Force-Free Training with Candice

04/08/2025

I remember hearing Dr. Susan Friedman say “control the environment not the animal” and writing it down. It struck me at the time because it gets at the core of the way we’re conditioned to see behavior. We tend to focus on controlling the individual, rather than looking at the conditions under which their behavior occurs.

All behavior occurs under certain conditions. If we want to change behavior, but don’t address those conditions first, we’ll be destined to fail and rely on compulsion. The traditional punishment mindset tells us that this is the only way, but it’s not.

Shifting our mindset gives us an opportunity to see behavior and how we go about changing it differently. We can help our dogs learn better by making the behaviors we want to teach easier to achieve and arrange the environment so that problem behaviors don’t occur. It’s a not as difficult as we might think, and it’s a lot more rewarding.

[ID: On a light pink background words in dark gray read A punishment oriented mindset asks, “How can I control my dog’s problem behavior under these conditions?”A positive reinforcement oriented mindset asks, “How can I change the conditions to prevent the problem behavior and make the wanted behavior more likely?”]

03/08/2025

Having trouble getting a reliable Release from your dog?

02/08/2025

When we see a familiar face, we know instantly if we can remember that person's name. That's because the human brain has an ability called metamemory. Looks like rats may have that higher power, too.

02/08/2025

I think this is the single most important thing you can teach your dog that lives in your home. This is 10 x more important if you're going...

02/08/2025

A dog is not public property.
Nobody is entitled to touch or pet a dog.
Dogs are entitled to space and consent to be touched.
It is completely okay for a dog to say "no thank you" and NOT be pet by anyone- including any strangers, family members, and friends.
Learn the signs and signals that your dog wants space from you or from anyone else.
Advocate for your dog.
Do not let people approach or pet your dog if you know your dog does not want to be pet or approached.
Forcing a puppy or dog to interact or be touched when they do not want that contact is NOT proper socialization. In fact, it is a fantastic way to teach your dog to growl, bark, and bite in order to get space from humans or other dogs.

31/07/2025

“I tried positive reinforcement, but it didn’t work.”
That’s a common phrase, but it’s actually not accurate. Just because you give your dog a treat does not mean you are using positive reinforcement!

⭐ Positive reinforcement is an OUTCOME, not a methodology, as far as behavior principles are concerned.

A behavior that has been reinforced is a behavior that, after a particular outcome (aka, result or consequence), occurs more frequently. Learning is about behavior patterns, and the only way we, as trainers and behavior specialists, can determine if a behavior has been learned in the way we intended is to observe whether the behavior increases or decreases in frequency. In other words, what does the animal do next?

A reinforced behavior is one that gets repeated. A behavior that gets repeated is one that has been reinforced.
And here’s the important part: that reinforcement is often not tied to what you, as the trainer, thought you were teaching or “reinforcing.”

If you're trying to reinforce Behavior A in a specific situation but Behavior B keeps happening instead, then positive reinforcement isn’t being used effectively.
In fact, reinforcement is happening, just not for the behavior you intended.
How do you know? By simply watching your pet’s behavior patterns.
What happened after you tried to reinforce Behavior A? What behavior showed up next? That’s where the real reinforcement lies.

At Synergy, whether we are working with aggressive behavior or training in scent work, our trainers always consider this question: What is reinforcing this behavior?
It is almost always about an animal attempting to meet their emotional and physical needs. Once we answer this question, we are then able to help meet this animal’s needs in a way that also meets the human’s needs- and because we understand the principles of reinforcement, we never have to utilize pain or fear to accomplish this goal.

Reinforcement drives behavior!

31/07/2025

A basic overview, lots of room for nuance and individual dog communication and of course, always take into account the entire dog and situation / environment.

As summer progresses, we see more and more dogs out for walks, visiting dog parks, and lounging on the patios of restaurants and coffee shops. It’s not surprising that dog bites increase significantly in the summer months, with one report from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stating…

31/07/2025

We know it can be overwhelming to bring home a puppy or young dog - but it doesn't need to be. To help out, we'll be uploading a new SOCIALIZATION BINGO template once a week for you to work on with your new addition!

Take pictures as you work on getting bingo with your puppy, and then let us know - you'll get 10% off one of our online training programs! (Limit 1 per household, but please keep playing along for new surprises and prizes as we go!)

31/07/2025

Rate of Reinforcement - why is this such a big deal?

A client was asking me about another dog in the class they attend who is doing so well in training that it stands out obviously to anyone observing the class. In fact, the assumption was made that this adolescent husky (yes, a husky - for all those who think they're untrainable ) could not possibly be the first dog this person has trained. In fact, this is the first dog they've had from a puppy and the first they've trained. Added to that, this young ball of energy had two homes in his short life, prior to the current owners taking him in - so not necessarily the easiest start to life.

Yet his performance in class is nothing short of brilliant: He is attentive, focused, highly motivated and learning at a rapid rate. We're all seriously impressed by this new dog/handler team and the question is "Why are they doing so well?"

The answer in my opinion lies in one main crucial area: RAPID RATE OF REINFORCEMENT. The handler part of the team is always ready to reinforce the behaviour we're working on immediately and every time after each of many quick repetitions. The dog is never left hanging around wondering what to do. He is consistently set up to be reinforced for the desired behaviour and doesn't have time to think about getting distracted by anything else. As a consequence, he is rehearsing and being reinforced for the behaviour as well as continual engagement so much that these behaviours just get stronger and stronger. Plus, because he experiences a high rate of reinforcement, the association with working with his "dad" and being at training is such a positive one that there is no room for frustration or any other negative emotions that could interfere with learning.

We find so often that people are inherently stingy when it comes to dispensing food in training. While we may have succeeded in convincing most owners to use food to train, resistance remains in the form of trying to use as little as possible. Others simply make the mistake of expecting too much too soon in the form of raising criteria for an exercise way too quickly, unintentionally setting the dog up to fail and thereby lowering the rate of reinforcement to almost nothing - because the dog isn't able to meet the requirement for reinforcement.

Dogs that succeed have owners who reinforce readily and frequently. Think about it logically and it makes sense: We are using positive reinforcement as a training method i.e. food is given to reinforce the behaviour you desire. The acquisition of food causes a release of dopamine which acts on neural pathways and strengthens those involved in the behaviour that has just been performed. Therefore the more frequently you actually reinforce, the more learning is actually taking place in the brain - it's not just a nice idea, it's a scientific fact!

Many new trainers or owners struggle a bit with the mechanics of training - holding a clicker, managing treats, getting timing right etc. which might also impact on getting a good rate of reinforcement. We completely understand that this is a new skill for many and have endless patience for clients who are actually trying to learn it - I promise if you keep trying you'll get there and your dog will do well. But please leave the baggage around using "lots of food", "spoiling my dog" or "he should do it because I say so" at the door. It's only setting yourself and your dog up for failure.

And guess what...? The higher your rate of reinforcement, the more willing your dog will be to work with you, the more you will both enjoy the training process and the less important the actual food treats will end up becoming. Yes, we will always use them, but the entire process will become so reinforcing that your dog will actually choose to work for food rather than get it for free!

30/07/2025

Thank you to Scott Williams of Canine Healing for this quote on his blog, that is a must read!

Link to full blog here –– https://caninehealing.com/you-cant-outrun-crazy

30/07/2025

Lovely video! Sometimes one-on-one play is too much, so introducing something else into the environment can help. In this case, a toy! As Understanding Dog Behaviour references in a comment, it could also be scatter feeding, a toy for each dog, or other options to help redirect the play style.

29/07/2025

Love it!