Dog owners are sometimes faced with a behavior problem and don’t know how to deal with it. In my book, “The Amazing Dog Training Man,” I came up with an acronym that anyone can use as a tool to understand and treat any behavior problem.
This is how you can use the MUTT method to deal with any behavior problem.
M – Manage. The first step in dealing with any behavior problem is to properly manage the behavior. Behavior management will not fix the problem, it will only help contain it. For example, house training won’t fix using a crate, but it will definitely help control behavior. A muzzle can help control a dog that is aggressive towards other dogs. So the first step is to think about controlling the behavior.
U – Underlying. Every behavior problem has an underlying reason. You need to find out what the underlying reason is. Let’s say your dog has a digging problem. Why is the dog digging? Is it frustration, boredom, race specific, etc.? Let’s say you have a housetraining problem. Is your dog stressed for any reason, does he have any health problems, etc.? Once you discover the underlying problem, you can move on to the next part of the MUTT Method…
T-Train. Now that we’ve got the behavior under control and discovered the underlying problem, we can start training the dog. Let’s go back to digging for a moment. If the dog is digging out of frustration, we can eliminate the frustration and give the dog other activities. If the dog is digging because he is breed specific (terriers live for dogs) then we can teach him to dig in a designated area and so on.
T-Time. Once we have started training a new behavior, we must be patient and give it some time. Behavior experts say that it takes at least 21 days to learn a new behavior. So as you go through the process, be patient and stick to the plan.
Behavior problems can be difficult to deal with at times. When you understand why the behavior is occurring and what you can do about it, the problem is much easier to deal with.