Ever since taking the Enrichment Framework course with @petharmonytraining I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate more agency into Reuben’s life, even the activities I feel that he enjoys. “Find It” may look simple to the human eye, but our dogs are doing a great deal of thinking and processing information as they do it. I wanted him to have a way to communicate when he was tapped out or needed a break. I decided to add a start button behavior to our Find It game so he could let me know when he was ready for another round as opposed to me just tossing another treat after he found the previous one. If he wants me to throw a treat to find, he sits or lays down on his mat. If he simply approaches me, he still gets treats. Either way he gets the goods…and you might think he wouldn’t bother to engage in Find It if he can get the shnacks for “free”, but as you can see from the video, he opts into the game quite a bit when he’s ready.
Giving our dogs choice and agency can have fantastic results. It helps create a dialogue and can give us information we may not be able to obtain otherwise. I highly recommend listening to the Pet Harmony podcast episode on the topic if you’d like to learn more on this topic!
#ThinkSmartDogTraining #TeamThinkSmart #ThinkSmartTrainHumane #CanineEnrichment #ChoiceAndAgency #LetThemSniff #ForceFree #ForceFreeTraining #ForceFreeDogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #DogsOfBoulder #CertifiedDogTrainer #ColoradoDogTrainer #LongmontDogTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #TrainWithoutPain #EvidenceBasedDogTraining
Yesterday I posted a video where behaviors with a known cue had been given NEW cues for the same behavior. Today’s post is about changing the behavior that follows a cue. I have not cued Reuben to walk in this position with eye contact…but something in the environment has 👀
Spoiler Alert: it’s another dog 😮
Leslie McDevitt’s pattern games were an absolute game changer for helping Reuben with his reactivity to other dogs while on leash, particularly Look At That also known as Engage/Disengage.
When Reuben used to see dogs out on walks, even at quite a distance, he would begin barking (well..screaming, actually), lunging, and pulling. Sight of dog = cue to begin those behaviors.
We began using pattern games and Look At That and now Sight of Dog = cue for Reuben to look at me. This creates a dialogue between us. When he looks at me, it cues me to check out the environment to see where the dog is. It allows me to assess the situation and make decisions about next steps based on what I see. You’ll notice I toss a treat to reinforce - I WANT him to look at the dog again so I can get more information as we continue to walk and you’ll see Reuben sees the dog again and looks at me.
This did not happen overnight. This took time and a careful and methodical training strategy. Does this mean Reuben loves other dogs now? No, but his threshold is much higher than it used to be AND most importantly, he has a much more desirable behavior that clues me into things in the environment that have the potential to make him uncomfortable and can meet his needs in the moment accordingly.
#ThinkSmartDogTraining #TeamThinkSmart #ThinkSmartMascot #ReactiveDogs #LeashReactivity #ControlUnleashed #Pattern Games #ThinkSmartTrainHumane #ForceFree #ForceFreeTraining #ForceFreeDogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #DogsOfBoulder #CertifiedDogTrainer #ColoradoDogTrainer #LongmontDogTraining #SnackLeaderNotPackLeader
🤫 I like to call this our silent disco. Training is a great form of mental stimulation for dogs, but sometimes working on the same behaviors repeatedly doesn’t quite fulfill the need as much as we like. Reuben has learned a lot of behaviors in his 9 years so one way we keep things fresh is to do cue transfers for his known behaviors. Recently I’ve been transferring a lot of verbal cues to visual cues and trying to be creative with them which has been a lot of fun.
🔢 How many different cues do you see in this video?
🥴 I’m also trying to be better about posting imperfections…it’s real life my friends! Can you tell which cue was missed?
🤔 Do you have any fun cues for your dog?
#ThinkSmartDogTraining #TeamThinkSmart #ThinkSmartTrainHumane #ClickerTraining #ForceFree #ForceFreeTraining #ForceFreeDogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #DogsOfBoulder #CertifiedDogTrainer #ColoradoDogTrainer #LongmontDogTraining #SnackLeaderNotPackLeader
I am smitten with Erin of @perfectpals_dogtraining ‘s Gus! He is just the cutest little guy, so seeing him enjoy sniffin’ and snackin’ in his new Think Smart Snuffle Mat makes me happy as can be!
Denver folks, if you’re looking for a trainer, we highly recommend Erin!
#ThinkSmartDogTraining #TeamThinkSmart #CanineEnrichment #SnuffleMat #ThinkSmartSnuffleMat #LetThemSniff #ThinkSmartTrainHumane #ForceFree #ForceFreeTraining #ForceFreeDogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #DogsOfBoulder #CertifiedDogTrainer #ColoradoDogTrainer #LongmontDogTraining #SnackLeaderNotPackLeader #TrainWithoutPain #EvidenceBasedDogTraining
These snoots are made for sniffin’ and that’s just what they’ll do…if we let them.
I often hear dog parents say “my dog has a terrible nose. They can’t find anything with it.” Then they’ll toss a treat, the dog will look for one second, and then…the notorious toe tap - the human taps their toe near the food to help the dog and the dog says, thanks for saving me all the work!
I’m a member of toe tappers anonymous, myself. I trained myself and my boyfriend not to anymore when I noticed Reuben becoming more reliant on using sight to “find it” and not using his short but mighty sniffer.
It should come as no surprise that snuffle mats get heavy usage in this house, but I also like to change it up to keep things interesting.
One really easy way I encourage him to sniff? Feed him his kibble on a highly patterned rug. He has to rely on his nose to get the goodies and man does his sniffer get to work. I also have food available for him off the rug to avoid frustration and give him choice…and as you can see, he chooses to sniff sniff sniff.
Are you a member of toe-tappers anonymous? Have you ever thought your Fido has a faulty sniffer? Give this a shot. Keep that toe glued to the floor and give your dog time to shift their nose into gear!
This is also a great activity on days like today when the weather doesn’t allow for as much outdoor sniffin’!
Give it a shot! Let us know how it goes!
#ThinkSmartDogTraining #TeamThinkSmart #LetThemSniff #ThinkSmartTrainHumane #ForceFree #ForceFreeTraining #ForceFreeDogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #DogsOfBoulder #CertifiedDogTrainer #ColoradoDogTrainer #LongmontDogTraining #SnackLeaderNotPackLeader #TrainWithoutPain #EvidenceBasedDogTraining
It's moving day, and that means it's time to put all of the prong, choke, and shock collars I've collected through the #forcefreejc program where they belong!!! Hip hip hooray to all of those that made the switch! 👋🐶😄
Larissa of Downtown Woody's Grooming Salon is the ONLY person that can trim Reuben's nails - speaks volumes about her skills. If you've ever seen me attempt it, you'll know this is pretty remarkable - standing calmly isn't exactly how it goes....😬
Kane demonstrates a Go To Place with ENTHUSIASM 🤗 #forcefreejc #positivedogtraining #jerseycitydogtraining #jennatetidogtraining #dogsofjerseycity #certifieddogtrainer #jerseycitydogtrainer #forcefreedogtraining
Ruby perfecting Go To Place with ease! #positivedogtraining #forcefreejc #jerseycitydogtraining #jennatetidogtraining
Isabelle plays Hide and Seek with Archie using the "Touch" cue. Love seeing the two of them enjoying training exercises 😊
When we counter-condition, we change a dog's emotional response to a trigger. Scooter gets a bit anxious about having his harness put on. I'm merely touching the harness and giving him a treat - touching the harness becomes a predictor of a good thing happening. In order to move to the next step we look for a "yippee!" response to this step...or in Scooter's case, I like to call it happy feet!
First trip sans Reuben in a long time! Came back and got right back to work! Tonight we did a shaping exercise to teach him a "relax" behavior and here is the end result just as I'm introducing the cue. Shaping is a LOT fun. I love seeing the dogs think and try to figure out what behavior you're looking for through trial and error to see what works. #positivedogtraining #forcefreejc #jerseycitydogtraining #jennatetidogtrainkng #goodboyroo
When I met Mocha she was in a state of perpetual motion and pogo-puppied all over the place. Her people have worked with her every night on training exercises and their hard work has paid off. Mocha has a verbal sit and down and her jumping has decreased big time! So, so proud of Mocha and her people! ⭐️
I did target training with one of my friend Michelle's foster kittens from JerseyCats today and had so much fun! Operant conditioning and Positive Reinforcement isn't just for dogs!
Reuben learned to turn a circle to the right today through shaping which is breaking a behavior up into tiny steps and successively rewarding for each step until you get the complete behavior. No cues or lures are given...it's all trial and error learning from the dog to see what works. Apologies for poor video quality... #positivedogtraining #forcefreejc #jennatetidogtraining #dognerd
Maddie the puppy #looseleashwalking! #forcefreejc #positivedogtraining #jerseycitydogtraining
Happy National Puppy Day! Here's a video of Reuben trying to play with the puppy in the mirror when I first brought him home. Have a new pup and looking to start training? Email me for more info on the 6 Session Puppy Starter Package. It's never too early - training starts the moment you get home!
Here's another example of Recall. Remember that your dog's name is not a recall cue, it's to get their attention. You can see a bit better in this video how saying his name slows him down and he's listening for a cue, which in this case is "here."
Reuben and I went for a walk in the park on the long line and practiced Recall, loose leash walking...and a lot of Leave It with goose poop. Here's Reuben doing Recall (his name is to get his attention and "Here" is his recall cue).
If Pongo had a theme song for his "down" it would be "Drop It Like It's Hot."
