MANAGEMENT

MANAGEMENT MEANS AVOIDING THE PROBLEM OR TRIGGER FOR A BEHAVIOR THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL. It can serve as a valid alternative to behavior modification sometimes or be used in conjunction with behavior modification.  Managing during treatment serves the dual purposes of preventing mishap while the dog is in training and protecting the program.  For instance, if an object guarder has been worked part way up a hierarchy so that he is reliable for bully sticks but has not yet had exercises addressing pigs’ ears, and ill-fated confrontation over a pigs’ ear on day could set progress back even with bully sticks. The first line of defense for managing a resource guarder is to purge the dog’s environment of all items he has not yet mastered in exercises.  Think of it as hiding all the grade 12 quizzes from the grade 8 student (until he has passed grade 12).