profile

Positive Dog

🎧 "Tried that - It didn't work"

Published about 2 hours agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read
​

I hear that constantly. Usually it's followed by: that method doesn't work, or my dog is different. Both might be true.

But there's a third option that almost nobody considers: the method had prerequisites, and nobody told you what they were.

The technique is the tip of an iceberg. The foundation underneath is what makes it possible. Miss a piece of that, and the technique fails β€” not because it's wrong.

Here's an example. I recently shared how we train dogs to take a pill to earn something they want β€” no hiding it in treat number three. What I didn't show was everything that came before it.

There are two prerequisites for this skill:

  1. Your dog understands that doing something earns something. Not just sit, down, shake. Enough different behaviors that it's clicked as a concept.
  2. Increase arousal first. Get excited! "Are you ready?" β€” then the pill. Almost nobody mentions this step. Trainers do it on autopilot and forget to say it out loud.

That's the curse of knowledge. Once you're expert at something, you lose the memory of not knowing it β€” and the obvious steps never make it into the instructions. A teaching failure, not a learning failure.

So next time something doesn't work, ask yourself: was I actually told every step? And if you're working with an instructor, ask them straight out β€” "what should my dog already know for this to work?" A good teacher can answer that on the spot.

🎧 Have a listen

Free training + live Q&A, October 21st. Bring every question you've got about your dog. Sign-up β€” no cost, no catch.

-- Christina

2738 Holden Corso Rd, Nanaimo, BC v9x 1n5
​Unsubscribe Β· Preferences​

Positive Dog

Christina Young, BSc, CDBC, PCBC-A

Subscribe if you'd like to receive my somewhat regular emails including training tips and concepts as well as info about my upcoming freebies and programs!

Read more from Positive Dog

Is your dog a master at avoiding medicine? You've tried all the things? You've tried putting the pill down their throat. You've tried grinding it into a powder and hiding it in something awesome. You've tried tricking them by wrapping it in cheese or hot dogs. You've even tried the rapid fire method. ... sometimes a trick works for a bit, then it doesn't. Did you know that eating is a behaviour, no different than sit, down, or shake-a-paw? We can train our dogs to sit to get a treat or toy,...

1 day agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

"Good Dog!" 3 Steps to Helping Dogs with Big Feelings ⏰ Free Live Training Oct 21st at 6PM PST Can’t join live? Don’t worry, you’ll get the recording! Ask questions for discussion live or submit them ahead of time. If your dog is struggling, it's not your fault. Dogs today are different from dogs of years past who seemed to fit seamlessly into family life with little more than regular walks and food once or twice a day. Most of us aren't prepared for what the sensitive rescues or the...

5 days agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

At the start of a session recently, a student told me: "I'm tired of hearing we aren't doing enough." My heart broke for her β€” because this family was already going way above and beyond what a typical dog needs to thrive. The problem was that their dog isn't a typical dog. Sometimes the reason nothing is working isn't the training plan, the structure, the enrichment, or you. Sometimes it's the dog β€” something mental, emotional, or physical that training alone can't fix. In this week's episode...

6 days agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read