Finding what truly motivates your dog is key to building effective training sessions. Every dog has their own unique ‘currency’—whether it’s food, toys, affection, or the thrill of a chase. If you feel like your dog isn’t motivated by anything, it may be a sign to dig deeper. Motivation can sometimes appear in unexpected ways, like a sudden interest in playing with a stick. When these moments come up, grab the opportunity! Engaging with your dog when they show natural interest helps reinforce their motivation and strengthens your bond. Remember, it might not always be in the perfect scenario, but when you work with what they offer, you’ll see progress. Embrace what they enjoy, and watch how it transforms your training!
Jack and I have been working hard on his door manners, which are especially important in his retirement community environment. Today, we tested his ability to stay behind the threshold, and he did great! Door work is essential for safety and structure, and by showing Jack as many different scenarios as possible—like someone entering or leaving—he’ll know exactly how to respond in real-life situations. Dogs see the world in ‘pictures,’ and the more pictures we can show them, the better prepared they’ll be for new experiences. In Jack’s eyes, affection is the biggest reward, so celebrating these wins with love makes all the difference for him.
This is why I do what I do ❤️
We’ve been working the last couple months helping a new dog migrate into a two dog home. We went at a steady pace, used a lot of distance and structure in the beginning.
I received this update this weekend. The new dog finally initiated some play! This is huge considering Sadie is a bit of an introvert, and struggled getting used to Steve (white dog) rapid movements.
I can see these two being best buds in the future 😊
Recall and release to an indirect reward
Leroy and I went out and worked on proofing some basic behaviours today. Super happy with his down “plats” In Motion. Is it IGP level? Absolutely not. But it’s come along way. It’s also important for a pig head like Leroy to get some forced rest in between our training. This dog will go till there’s no air left in his lungs. It’s impressive to watch him work, but it’s even more impressive for me to watch him rest. He struggles with this, but we are getting better at it.
Working 2 dogs at once
Want to challenge your skills? Try working multiple dogs at once. You would think this is twice as hard, but in my opinion it’s 4 times as hard. You have to make sure the dogs can understand when it’s their turn to act. I do this using body posture techniques and direct eye contact.
This is actually the first time I’ve done this with both, and you can see how just adding one extra dog can amp up the difficulty. For example: I was so concentrated on making sure the dogs knew who I was talking to that I merged my verbal cues with the body language cues. I also marked and went for the reward at the same time a few times, which can make the action of getting the treat out of my bag confused as the marker. but that’s why it’s important to observe your work, and challenge yourself. It’s the only way you’ll improve.
A lot of trainers talk a big game, but when it comes to their own dogs, they struggle, or simply don’t keep up with the work. In the words of @larrykrohn , “shut up and show me your dog”
I’ve been working with Ashley for about a month now and her confidence is really showing! I originally starting working with Ashley because of her fear reactivity. When I have a dog that is lacking confidence, I like to switch the leash to either a long line or flexi. I find it hard for a dog to be confident when they’re glued to your side and not aloud to explore. This doesn’t go for every dog but the majority of the dogs I’ve worked with who lack confidence to incredibly well when they’re able to explore their environment. We just have to let them be a dog, and investigate things on their own.
Now I wouldn’t recommend doing this until your dog has the basics down like a good recall, good engagement, and a strong reinforcement schedule. These things will ensure better control. Still be aware of the thresholds and the environments you’re in so you can set your dog up for success!
Here’s a small clip of me letting Ashley investigate a deer. She let out a little bark, but I was quickly able to get her to disengage, and she moved along. Notice her posture. This is a dog starting to display confidence.
Love this little girl ❤️
Kenya and I have been working on addressing some dog reactivity the last couple sessions. I do this from a safe distance where she can see the dogs, but isn’t close enough to have a reaction. I apply basic operant conditioning in hopes to condition a better response. This was our second session today and she had no reactions. Very proud of this young lady. Next week we will begin to work closer to the trigger.
Meet
Ralph!
Ralph is an American bulldog/ boxer cross, and is a beast as you can see. He struggles pretty badly with reactivity and classical approaches hasn’t seemed to work as well with it. As you can see he’s got extreme toy drive. From the minute I grabbed his leash, he found the balls on my belt and pulled me ass to the ground 😂 All though this might of been discouraging to some, I found it a really good thing cause I know his toy drive was next level.
I spent the session bonding with Ralph, and playing with him to gain his trust and respect. We had a great time. We were really put through the test when a dog walked right beside us on the sidewalk. Not going to lie, when I saw this dog coming I didn’t think I had a chance of getting his attention since I was certain he was definitely over threshold, but to my surprise he quickly turned around, ignoring the dog and reengaged in play. Why? Because he found more value in playing with me than the other dogs!
Now in the beginning the play is used for redirection, and gives him something to put his intense feelings into, but over time with constant repetition, his feelings will start to change about seeing other dogs due to the positive association of play constantly being applied at the same time he sees a dog. Now this type of play needs to have a lot of cooperative and competitive aspects to it for it to work. Changing a dogs complete mindset about their triggers can take a long time, but the results are worth the time!
Now this may seems easy and impressive right? Well I would hope so. This is my full time job. The real impressive part of it is yet to come. When I help transfer these skills to the owner to ensure she has the tools to work with her dog not only now, but years down the line. That’s what people pay for. Long term results.
Pete is gaining confidence!
Pete and I had our theod session today and the amount of work I’m his handlers have put in him since our last session is really showing! Before Pete couldn’t be within 100ft of someone without barking, but now he is choosing to make better choices and getting paid handsomely for it.
To remove some of the tension I worked with him on a long line. This just gives him more freedom and gives him the ability to create a lot like space when he feels like he needs it.
Pete responds very well to recall, reward markers, and even verbal corrections. I can tell the long line did a lot for his confidence. So we will continue to use it but in more busier environments next time.
This took some time to train but hell yeah! We got it down. Switching from bark at handler to bark at target. That a boy Leroy!
Look at Molly go!
making a dog stop pulling, or getting a dog to leave things alone is easy. But will your dog choose to make the right decisions on their own? All though it is harder to do, it’s a lot more meaningful to the dog.
Go out and let your dog make their own decisions, and reward them heavily for the good ones.
