Behavior Principle #1: There is no such thing as bad behavior to a dog.

In the dog’s world, there is no “good” or “bad.”  The dog simply responds to something he senses.  His response to our stimuli is usually consistent and appropriate.   So why does he sometimes not do what we want and instead does something else?  Many times, he is responding to a stimulus that does not come from us, but has become more important or more salient than ours.  We must be sure that our stimulus is the most important one.  (Photo by Allan Ellis, Flickr)