Author archive: Terrie Hayward

Day FOUR-21 Day Positive Training Kickstart Challenge

Have you ever been present when a person’s dog doesn’t do as asked & then heard someone say, “Oh, he’s stubborn!” Or, “My dog’s not very smart!” Or “He’s just trying to be dominant!” The words “stubborn,” “smart,” or “dominant” are labels. They are what is know as “constructs” that folks use to describe behavior. The problem is that behavior isn’t what a learner IS, but rather what a learner DOES. In other words, a behavior is a VERB!

Using labels randomly to describe behaviors can be counter productive as we need to take into consideration & be mindful of the fact that “stubborn” to you may look like: my dog goes about her business without doing what I’m asking. Whereas “stubborn” to someone else may look like: my dog is watching me & just staring at me without seeming to understand.

ACTION: Try to think of a label that you might use to describe your dog’s activity & then clarify the observable behaviors that explain exactly what that looks like: (example: My dog is scared: looks like “tail tucked, shaking, licking her lips”).

Don’t miss one day of the kickstart! Sign up for updates below.

Day THREE-21 Day Positive Training Kickstart Challenge

Often times we spend the day without realizing that our dogs are exhibiting behaviors all the time that we like. For example, is your dog lying down quietly on the floor? Are they just hanging out sleeping? Did they come over to you & sit down nearby? These are three great examples of things that dogs do every day that are in fact, opportunities to reward & reinforce great behaviors.

More often than not, folks allow these situations to just pass by without a thought, & then when an unfortunate example (say the dog begins to bark at someone going past the house) occurs, people take that opportunity to scold the animal.

Instead of waiting for the bad, try LOOKING specifically for something you LIKE that your pup is doing & make a point of rewarding that behavior. A small bit of something they like to eat, a belly rub, or a pat on the head are examples of things that dogs often find reinforcing.

Catching your animal doing something right encourages them to try again. Each time that you reinforce behavior you are actually reinforcing future behavior as learning is a result of reinforced repetition!

ACTION: Watch for FIVE things today that your dog is doing that you could reward. Try to catch them in the act of doing something that you like (just resting quietly counts 🙂 ) & let them know that you like that behavior!

Terrie Hayward of PAW-Positive Animal Wellness  collaborating with Defensa de Animales Rincon (DAR), was welcomed at Mama Mel’s Childcare Services last Thursday for a presentation on dog safety.

The children learned to “Be A Tree” (Doggone Safe) as part of the fun & interactive presentation for children that teaches them how to read dog body language & be safe around dogs. They then practiced what they had learned (see photo) with a dog puppet.

Next, everyone learned a new interactive song via the Best Friends Animal Society about being safe with dogs out & about!

Contact PAW if you might like to discuss how to have a humane education program come to your school or group.