Dogs owners may sometimes wonder what’s the purpose of a dog management plan. When a dog trainer suggests management as the very first thing, dog owners may feel a bit confused and perhaps even a bit disappointed. Yet, management is often something that is deeply overlooked, even by the most attentive and dedicated dog owners. While it may seem like management does nothing to change dog behavior, a good dog management plan can actually turn out being quite productive.
Management Prevents Rehearsal of Behavior
When a dog trainer or behavior consultant suggests management, dog owners are often quite disappointed. They may think: “Did I hire this trainer just to tell me that I should keep my dog in a fenced yard to prevent him from chasing people? Am I paying this trainer to tell me that to stop my dog from raiding the trash bin I need to keep such trash bin stored out of the dog’s reach? That’s common sense, I didn’t need a trainer to tell me that!”
As logical as management may sound, it has a very important purpose: it helps prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior. In simple words, this means, the dog is prevented from practicing the problem behavior. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is.
Dogs are habitual creatures and the more they practice a behavior the more it becomes ingrained. I like to compare undesirable behaviors with invasive weeds. If you provide invasive weeds a perfect habitat with good soil and water, the weeds will put roots and become more and more difficult to eradicate.
If you manage your garden’s environment, not providing weeds that perfect habitat, but providing it only to plants that you wish to grow, your garden will flourish and the number of weeds should go down. Oh and even better, if you nip undesirable behaviors in the bud, chances are they will never be allowed to put roots!
Management Allows Safety… 
On top of helping prevent rehearsal of problematic behavior, management helps keep others safe. Management is fundamental in cases of aggression. Examples of management options when dealing with aggressive dogs include keeping the dog in a separate room, keeping the dog in a secure crate, keeping the dog on leash, keeping the dog tethered, keeping the dog inside a kennel or keeping the dog in a securely fenced yard.
Of course, these options may work for some dogs and not for others, (a dog may be crate trained, or a dog in the yard may still bark at and chase people) therefore it’s important to experiment to find the most suitable for the individual dog. Even if the behavior cannot be totally prevented from being rehearsed, at least there are management options that can help it reduce.
Management may also help keep the dog in question safe. Dogs who are prone to raiding the trash bin may happen to ingest one day something potentially toxic or something that may cause an intestinal blockage. Keeping the trash bin out of the way is the safest option, just as you would want to store chemicals out of a toddler’s reach.
But There May Hidden Risks
It’s important to recognize that the initial implementation of management at times can be risky. Management may create frustration (or defensiveness) because the dog is not allowed to rehearse a behavior that had a strong history of reinforcement.
For example, if your dog is used to always rush at the door and bark at visitors, that day you grab your dog by the collar to prevent him and lock him in a room, he may bite at your hand so he can be free to go.
Some dogs may also bite by accident, when they are particularly aroused and feel reactive. Consult with a trainer for guidance on how to prevent accidents as such from occurring.
In many cases, these risks can be lowered by taking precautionary measures and providing the dog with something reinforcing enough to distract him from wanting to perform the problem behavior (and prevent him from getting frustrated from being unable to.)
For instance, in the case of a dog who bites when you grab him by the collar when visitors are coming, you can close him in a far room before the guests arrive and provide him with toys or a stuffed Kong so that he is kept busy while the visitors are in the home.
Duration of a Dog Management Plan
In some cases, management is something that you may always have to implement to keep other people or other animals safe. If you have a dog who has attacked and severely injured another dog living in your household, you may have to make management a permanent goal because you may not want to take any chances.
Yes, dog behavior can be changed in many cases for the best, but there are often no guarantees. Is it worth risking it? This is something you will have to carefully consider.
In some other cases, management is a temporary measure. It allows you to buy some time while a behavior modification plan is in the making so that it can soon be implemented. If your dog for example nipped your child (hopefully not hard!), you want to keep your dog away from your child at least until you can have a behavior professional come to your home and assess the situation. Hopefully, the professional can individualize the exact trigger causing the incident and work on the problem so that your dog and child are on their way to a better relationship.