Catch Your Dog Doing Something Right!
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!