's important for our dogs to learn how to be independent and content spending time alone, attention is important. Not enough attention can lead to behavioral problems, which can be really frustrating for you and your dog.
Dogs can't comprehend or understand in the same way as humans, but we can provide clarity through use of obedience commands and redirecting behaviors. We also need to be consistent with our own behavior. We need to appreciate that, for dogs, a behavior is either right or wrong – with no grey area in between.
Unlike humans, dogs do not always understand why they're being punished or the consequence of their actions. So depending on how you punish, it could cause a lot of problems such as fear, aggression and sadness in your dog.
Consider why your dog is misbehaving.
The dog may not understand the cue given; they may not have had enough practice to do it reliably; they may be too distracted, stressed, or afraid.
Dogs can often be offended in a situation that in your eyes does not seem to be conflicting in any way. It is therefore easy to unconsciously create situation which is perceived by the pooch as unfair.
Other negative signs dogs are likely to show when feeling a lack of respect, or even disrespect, are defiant behaviors (lack of listening, destructive behaviors, or intentionally misbehaving). Noticing and reacting to these signs are key to developing a respectful relationship with your pooch.
For dogs without separation anxiety, petting dogs goodbye might actually keep them calmer while you're away. I searched and found two studies that could shed a bit more light on the effects of enthusiastic goodbyes. The first was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Pisa in 2018.
When you first arrive home, ignore your dog completely. This means you do not look at them, do not speak to them, do not pet them.
Some dogs don't need anything to find themselves running around the house and playing with their toys, others will snooze through a jackhammer no sweat. If you're working from home right now you might see your pet sleeps all day even with you right next to them! Dogs, like people, are unique.
Dogs can actually start missing their owners from the moment they part ways, and keep missing them more up until two hours. Beyond two hours, the melancholy stays about the same until they're reunited with us.
One thing that has been figured out is that dogs can feel rejection. They may not show it like humans do, but dogs are definitely capable of feeling rejected and unwanted. Not just by their human counterparts, either. It has been proven that dogs can feel rejection when it comes to falling in love as well.
While you're working to determine the cause of the growling, don't ignore it or it's likely to get worse. Be careful around your dog until you figure out why it's growling. Additionally, you may want to help your dog modify its behavior until the situation is under control.
There's almost never a time when screaming and yelling at your dog is acceptable. 'Unless your dog is about to run into a busy road and come to serious harm, I wouldn't ever use any form of harsh voice,' she added. 'Instead, it's about rewarding good behaviour, not punishing the bad. '
"Dogs forget an event within two minutes," reported National Geographic, citing a 2014 study performed on various animals from rats to bees. Other animals have long-term memories, such as dolphins, but dogs don't seem to have a long-term memory that lasts much beyond those two minutes.
Most dogs understand only a few words. They pay more attention to the tone and pitch of your voice. Yelling at your dog is more likely to confuse her and cause her to react in a hyper or aggressive way because she's trying to match your behavior. A classic example of this is when you yell at your dog to stop barking.