06/05/2026
๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ? ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐?
That was Amran.
She loved to let everyone know when someone was approaching the yard โ including me when I arrived for training sessions!
While alert barking is natural, it can quickly become frustrating while dogs struggle to stay calm. ๐คฃ
Through training, Amran and Doug, her dog parent, learned several powerful techniques that helped transform her behavior.
One of the most useful was teaching a "mark" (target) behavior.
Instead of fixating on a person or dog, Amran learned to come touch her owner's hand on cue, giving her a positive way to disengage from the trigger and refocus.
They also practiced LAT (Look At That), a game that rewards dogs for calmly noticing a trigger without reacting.
Over time, Amran discovered she didn't need to bark every time she saw something exciting.
Another key lesson? Being quiet pays! โจ
Whether she was watching from the window or spending time in the yard, Amran was rewarded for calm choices BEFORE barking started.
Little by little, those calm moments became longer and more frequent.
Because Amran is a high-energy herding breed, we also needed an outlet for her excitement. Food rewards alone weren't enough. ๐พ
By redirecting her energy into play, such as a flirt pole session, she could channel her enthusiasm in a productive way.
๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ.
See how much fun Amran and Doug are having in this video below!
These are the same foundation skills we teach in our 5-week Elementary Obedience Course that starts July 14 at Mel Harder Park in Chardon, OH. ๐ถ
๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ "๐ฌ๐ฒ๐" ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐จ๐!
(Or see details at the link in the comment).
TGIF! โค๏ธ