Attention Matters Dog Training

05/09/2019

Always fun getting a new group of puppies!

Puppy Kindergarten starting
Saturday, May 11th, 2019 at 11:30 AM

https://tailsuwin.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?schedule=3160

Not only do we cover your basic obedience cues such as sit on a verbal and hand signal, down on a verbal and hand signal, but we also cover stay, coming when called every day as well as in emergency situations, politely greeting people, politely walking on lead, body awareness for growing puppies, confidence building equipment and more! This is shareable!

05/01/2019

The first rule of dog training is that "all behaviour that gets reinforced, gets repeated." This means that when a dog gets something that they want out of a behaviour, they are more likely to try it again in the future.

A common example of this is dogs that jump up onto people. If the jumping behaviour is repeating over and over again, then that must mean that the dog is getting some kind of pay off. Most commonly, dogs that jump are looking for ATTENTION.

The chain of events goes like this:
1) A dog wants attention
2)The dog jumps on a human
3) The human looks down at the dog, talks to them or even gives them a pat
4) Success! The dog got exactly what they wanted

Even if you then ask your dog to sit or tell them off for jumping, the next time they want attention – they’ll jump!

If your dog is repeating a behaviour consistently, they must be getting some kind of pay off from it. Analyse the situation to see if you can determine what it is. If you need help figuring out how your dog is getting rewarded, describe the behaviour in the comments and see if your fellow Dog Geeks can help you out.

Happy training!

04/28/2019

This is something I use in my train all of the time. Is there something that distracts your dog that they truly want to enjoy? How can you turn it into a way of reinforcing your dog for doing something for you first?

04/26/2019

Quotes

04/22/2019

What is socialization?

Socialization has evolved over the years. Today, socialization to some can mean:

- Allowing your puppy to play with other dogs to become socialized
- Allowing your puppy to greet every stranger in the hopes of building a confident, social puppy.
- Taking your puppy everywhere to see all of the things the world has to offer and as frequently as possible while they're young to make sure they are well adjusted adult dogs.

What do I think socialization is?

Socialization, to me, is:

- Finding appropriate play partners for your puppy that will not always engage in play, but will settle nicely and be an excellent role model
- Encouraging handler focus when others are present and allowing the puppy structured greetings that end with the puppy finding reinforcement back with their owner, rather than their new friend.
- Exploring the world increasing the level of distraction as the puppy demonstrates the maturity and confidence to handle it.
- Exposing my puppy to opportunities that will allow them emotional growth.
- Learning calmness despite the environment, encouraging flexibility so that when things change, the puppy can adapt and recover.

What does socialization mean to you?

04/22/2019