This page is a component of the Glossary of the Dog Science, CBC
Dog Training Workshop, and an element of the Dog Science Network
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The Physical Environment
The term physical environment simply refers to the material objects that exist in the area where your subject is physically located. The physical environment can make all the difference in the world in terms of how difficult and how upsetting it is going to be to get your dog to abandon a problematic response and replace it with one that you find acceptable.
Indeed, whether you are going to be able to change a response and how difficult that change will be to achieve has everything to do with what alternative responses are available, and the availability of alternatives has everything to do with what is in the physical environment. For example, it will be easier to keep your dog off the couch if he has a comfortable bed of his own. If you make him choose between the sofa and a concrete floor you are likely to find him considerably more resistant to your plan for how things should be done. Similarly, it is easier to keep a dog from running away if he is surrounded by opportunities to engage in interesting activties where he is.
Many dog related problems can be solved simply through the proper arrangement of the physical environment.