Reactivity

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

-a continuation from yesterday’s post

In the last few posts, I have mentioned the role myelin plays in learning. In summary, thicker sheaths produce speedier transmissions; or speedier actions.

We can use this information to help us understand how myelin aids us as we are working through unwanted behaviors such as reactivity.

In yesterday’s post about maintenance training, in order to maintain progress you have to keep the dog practicing so the myelin continues to modulate….But in the case of unwanted behaviors, it’s the exact opposite. We actually don’t want an increase in myelin density. This means that in order to do that, you want to prevent the dog from ever practicing this behavior again.

We do this through management training. This is where you will need to be proactive instead of reactive. You’ll need to find ways that help your dog to be successful in not practicing the unwanted behavior but instead practicing a new alternate behavior. You will have to put in most of the work in the beginning.

The new alternate behavior is the one we want, so it will need to be practiced repetitively, to help that myelin get thicker and thicker, making this the stronger behavior, so that one day your dog chooses this new way to react versus the old way.

You can imagine how long that would take, it definitely will not be something that happens overnight, so patience and consistency are key!

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