What is impulse control when talking about dogs? Well it has everything to do with your dog pausing and not acting on their emotions or behaviors. For example, if I ask my dog to “WAIT!” before going out the front door, my dog should pause and actually wait. Not push through, not bark because they want to go out the door and I am asking them to wait.
How do you work on impulse control? Practice! You don’t have to have long training sessions, just short ones. Have your dog wait for feeding. If your dog loves to jump on people, practice “OFF!”, and wait until your dog is calm before they are allowed to interact with people or other dogs. High energy mixed with high energy is not always a good thing.
A lot of this is done by having a good relationship or bond with your dog(s). My dogs know I will not purposely hurt them. We have regular, predictable routines, and for the most part, everyone is on the same page in the home. This allows my dogs to be able to rest, relax, and recover as needed. Their needs are met, so they have the ability to do the things I ask of them.
Practice having rules, boundaries, and limitations. Make sure everyone is on the same page and has the same rules in your household. Set boundaries where your dogs are allowed and not allowed to go. If you don’t like your dogs begging while you eat, don’t allow them in the kitchen or under the table when you are eating.
I ask my dogs to wait when I put their food bowls down, then when I am ready I release them. Being able to ask my dogs to wait before going out any door so I am able to go out without them pushing me over. My husband and I expect my dogs to get off the bed when I ask them to. Remember we are conditioning our dogs to what we want.