Quick Wins, Not Quick Fixes.

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This podscast explores why wanting a quick fix in dog and horse behaviour is completely normal and rooted in psychology, not laziness. We look at motivation, stress, quick wins, and how the right support can break big behaviour goals into achievable steps without shame.

📧barbara.j.hardman@brighthorse.ie

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Transcript

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Hi everyone, um this is something I wrote a good while back, uh, but I was kind of saving it for New Year's because I felt like it was the best time to publish it, and I wanted to do the blog cast with it because there's a lot of psychology in the blog itself, and I want to kind of unpick it and help you guys through your New Year's resolutions and particularly behavioural modification and your goals with your dog, your horse. So this was inspired because, and I will get into it later when I explain the fundamentals, but there is this idea that looking for a quick fix when it comes to training our animals or even supporting our own behavioural change, that there's some kind of moral failing. Um, and I want to explain to you why that's not the case and why quick fixes are actually awesome. Um, and they do exist in some capacity, and we call them quick wins. Um, and a quick win is awesome because it supports motivation and it keeps us going. Um, and I kind of dislike this moral failing uh concept where if you are looking for a quick win or a quick fix, then you're somehow not as committed or not as you know, not as like motivated to make that change. Again, like it's some kind of moral failing, like that you're not resilient enough and and it's just so wrong. And I really want to unpick the psychology behind everything, actually explain how we can get a real quick fix, which I'm gonna call a quick win, and how you can support yourself going into January. So I'm gonna start right from the top, which is where you start from, um, and say that I absolutely fucking love a quick fix. Of course I do. Life is busy, life is messy, life is life is kind of shit. You know, 2025 can kiss my ass right now, like it can absolutely end. It's hard. And if you're like me, you're probably juggling 20 million things at once. And it's really hard to see the forest through the trees at times. Wanting a problem solved faster with less effort and less stress is completely understandable across the board, and there's no shame in wanting something that sorts a problem quickly. Of course, you want something sorted with less effort, probably cheaper, and with less stress. Why on earth would you not want that? That sounds brilliant. Of course we do. And I would say that, like when I run my business, it's just me. So I have to do emails and I have booking systems and I need to do various bits and pieces to stay in contact with my clients and share documents. I do a lot of automation, so I have a lot of automated emails and I have an automated text reminder. So that if we have a booking in my booking system, my clients get a text message the the day beforehand. I get a reminder in my booking system, and that does it automatically because that's a really nice quick fix instead of sitting down and having to go through my calendar and takes a lot of time. So I have to time back for myself. It's totally normal. And the chances are you do it too. You do a different type of automation shopping. Like, you know, Tesco's, we don't have any preferred brands, pick your, pick your click and collect. You know, we do the food shop and it can be delivered to our home and it takes the pressure off us. Those are quick wins, you know. They will solve a problem quickly and efficiently and reduce our cognitive overload. When we feel like we're pulling towards something to, or we're we're when we pull towards something that fixes something fast, it is not a character flaw, nor is it a moral failing. I really want that to drill home to you. It is a perfectly ordinary human response to your system being overloaded. When we want a quick fix, it's not a signal that you're lazy or lack of commitment. Or if it's about behavior and training for your dog and your horse, it's not an indifference. Or if you're training yourself, if you want to change something, it's January, the chances are you're gonna have New Year's resolutions. And if you want to change something about yourself, it's not a lack of commitment to yourself if you want something that will help you see change tomorrow. It is a reflection of the nervous system which is oriented or oriented, oriented, I can say that word, towards predictability, relief and you know, from any kind of stress because you want to reduce that, and time for you to actually get a sense of control. There it is not a failure of commitment that I don't text my clients individually to remind them that we've got an appointment the next day. It me having an automated system that does that for me means that I can prioritize my time to reports and contacting vets and supporting clients one-to-one when they need. It is not a lack of commitment. It gives me a sense of relief and time to be able to process everything else and it helps you succeed. Okay, so I want to give you an example, and hopefully this is one that will resonate with everyone. We're in January, we're in the middle of winter, the house is cold, and the boiler is not playing ball. The fact that you're cold is already gonna push your stress levels up, okay? And this is what's called homeostasis because your body has to work a little bit harder to stay warm. You go out and contact two different service providers. One of them says they're gonna take a good couple of weeks to get it sorted. It's gonna be a few different repair jobs, they're gonna have to come back and they have to order parts in, and you're gonna be a good few weeks without heating. You contact someone else and they said, no, no, no, no, no, no, I can do that way faster than your man. I'll have it done by the end of the week. Like I'll have to order parts in. He doesn't need it, it'll be way cheaper, and you're going, Great, brilliant. My heating will be back on. I'll save a bit of money because it's the end of Christmas, it's in January, and I don't really have as much moolah to rub together. Do people say moolah anymore? I'm saying it. Most people will choose that second option. Of course they would. Why on earth wouldn't they? I would, absolutely, I would do it too. You want your heating sorted quickly and it's less money. That isn't a moral weakness. It isn't the fact that you're not committed enough to do the three weeks. It's a rational behavior. You're presented with two options, and one of them gives you an option that presents you with less physical stress and less time pressure. This is what's known as a bounded rationality. In other words, you make the best decision you can with the time, the energy, and the information that you have in the moment. If the quick fix, or if we want to use fancy words, the rapid solution, then fails, in other words, the the boiler breaks again, then you take on new information. You adjust your expectations and go, right, well, that guy was talking out as ours, we obviously needed the new parts. And the next time the choice is presented to you, you might make a different decision. So if you think that the fast, cheaper option wasn't good enough, you learn from it and you choose a different option in the future. And that's called experiential learning. It's not a failure. You didn't fail, you learnt from that experience. And this is how humans work. When we work with bounded rationality, again, I'm gonna say it, we make decisions that are best for us with the information that we have at that time, plus our prior experiences, resources that we have. Again, it's January under Christmas, like you know, money was important, and the emotional bandwidth, I'm exhausted, I have to go back to work. Oh, it's January again, and that was important for you in that moment of time. So you made the best decision for you. It wasn't a failure. So it's really important to understand. So, what we want to understand next is what our brain is doing when we want a quick fix, and psychology can really help us here. So the human decision-making process is shaped by something that's really well understood within science, and this is called temporal discounting. This is where we value the immediate outcomes more than the delayed ones. That makes sense. I want it now. You can't really see that far into the future. You know, it's effectively the bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And when we're stressed, this makes this temporal discounting even stronger. If we have any kind of pressure in our lives, then we need things sorted even faster. So when you're stressed, later feels useless and now feels necessary. The reason this is really important when it comes to canine and equine behavioral training is if we have a really stressful behavioral problem that is messing up our lives, possibly it's dangerous, possibly we're scared, possibly it's destroying everything and you're having to clean up the house because you're having a load of accidents in the house and you don't have time because you're running around trying to get the kids ready and get work. That is a huge amount of stress. Of course, you need a quick win then. When we're under this cognitive load and we're tired or we're worried about something, or even embarrassed about it, anxious or feeling under threat, our working memory and our problem-solving abilities are reduced. In other words, it gets harder to think creativity creatively or outside the box for any kind of alternative solution to the problem. And this is when the simple solutions become way more appealing, and very importantly, they feel safe. Wanting something easy in those moments is not laziness. It is your brain trying to figure out how we can conserve energy and keep you going during that difficult time. Now, this is what's known as cognitive load. This is when your brain is overloaded. It doesn't stop working, it just stops working creatively. You're basically in survival mode. Now, I want you to think about it from a perspective of when you've been very strong. I want you to think, when have I been really, really stressed before? And I'm just, you're just flying by the seat of your pants, you're trying to get everything done, and then things start to calm down, you take a step back, and you look back at the time and you go, Oh god, why didn't I just do it this way instead? You know, and and and you start beating yourself up because you think, God, I could have just done it, it would have been easier, I could have done it this way instead. And straight away, this is what I'm saying, it's like it's not a moral failing. We give ourselves a hard time, but you can't, you're cognitively overloaded. Your brain literally cannot think of a creative solution to something. And it's really, really important to be kind to yourself. Ultimately, stress shrinks your thinking space, even those simple choices can just feel safer because your brain is in survival mode and you just need to get it done. Humans are just predictive animals. We also use past learning to try and figure out what's gonna happen next. Uh, you might have heard the expression past experiences shape future behavior, and that is very true. So if a quick solution worked before, you're gonna try it again. If it didn't, you might change your approach. When you find yourself thinking, I just need to get this sorted now, that is a normal stress response. It's not your personal failing, it's biology, and it's your brain working to support you. This is what we term as adaptive conservation strategy. This is why I wanted to do it as a blogcast because ultimately there is a huge amount of psychological terms in here, but I hope that it is giving you some kind of comfort to go, do you know what? I'm actually just a normal human being. These are all normal things. I do this all the time. I do it all the time. Like, absolutely, like I know all this, and I try and give myself hard, try not to give myself a hard time. Still do it occasionally. So your adaptive energy conservation strategy. Hopefully those words make sense, like adaptive and your energy conservation, you want to reduce it, strategy. Okay, so choosing the easier option when you're when you're exhausted isn't laziness, it's your brain trying to protect your protect your energy and you from future stress. It's a normal function, and your brain is doing it really well. Then when you look at your past learning, then that predicts future choices. It's your brain going, okay, what happened last time? Can we do that net better next time? And then we're gonna do our choices based on that. So you're in conservation mode, you're trying to reduce the amount of stress on your body, you need to make a decision, you're gonna look for a solution, your brain's gonna go, well, that worked last time, let's do that again. Well, that didn't work last time, right? We need to find another solution. Now I promised I'd get on to this, and this is kind of what inspired this post is there's this shame in animal behavior and in professional circles when people seek quick fixes. Now, this has a couple of different layers to it, and I would say it's applicable in every single industry. If you're a doctor, you're gonna get frustrated with people selling supplements that instantly are gonna cure your diabetes or you know help you lose weight. You're gonna get frustrated by those wheeler dealer, steak oil salesmen, and that happens a lot in animal behavior. Again, I think it happens in every industry. There's always people who are looking to make money off this emotional, this real psychological impact that people have when they're under cognitive load and stress. And I would say these people do take advantage of it because it's real psychology and we all suffer from it. So when you are sitting there going, I really need this sorted really quickly, this is a huge part of a lot of marketing um and selling devices and packages and solutions and pills and everything else to try and fix your problem. And it gets really frustrating when you're a professional in the field. So there is kind of a shame around it and a frustration that comes from all of that. When I say shame, it's more the fact that we get frustrated when we see it. And the point of this blog and this blogcast is to try and help people understand that we shouldn't have shame. And when we see the phrase quick fix as behaviorists, it really makes the red miss descend. And it's not because we're judging the person for wanting them, it's because we can see the path forward to future success and we hate the fake fixes that hinder your progress, and they exist all the time. I am sure you've gone into a pet shop or you've Googled something and you're like, I need to get my dog to stop pulling on the lead, and you see a harness that says anti-pull harness, that's a quick fix and it's a fake, and it's really frustrating because you are in a point of cognitive overload where you're like, I just need this sorted, you know, and someone has done good marketing and used this psychology to sell you, like to sell the product, and you're gonna buy it in that moment in time. This is the kind of thing that frustrates us. I also see this in horse training as well. We have a behavioral issue with a horse, you know, and someone's advertising, oh yeah, buy my package and my my plan, and I can do it, you know, in one session, I'll have it sorted, you know, and people really need it sorted because it's a safety issue, or they care about their horse, and they just there's an emotional overload there. And this is where we get frustration, you know, and it's not frustrated at the individual, it's frustrated at the people who are taking advantage of people who really need support. I don't want dog and horse owners to feel like they are ever labeled as uncommitted because they wanted something to happen quickly. And I hope by now I've given you enough information that you know that you're not failing. Instead, you're looking for a commitment to change, like you're looking for a solution. And if you're listening to this, you really want to try and improve. And that is not a failing. When most people seek behavioral help for their animal, the situation is already really complex. It's probably already emotionally demanding, it might feel unsafe, and you might genuinely need this fixed quickly because it has escalated. And by the time we look for support, where we actually find behaviorists and people who might be able to support, that metaphorical boiler isn't just on the fritz, it's completely and utterly broken. Because us as professionals and behaviorists see the forest through the trees, it's understandable that our owners and our guardians and our clients just need that tree sorted. They see that as more important. And this can be really, really overloading for people. We come out and we see a problem and we see something that may need two or three months to fix. And that is just too big a cognitive, we're already in cognitive overload, and it feels too big. What also influences it, as I've talked about before, is your own training history, your past experiences. Well, I've had a dog trainer out, well, I had an equine behaviorist out, you know, and it didn't work, and nothing seemed to work. Your emotional state during those sessions, like I have heard horrible stories about some trainers talking down to owners, making them feel awful, making them cry, making them feel absolutely worthless. Why would you want to get somebody else out like that? They're gonna tell me it's all my fault and I'm terrible. I don't want that, and then that can affect your ability to believe that there's a different approach. Add in health factors for the dog or the horse, which do affect and influence behavior. The environment that the animal is in also makes a difference, and whatever reinforcement patterns and training has gone before, all of this can lead to overwhelm. Our role as behaviorists is not to bury you under an entire case formula in just one sitting. You know, we we can't do it in the two hours. It's way too much and it's totally unhelpful. We wouldn't expect you to try and learn, or we wouldn't expect anyone to try and learn French in a two-hour consultation, so we can't expect you to absorb everything about behavioral science in one go either. Okay, it's really important that it there is a longer process. However, a good practitioner will pace the information and focus on quick wins, and this is where we come to quick wins, and we build support around you, and this is called scaffolding. So it helps you and the animal feel like learning is manageable and at a good rate, and that you can do little things at a time that make you feel like you're moving towards success. So, scaffolding is a term that we use in behavioral science, and it basically means that we don't expect you to do everything at once, it builds a supportive system around you, and then when you we remove it when you're ready. So I'm gonna lead into, and this is spoilers. Are there any quick fixes in behavior? Yeah, yeah, there absolutely are, and we called them quick wins, and that's exactly you know the whole point of this. There are some really helpful ones, and they are better described as quick wins because a quick win, it's not a fix. We don't want to fix something, we're gonna win. I want you to think about it from a medical issue perspective. You have a broken arm and they put it in a cast. Was that a quick fix? Was it quick to heal? It take no, but a quick win is putting it in a cast, keeping it nice and comfortable so you're not putting pressure on it. That is an instant result, but it'll take a while for the bone to heal. We can make targeted changes to the environment and the management or what happens before the behavior manifests, that's called antecedents, that helps us create real change quite quickly while still maintaining the animal's welfare. Now, it might just be simply involving modifying daily routines, adjusting maybe the housing in it for the dog, or turnout arrangements for horses, changing like little things for equipment, maybe it might be a head collar for a horse or a bit, saddles, bridles, or just kind of reducing the triggers that are, you know, the antiseeds that are that are causing the behavior. The list is honestly endless. But quick wings wins don't claim to resolve every single part of the behavior. Okay, they are very much there to help give us motivation and do little things at a time. Again, remember that's scaffolding to help us feel like we have long-term solutions. So we might say reduce the stress, we might increase the safety for the animal and you right there and then. So the reason quick wins are really important is they're motivational fuel. Okay. As I said before, it can take time for the main behavioral issue to resolve. And if someone is sitting there saying, like the boiler, it's gonna take a couple of weeks, it's gonna take a couple of months, you know, you are already in an emotional stress response. That feels like too much and you can't wait that long. However, if we find some quick wins, it can support our motivation, relieve some of the stress, and help us move towards a big, like a bigger goal. Motivation is not a fixed trait. It ebbs and it flows. We aren't and cannot be endlessly motivated. Motivation is very much a dynamic state that changes across situations, stimulus, and over time. Today, I'll I cleaned the house today. Like I was a very good child and I cleaned everything. I emptied the dishwasher, I put a wash on. I was a very good child. See, tomorrow, I probably want it all to get fucked. Motivation is dynamic and it's not permanent. Nobody is motivated all the time. Like they they they can't be. But every time we do a small thing that helps us reach success, it teaches your brain, I can do this. And that helps larger far-off goals, whether that's a major behavioral change for your horse or your dog, or your own fitness targets, or major lifetime lifestyle shifts that you want to make, it makes it easier to understand that you can do it and takes the pressure off. Quick wins are basically what is called a proximal reinforcer. Okay, so that's a small win that gives your brain the signal this is working and it helps you keep going. The quick win basically gives you strength and it's supported by neurobiology and psychology. So let's go to a human example because it's New Year's and you probably want to, you know, exercise and lose weight and be healthy and all the sort of good stuff that comes with that. That global goal, as we call it, is really complex. There's a lot that goes into losing weight and getting fit. Okay, they're big long-term goals, and the rewards won't come for a few months. But a quick win could be just get up in the morning, okay, drink a glass of water and have a piece of fruit. Now I can do that. Everybody can do that. That's super easy. I'll have water by my bed, I'll have fruit in the fruit bowl, and I'll just do it as soon as I get up. That is a really meaningful behavioral change because it starts your day by hydrating and eating good, healthy foods. It's a micro behavior that will shape your long term goal. And it's a quick win. You can do that tomorrow without even thinking about it. And it's really easy and achievable. And by day two or three, you can go, you can feel proud of yourself and go, oh, well, I've gotten up every morning, I've had a glass of water and a piece of fruit. That will motivate you to be like, I can do this and I can do bigger things. So what about our dogs, okay? Now, this is where I come in with MAGA, not the American one, but I called it Make Enrichment Great Again. Um it keeps me entertained. So if we have a dog who is very anxious or destructive or peeing and pooing inside, barking on the barking, pulling off the the list is endless. It's really overwhelming for everyone involved. One of the effective interventions that we can do really quickly as a quick win, is replacing their bull and feeding them with a conk or another enrichment feeder. We can try and change things up. So if they're very destructive, we can try and do some bigger chews. We can do lick mass, we can do foraging, we can do problem-solving activities, we can do things that activate their predator motor pattern in an appropriate way that reduces reduces frustration and arousal. And when we do that, we can see changes in our dogs very quickly, a quick win. And it will support all of our other behavioral goals. And then the dog spends half an hour doing that. You know, but they're a bit more relaxed, it reduces the anxiety and stress, and it helps build the training plan. And it gives you motivation to go, oh, I can do this. If this is achievable, I can do it. And it takes the pressure off you. One for horses, which I call the hack and snack, uh depending trademark. Um these are for horses per se who they nap, they spook, or they escalate their behavior during hacks, and you're quite scared and you're quite scared that the horse just wants to go. Instead of pushing through it, which is a common trope within horse riding, kick on carry on, instead of doing that, let's get rid of that nonsense because your brain don't need it, and choose an in-hand walk and just go around the yard. Somewhere instead of the whole full hack, just take your horse for a little walk around the yard. You can practice smaller things without doing the big jump to going out for a hack. While you build the other behaviors to reduce the fear and anxiety for going for a full hack, just go down to your horse, you know, give them a nice brush, walk around the yard. It builds exposure to the things that they're going to do when they go out for a hack. You know, it builds fitness, it helps build a relationship with you. You're not avoiding going for the hack, you're building on something that can shape over time. This is what's called gradual exposure. You don't have to jump to the hardest bit of that situation and going for a hack and having your horse bolt off. You can build it one step at a time and you can feel like you're enjoying time with your horse again. I hope this helps you understand that quick fixes are harmful, but quick wins are helpful. Not all quick changes are harmful, and that's why we go with quick win. While some approaches aim to suppress the behavior through pain, fear, and intimidation, quick wins don't. Quick fixes might produce a short-term quiet dog or horse, but it doesn't unlock or support changes in the underlying emotion. When we look at quick fixes, the behavior disappears because the expression of that behavior has become unsafe. Not because the feeling has changed around it or you've solved the issue. This is what's known as behavioral suppression. If the behavior disappears but the feeling doesn't, it hasn't been solved. It's just gone quiet, quietly hiding somewhere, and it's gonna come back later. These quick fixes are again our anti-pull harnesses, our anti-rear bits, you know, all of these quick things that when you're in an emotionally difficult position, you're gonna pick it up and buy and walk out of the shop because you need it solved. But suppressing that behavior does carry real risks, not just for us and our animals, but it can also increase anxiety, frustration, aggression, learned helplessness, and damage the relationship between us and our animals. It also fails to address the real issue underlying underlying the behavior and won't actually support our long-term goals. However, a quick win, by contrast, will prioritize the animal's welfare and yours too. They'll help us reduce our own stress, they'll meet behavioral needs for the animal, and they'll give us a feeling that we're actually going somewhere and increase our motivation. So this is a bit of a call to action, but trust me, I don't care if you hire me or somebody else. I just want to point you in the right direction. And I just want to let you know what good support should actually feel like for you. A good behavior supporting you should not feel like they're chastising you. They should not give an impossible task list that feel like you're never going to be able to do that. Good support should feel like a collaboration. It should feel well paced, it should be compassionate. Good support should always recognize that there are two learners in the room: the animal and the human. It's not just about them, it's about the owner and you as well. And that your nervous system and where you're at in your life absolutely matter as much as the four-legged person. Four-legged person. Yeah, it's fine. I'll keep it. If you have the right support, you should feel like you're being accompanied through the challenging time, not judged, but you're guided and directed and understood, and they should listen to your fears and concerns. If things feel too much and you can't do it, there should be a level of support and breaking it down even more. A good behaviorist, a good psychologist will break everything down. They will be able to see that forest, but they're going to help you tackle one tree at a time. They should be able to clearly define it, make it achievable, and be able to go back regularly and see if it still fits into your life and adjust accordingly. Our job is very much about avoiding overwhelm. We shouldn't be giving you too much homework or theory that it feels like is just unachievable. Good support should also be consent-based and transparent. Everyone should know why we're recommending what we're recommending and letting people know about the alternatives because that way you become a voice in the process and you can define and decide what your goals are. A good professional should invite questions. You know, we should explain concepts, we should make it in an accessible language that is easy to understand. We should also welcome collaboration with a wider team. Either that's, you know, of a different dog trainer, therapist, a veterinary professional, like particularly where there's pain or other things going on. I would say, and I have heard these stories from past clients who have felt like the support that they received made them feel like they were ashamed, they were rushed, they were dismissed, or they were overwhelmed by everything that had to be done. I've heard it many times. If you've met that practitioner, I would say not all of us are like that. Pick up the phone and call three people. I said at the start of this section, I don't really care if you hire me or not. I just want you to find the right support. Well, the best advice that I can give is to ring three different behaviorists. Three, just go three or email three different people and see what response you get back. And if you feel like it aligns with what you want and how they speak to you, it's good on the phone as well because you get an idea if somebody you like the cut of their jib, and you can see if they're gonna actually support you. And when I talk to new clients, I'm very clear. I always say to them, if I'm not the right person for you, that's absolutely fine. You know, there are other professionals out there. If you don't like the way I talk or don't like the way I want to, that's absolutely fine. You know, that agency is yours, and the right practitioner who meets your needs is going to support you right from the start and make you feel confident and competent in what you want to achieve. And I think this is central to a good practice. So just to finish up, I hope this has been helpful. I just want to say quick fixes are totally normal. Rather than rejecting it and feeling like you're not committed, I want you to reframe it and I want you to find quick wins instead. Be aware that those psychology, not tricks but traps, exist and that we all are influenced by them, and that there are some bad actors out there who will use as an opportunity to sell things to you when you're in a place where you really need something resolved quickly. And when it comes to your animals, honestly, behavioral change shouldn't feel like you're having to scale a mountain in January alone in the rain. It should feel like supportive steps. Thank you so much for listening. Um, I hope this was useful. Uh, I know there's a lot in there. The complimentary blog is there with all the definitions. Feel free to read through it if you want some more information. And um yeah, I'll see you in the next one. God knows what I'll be talking about. Happy New Year!