ESCHEW OBSFUCATION:

That's what were trying to do, to avoid complicating matters, to clarify the terminology, without confusing psychobabble. But if you would like a little bit of psycho type talk, the following should do it for you.

There is plenty of good info in this list, but there is no need to worry about the language in the etiology of behavior, any more than what is already in the text above.

ETIOLOGY: The study of causative factors creating symptoms.
DOGS DON'T DO THINGS WITHOUT REASONS. Those reasons may not be obvious to you, but if you looked at life from dogs' point of view, it would be evident. We'll do that later.

But first, when your dog is disruptive, what gets all your attention is its behavior. Don't worry about the malbehavior, find the cause. As we solve one problem, another will surface in its place.
As we become focused on the malbehaviors, our attention further compounds the problem. In fact, any attention or reaction to malbehavior can vicariously reward the dog.

EXAMPLE; "My dog barks every time I'm am on the phone". This always starts a cycle of disruption. Any time your dog can break your routine, and command 100% OF YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION, HE WINS. SOLUTION:
DON'T FALL VICTIM to these negative attention getting devices.

Don't engage in a shouting match. Break the cycle subtly, with distraction techniques as interruptions, and, as always, follow up with immediate, non-physical praise. The most common cause of problems is the need for DIRECTED ATTENTION. Unstructured love and attention alone won't suffice. Just exercising your dog cannot structure his thinking to make him calm and accepting of changes in your family life. .