but in many cases full of rewards. Unfortunately, many dogs, which as puppies were ignored, are in shelters or for many other reasons are not exposed to the world at all. This leads to the dog learning to be anxious, nervous, scared and even aggressive when exposed to anything new, and unfortunately anything new to a dog is in most cases scary.
MANAGE THE PERSONALITY So what does this have to do with the personality vs. behavior discussion? Simple, the overall emotional make up of a dog is the personality and it can rarely be fixed. In my mind those less than desirable personality traits (being nervous or anxious) must be managed instead of attempting to train them away. Then the actual behaviors that come from those traits (hiding, growling or barking) can, in most cases, be replaced with what are known as replacement behaviors. Put simply, you are making the new behavior more rewarding than the unwanted behavior.
METROPET RESOURCE WHO? Dog’s World of Fun
WHERE? 1220 West 31st Street, Kansas City, MO 816-931-5822 • www.dogsworldoffun.com
HOW LONG? In business for 16 years
WHY ARE YOU DIFFERENT?
MetroPet Magazine • D ECEMBER 2011
Personalization! We are all about personal service. “As a pet owner myself, I understand how each pet has its own unique personality. At Dog’s World of Fun, we make a special effort to learn the personality of each animal that has been entrusted to our care,” says Steve, the owner.
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BENEFITS OF A DOG’S WORLD Full service facility offering Daycare, Boarding, Grooming and Training. “We fit all sizes!” A Dog’s World of Fun routinely cares for 50 to 75 animals per day.
REASONS CUSTOMERS COME BACK! Dog’s World of Fun believes in customer satisfaction. We accommodate life’s hectic schedules by having early drop off hours beginning at 6:30 am and you can pick-up as late as 5:30 pm. Easy to find, Dog’s World of Fun is just minutes off of SW Trafficway at 31st Street.
See our ad — Inside Back Cover
The moral of this story is to look at behaviors as something that can be changed while personality is something that we are born with. (OK, really they are created by our experiences during critical developmental periods!) The only thing we can change with our dogs, kids, wives, employees or bosses are the specific behaviors that we have the ability to create more rewarding replacement behaviors for. As I have said for many years, and will continue to say…please, p l e a s e socialize your puppies when you get them, and you will never have to call me or one of my colleagues! If you get an older dog, realize their personalities are what they are. But never fear, you can always work on specific behaviors. Mike Deathe is a stay-at-home dad who found his passion as a dog trainer in 2008. The author of the Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) Pet Blog. Mike has had dogs since he was four years old! In 2009, he and his wife Kate founded Muttz “R” Us, a t-shirt and pet product company with a philanthropic motto of “Adopt a Pet, Save a Life.” In 2011 Muttz “R” Us also launched KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID DOG TRAINING. He is a charter member of Heartland Positive Dog Training Alliance and just earned his CPDTKA credential! Visit him at facebook or twitter or follow the blog @http://muttzmembers.blogspot.com/ or check out the website muttzrus.com for details about shirts.