Let’s talk about dog training with distractions and loose leash walking. With my maltipoo dog, Dawson, being prone to react by barking at other dogs while on leash and within close proximity, many of our walks are not on neighborhood streets. On this path we are pretty sure to not see any dogs BUT we do see geese frequently. And Dawson’s first instinct is to chase them if given the chance. How am I working on our being able to walk by the geese with a loose leash? With a dog pattern game I call SEARCH. You’ll learn more below. [Read more…] about Distractions and Loose Leash Walking: Walking Dog Past Geese
dog training with distractions
Teaching Your Dog To Come
If you want to teach your dog to come quickly when called (also called teaching your dog recall), it is important to ask yourself, “How can I make that choice the most awesome choice for my dog in that moment?” Remember, from your dog’s perspective, it’s all about consequences. Below I share some dog training tips to help you with the process. [Read more…] about Teaching Your Dog To Come
Why Bootleg Reinforcement Challenges Dog Trainers
You may have heard of bootleg as it refers to unregulated booze but I bet you didn’t know bootleg can also be a cause for major challenge when it comes to dog training, and changing the behavior of really any living species.
I am referring to bootleg reinforcement. Here is a scientific definition: With bootleg reinforcement access to the specified reward or to other equally reinforcing items or events without meeting the response requirements of the contingency occurs. (rom Applied Behavior Analysis by John O Cooper) [Read more…] about Why Bootleg Reinforcement Challenges Dog Trainers
How Many Ways Can You Split Your Lesson?
Lumping vs Splitting in Dog Training
These are two concepts that I wanted to talk about, as they can greatly impact your training success.
In dog training (and training other animals), lumping occurs when try to teach too much criteria at once. You are teaching multiple aspects of the behavior in large increments. Splitting occurs when you break the behavior down into the smallest steps, and teach those criteria or behaviors separately first. [Read more…] about How Many Ways Can You Split Your Lesson?
Lessons Learned For Dog Training Success
(Note that this was actually written several years ago for something. I just found a copy of it.)
I was thinking about this the other day when I was working on teaching our family dog, Sam, a new behavior. I was working on teaching him the leg weave (where he runs around a leg when you move it in a direction, then around the other leg), and he lost interest very quickly in the beginning. [Read more…] about Lessons Learned For Dog Training Success
Proofing and Fluency In Dog Training
It happens so often. People will tell me their dog knows behaviors such as sit, down, and stay but when I ask them to show me, either their dog does not immediately do the behavior or does not do the behavior at all. Or many times a dog will do the behavior that is cued in one setting but not another. [Read more…] about Proofing and Fluency In Dog Training