What is avoidance and suppression in dog training or behavior modification

Avoidance behaviors in dogs are simply a step towards the end result of practiced impulse control and behavioral modification.  Some dogs will not even seem to take this step, and usually that is become they are confident with an even temperament.   An example of avoidance behavior is a dog that looks in the opposite direction from a dog they would like to bark at.   Avoidance is simply the step taken to practice impulse control over a trigger that used to make them react, hide from, or leave the area entirely.

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Suppression behaviors are also a related (but different) step along the way to more canine impulse control.   The dog may not seem to be avoiding the trigger, but may seem very anxious while watching or even shaking.   They are in the act of suppressing what they would like to do, but not actively trying to avoid it.    So they may be staring or locked onto the trigger, but suppression the action of lunging or barking by staying in a sit.

Why am I writing about this?  Veterinarians, behaviorists, and other trainers often warn that if your dog comes to these steps, they will get worse not better in impulse control.  Dog owners are told that later on their dog will act out in a reactive and aggressive manner, because they are just bottling up these feelings.

The result of this is that people shy away from training their dogs at all or give up entirely.   Dogs are really counting on their owners to show them that the world can be safe place when they can follow their owner's lead.  The only way you will prove this to them is to continue training and allow them to feel more and more at ease as their expectations of the worst are not met.

Suppression and avoidance behaviors are truthfully a necessary step for some dogs.   Training is not over when the suppression and avoidance behaviors begin.  These are just the steps dogs take to practice what you want and begin to experience that they are safe.   Dog owners and trainers need to continue maintaining the training until the dog is past practicing suppression and avoidance.   What you want is a dog that feels mentally stable enough to relax and trust you in the end.

Neither rewards nor corrections cause suppression or avoidance.   A dog can go into this step even if they are training R+ (Positive Reinforcement) primarily or if corrections (please reference the definition in our article linked) are used as well.   The dog, if they are going to take that step in an obvious way, will do so regardless of what training method is being used.  This is just another option that they have come up with, and as dog owners we need to train past it.

It is true that if you stop at avoidance and suppression without carrying the training to it's conclusion with proofing, you will most likely get a big unwanted reaction, which you might find unpredictable.   That is because you have not had the dog practice enough to know they are actually safe with you and the environment they are in.  Just as they are practicing and learning, is not the time to abandon them to their own decision making when they feel anxious.   The decisions they can make under an anxious state of mind are often not the decisions we want them to make.   The big unwanted reaction is not unpredictable.  In fact, most of the time your dog has been practicing the wanted behavior, but because they have not been guided to a calmer state of mind, the big reaction is entirely predictable.

So please, just train and use behavior exercises to bring your dog beyond the suppression and avoidance hump.  This hump is a necessary step for the dog to start practicing the decisions you want, while you prove to your dog that you have their back.