Anxiety meds, white noise machine, bathroom fan on, lights on to reduce lightning contrast, calm petting, and comforting her in my normal voice…this is how I try to support my dog when she panics during a storm. YES I will be there for her and support her, no that won’t “reinforce her fear.”
Luckily her vet-prescribed anxiety meds kick in in about 20 mins and bring her enormous relief. But that time beforehand is stressful and hard for both of us 🥺
How do you all support your dogs with thunderstorm phobias? Share in the comments so we can all get some ideas! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingAdvice #DogBehavior #DogAfraidOfThunder #ThunderstormPhobia #DogAnxiety #DogAnxietyMeds #BehaviorModification #FearfulDog #ScaredDog #AnxiousDog
We are spending a LOT of time at Petsmart right now while we raise these kittens 😅 so we bring Lola along for some extra enrichment and quality time with her. Added bonus, she gets her favorite @pupford training treats that are now available at PetSmart! #ad
Some errands to pet-friendly stores can be really fun for your dog *if they enjoy* novel smells and places. Always be sure to watch their body language and behavior to make sure they’re enjoying it, like Lola did on this trip! 🐶
#DogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #PetSmart #PupfordPups
Foundation behaviors have a huge impact on your ability to support your reactive dog! In this video we cover THREE basic behaviors to work on so that you have ways to communicate with your reactive pup. #ad
It’s important to be able to get your dog’s attention on walks using their name or other positive interrupters! It’s also important that they are eating treats and you feel comfortable delivering those treats while walking. The @pupford freeze dried treats are the perfect size for using on training walks.
Remember, if you’re struggling with your own dog’s reactivity, consult with a qualified professional!
What foundation behaviors help you with your reactive dog? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #ReactiveDog #Reactivity #PositiveDogTraining #ReactiveDogTips #PupfordPups
When you have a reactive dog, you know how meaningful these small acts of kindness are from other people! Not only did these folks keep walking without upsetting our dogs, they supported their own dogs through the interaction by giving them treats while passing. It was such a delight to see!
Supporting your own dog can mean supporting others 💖
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTraining101 #DogTrainer #ReactiveDog #Reactivity #ReactiveDogTraining #ReactiveDogs #PositiveTraining #PositiveDogTraining #ReactiveDogsOfInstagram
Heat stroke is extremely dangerous in dogs! Which is why during the hot summer months it’s usually important to stay indoors and limit exercise outside. We’re sharing FOUR tips for entertaining your pup indoors! #ad
What is your dog’s favorite indoor activity that tires them out mentally and physically!? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #PupfordPups #Pupford #DogTrainingTips #PositiveDogTraining #Enrichment
Finding treats your dog loves is important! Pupford treats can now be found in Petsmart stores, making them easy and convenient to stock up on. #ad
Have you been to PetSmart yet to pick up your dog’s favorite flavor of Pupford treats? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#PupfordPups #Pupford #DogTrainingTreats #DogTreats #DogTraining
What YOU think is your dog’s cue might *not* actually be what your dog is perceiving! Cue confusion is a huge reason for slow or non-responsiveness. Where you are standing and what you do with your body when you give a verbal or hand signal cue can quickly become part of the cue! Then if that changes or goes away, our dogs become super confused.
One great way to improve your dog’s responsiveness and reliability is to practice your cues from different positions, as demonstrated by @cooperativepaws in this video. Sitting, standing, kneeling, facing away from them…get creative! Remember, you are changing the training picture when you do this—your dog might be confused at first. Help them figure out what you’re asking by breaking it down into small changes. If they make more than one or two errors, consider going back to where they were successful and start from there.
What different positions can your dog respond to cues from? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTraining101 #SDiT #ServiceDog #ServiceDogTraining #ServiceDogInTraining #ServiceDogTrainer #OwnerTrainedServiceDog #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ClickerTraining #DogTrainer
Exposure alone is not enough for puppy socialization! It’s critical to look at your puppy’s body language to gauge if they are feeling GOOD during novel experiences in that critical socialization window (~8-16 weeks). Bad experiences at this age can directly impact a dog for the rest of their life!
Ways we make sure socialization is accomplishing what we want—a positive experience—and is not accidentally creating more problems down the road:
👉🏻 Give the puppy an exit at all times. In this case, the door to inside was open and the puppy could retreat out of the rain whenever he wanted
👉🏻 Watch body language closely. If the puppy became still, lowered his tail, didn’t take treats, attempted to hide, vocalized, or tried to retreat, we would stop immediately! That would give us a chance to regroup and figure out how to help him feel more comfortable
👉🏻 Keep it short & sweet. Short, positive experiences tend to be more successful than long drawn out ones where the risk of a negative experience becomes more likely. Especially when puppies get tired, overwhelmed, or overstimulated, the likelihood of a positive experience starts to decrease
What are some ways you made sure your puppy had a positive socializing experience to reduce the likelihood of fear or flooding? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #PuppyTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #Socialization #PuppySocialization #DCDogTrainer #JWDogTraining #PuppiesOfInstagram
Playing around with my cues to see how well Lola knows them 😍 Loud/stern/bigger doesn’t mean a better response!
If you can make your cues really subtle and your dog still responds correctly, it can mean your dog has a pretty solid understanding of that cue!
When testing this out it’s important she can still perceive them and I’m not being *too* quiet or still (that could be super frustrating for her).
This was fun. I love how much Lola loves to work together, even when I switch things up. In her world, different training has never resulted in anything uncomfortable, scary, startling, etc—so she is all for whatever I throw at her!
Do you think your dog could respond to a cue said in a whisper!? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingCues #DogTrainingIsFun #HumanCanineBond #DogTrainer #ObedienceTraining #PositiveDogTraining
Labeling a dog “stubborn” does not serve us when we are aiming to change their behavior. Instead, we opt to 1) try to figure out the reason for the behavior and 2) use thoughtful training to teach what we want to see instead.
Dogs pause on walks for MANY reasons. We can’t tell you why your dog stops without seeing it in person. However, we can tell you how we typically approach this behavior of stopping.
We aim to:
👉🏻 Be patient and wait for the dog to start walking again
👉🏻 Be kind by not forcing the dog to move
👉🏻 Use smart training by rewarding when the dog is moving
This is especially important when first introducing the behavior of walking on leash!
Part of being a good positive reinforcement trainer is understanding how reinforcement works, including how it can work against us (dogs are always learning!) and how to use it to our advantage. We are always thoughtful about what behaviors and possible behavior chains are being reinforced in our training.
Thanks to our brilliant friend Melissa Millet of @the_ultimutts for sharing these videos of her rescue puppy with spina bifida learning to walk on leash 🥹
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #LeashTraining #LooseLeashWalking #LooseLeashTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #JWDogTraining #DogsOfArlingtonVA #ClickerTraining #DogsOfInstagram #RescuePuppy
You don’t need as much space as you might think to get your dog running while practicing your recall!
It’s been super soggy in the DC area, and we are also headed into the humid DC summers 🥵 We need a LOT of ideas for exercising our dogs indoors!
We love pairing meeting needs ✅ with training games that build skills! 📚
What’s your favorite INDOOR exercise for your dog? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #PuppyTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #Recall #ComingWhenCalled #Enrichment #RecallTraining #JWDogTraining #DCDogTrainer #ClickerTraining
We talk a lot about housetraining puppies, but what about if you have an adult dog who is still having accidents in the house!? Here are some of our tips! #ad
If your adult dog WAS successfully housetrained and then *suddenly* started having accidents, there is almost always going to be a medical or stress-related cause. We urge you to figure out what might be going on.
If you’ve ruled both of those out by consulting with qualified professionals, you’ll want to rely on managing your dog’s environment, taking them out frequently, and giving them lots of rewards for going outside!
For those occasional accidents, we rely on @pupford’s Oops Eraser carpet cleaner!
Housetraining an adult dog is takes effort 😅 but it is possible!
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #PupfordPups #HousetrainingTips
Here’s how we’re gearing up for spring cleaning by helping our dog feel comfortable with the vacuum! #ad
It makes sense some dogs are scared of the vacuum. It’s weird looking and it makes a scary sound. Helping your dog feel more comfortable with the vacuum is about giving them choice and not forcing interaction. It’s also helpful to pair the vacuum with their favorite treats to create a positive association. We love using our @pupford training treats for this!
How did you help your dog feel more comfortable with the vacuum? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#PupfordPups #Pupford #DogTrainingTips #PositiveDogTraining
Working on the tricky behavior of JUMPING! First things first: we love when dogs are friendly, we have no interest in punishing that social behavior. We do acknowledge that sometimes jumping is not safe or appropriate, so when we work to change it we do so with positive reinforcement, rewarding alternative behaviors that can replace jumping.
Some takeaways from this short video:
➡️ When changing behavior we start where the dog is successful. In this case, that starting point is while we are still petting the dog
➡️ We make things harder in small enough increments that there is almost no way the dog is not successful. Making too big of a leap in criteria will likely cause the unwanted jumping behavior to occur again. Don’t worry though: small steps lead to big progress more quickly than you think.
➡️ We keep our expectations reasonable. This is one single 2 minute training session that is working against a lifetime learning history
➡️ Some advice around jumping is to ignore the dog or wait them out. We do not do that because that allows a ton of rehearsal of the unwanted jumping behavior. If we’re training the way we want to, we do not let the jumping behavior occur in the first place
What are some effective alternative behaviors that you have rewarded to replace jumping? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingAdvice #DogTraining101 #PositiveDogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #ClickerTraining #GoldenRetriever #ObedienceTraining #Obedience #DogTrainer #DogBehavior #ErrorlessLearning
This dog was very reactive when a bike would startle him. His trainer @clickwithkat opted to teach the dog and guardian a cue that signals to the dog 1) a bike is coming and 2) when you look at it you get a treat. The dog’s response to this cue was information to the guardian. If the dog was unable to play the game and calmly notice the bike without barking, he was over threshold and adjustments had to be made to the training in that moment. A two way conversation!
Since implementing this training game around triggers, this dog’s reactivity has decreased in intensity and frequency, and he recovers much more quickly. Reactivity training is not meant to eliminate the behavior right away—it’s a long process, usually due to the big feelings that are behind the barking and lunging. But seeing major positive changes like this means he’s on the right track and has made significant progress.
When we show reactivity training on here it is to demonstrate what is possible and to spark curiosity—not necessarily to give you a DIY recipe with your own dog. Of course you could try what you see on this page, but know there are many factors that determine success!
Have you put looking at triggers on cue for your dog? How did it help? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #ReactiveDog #ReactiveDogsOfInstagram #Reactivity #ReactivityTraining #BehaviorModification #LeashReactive #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #DogBehavior #CanineBodyLanguage #JWDogTraining #ArlingtonDogTrainer #DogsOfDC #Reactivity
Training a dog to “settle” in public is HARD!
Here are some considerations we make when working up to setting in public:
👉🏻 Is the dog comfortable in the environment, or are they nervous/stressed/reactive? We typically would not work on settling in the traditional hang-at-a-patio sense if a dog falls under any of those labels
👉🏻 Does the dog have the skills? Has the behavior been worked on extensively at home?
👉🏻 Have we planned to start small with short trips, always willing to end early if the dog hits their limit earlier than expected?
👉🏻 Have their needs been met prior to the training session? It’s not fair to expect a dog to chill and hang out if they have a bunch of pent up energy
👉🏻 Have we prepared long-lasting chewing or licking items to help the dog stay settled?
This is a skill that takes a lot of time and practice. For some dogs, settling in public can be achieved with lots of training! For others, settling in public might not be in the stars for them due to a number of factors and that’s ok.
If you used positive reinforcement to teach your dog to settle in public, what helped them the most? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #PuppyTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #DownStay #PlaceTraining #ServiceDogTraining #TrainingInPublic
How do you become a dog trainer!? Surprisingly, there is no standard track to start the career!
Some people start with a dog training school early in their career. Or some people get started under a mentor and gain experience before pursuing additional education at a dog training school. Some work on their own towards credentials that test their knowledge and skillset. Regardless, a mix of science-backed education (through courses, books, seminars, classes, etc) and hands-on experience is important. Experience alone is not enough!
JW Dog Training’s owner Juliana is Faculty at the Karen Pryor Academy. She teaches the Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) course and the Dog Trainer Foundations Immersion course. This weekend she wrapped up the six-month DTP program with another set of students, and got their take on how the program went!
No dog trainer is ever done learning. Not only will there always be new ways to apply what we know, but the science is constantly being updated and re-routing us. What was up-to-date ten years ago is no longer the standard. When we know better, we can do better.
Do you have a question about being a dog trainer? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️
#DogTrainer #DogTraining #DogTrainers #DogTrainersOfInstagram #DogTrainersLife #BecomingADogTrainer #KarenPryorAcademy #ClickerTraining #KPCT #PositiveReinforcement #KPACTP #CertifiedDogTrainer #PositiveDogTraining #ClickerTrained
Real Life Distractions Training 🐾 Replacing pulling, lunging, and jumping with calm watching and checking in.
Like many adolescent dogs, Martha shows her enthusiasm for greeting other dogs and people through leaping, pulling, and sometimes barking. We love that she is so friendly and outgoing so we don’t want to punish her for that, but we definitely need to teach her more desirable behaviors to replace her current choices.
A few notes about what’s happening in the video:
💫 We first reward calm looking because that’s the easiest alternative behavior to get + reward around distractions that isn’t pulling, leaping, and barking
💫 We are using a marker word “yes!” to capture the exact moment Martha notices the distraction. This is important because we only have a few seconds of good behavior before she’d likely start pulling, so we need to catch it quickly!
💫 After a few reps of rewarding Martha calmly noticing distractions, we raise our criteria to see if she’ll offer an unprompted check in after seeing a distraction, which she does. She has a strong history of being rewarded for eye contact and checking in, so it’s a pretty easy choice for her once she’s able to think!
💫 People are less exciting for Martha than dogs. This person passed in close proximity and Martha did well. If this was a dog, she would not have been able to watch calmly even for a second, and likely would not have taken treats. This is called being over threshold and is not a good place for a dog to learn. So if this person passing us had a dog we would have moved Martha way up the sidewalk. Distance is our friend with this training!
💫 Martha doesn’t need to sit in this exercise. As long as she is focused on us, we are perfectly okay with her choosing to stand
💫 This is the beginning of many many months of teaching Martha that it pays to stay by our side calmly when a distraction passes instead of leaping towards it. It will take lots of consi
Fearful Dog Training Session 🐾 The importance of avoiding eye contact.
We posted yesterday about how direct eye contact can be threatening in the dog world. Here is JW trainer Kayleigh working with her foster dog, a nervous puppy named Bean.
Watch as Kayleigh marks and rewards different behaviors from Bean, all while mostly keeping her eyes averted, her shoulders relaxed, and her movements calm and quiet. All of this is very nonthreatening body language from her, helping Bean feel more comfortable in the session.
Notice how Bean is participating in the training and eating the treats, but his feet are planted totally still. He leans his body forward to touch or get a treat, not wanting to move closer quite yet. His proximity to Kayleigh and participation in the training does not necessarily mean he is comfortable yet, which is why Kayleigh continues to make herself as nonthreatening as possible.
Kayleigh is working on hand targets, capturing when his eyes move up towards hers voluntarily, and she is starting to introduce an eye contact cue but only for a fleeting second. Knowing eye contact IS important for training, but that it will be extra hard for this sweet boy, Kayleigh is introducing it in a way that Bean can handle right now.
Working with dogs labeled “nervous” or “fearful” or “shy” is about meeting them where they are and working at their pace. It’s important to go slow and build trust. Helping them learn the world isn’t a scary place is one of the most rewarding parts of the job 🤍
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtip #nervousdog #fearfuldog #shydog #reactivedog #trainingfearfuldogs #positivereinforcement #positivetraining #forcefree #fearfree #dogsofinstagram #fosterdog #rescuedog #doglover #jwdogtraining #dogsofdc #dcdogtrainer
Adding a Verbal Cue When Teaching Your Dog a New Behavior 🐾
Okay we admit mechanics aren’t as sexy as speedy recalls or reactivity progress, but they are SO IMPORTANT! ✨
Results are rooted in good, clean training. So let us tell you about one important step in the teaching process ➡️
Adding a verbal cue 🗣
Here’s the correct process 💯
1. Pair the cue with the behavior
2. Back up the cue
It is a common (and understandable) mistake to say and repeat the verbal cue before the dog *actually* knows what the behavior is. This can be confusing to the dog!
For example, when teaching sit you might say “sit!” to your dog while they are standing looking at a treat in your hand. They might think “okay sit must mean stand in front of my human🤔.”
So how do you make sure your dog knows what the word means? Let’s again take a look at the correct process:
You initially want to say the cue *as* your dog does the behavior. A good rule of thumb is to say it once you’re positive your dog will complete the behavior correctly, as demonstrated in this video. This pairs the word with the desired behavior.
Then, after pairing it with the behavior a few times, you can start to *back up the cue*.
Backing up the cue means saying it a little sooner each repetition. Soon, you will be saying the cue and the dog will do the behavior. This is, of course, the desired end result!
By pairing the cue with the behavior first and then correctly and systematically backing it up, your dog will understand what the verbal cue actually means.
Remember⚠️ Dogs don’t speak our language, so being very clear about what our words mean is absolutely critical to helping our dogs be successful! 🎉
Let us know below what questions you have about adding a verbal cue! 🐶
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtip #dogtrainingvideo #trainingmechanics #positivetraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement #clicker #kpactp #clickerexpolive #sheepadoodle #settle #mat
