#DogTraining is SO MUCH FUN! I love watching my pup learn new things.
I took Zoe on a walk around the block yesterday, teaching her proper leash walking. I also wanted her to be checking in with me regularly. So, I waited until she randomly looked at me, and rewarded her with kibble and praise.
A couple of minutes later, she randomly looked at me again, and got the same reward. It hit her: "wait what? I just look at you and good stuff happens?"
She looked at me every 20-30 secs after that 😂
I use a program called Learn to Earn, by the late Dr. Sophia Yin. It worked wonders with Beau as a 3-year-old rescue, and it's working just as well with our 8-week-old puppy, Zoe.
The fundamentals of it are that you control the dog's environment (and thus, their access to random reinforcement) and there's no free food. You train them with kibble, and the only place they get kibble is from your hand.
At 8 weeks, Zoe says please by sitting for everything - to come out of her crate, to leave the house, to come back into the house, to ask me to start walking again if I've randomly stopped.
She doesn't bite anymore, she only chews her toys, and at her first vet visit, the staff couldn't get over how calm and chill she is. We only reinforce calm, chill behaviours and it makes for a calm, chill puppy.
Dave the Nomad 