Whether you're questioning a problem behavior in your dog, you are wondering how to teach a new behavior, or you just brought home a new family member and are just wondering where to start, there are 5 important building blocks to making your way to better behavior with your dog!

There are a few key things you should take on every one of your walks with your dog. Start getting into the habit of keeping all these things together so you never forget any of them

Days like this are about the management, not the training. Hosting a meal or guests can be stressful enough. Use the day of to apply good management techniques and worry about changing any problem behaviors on another day

When you are dealing with problem behaviors, there are two main directions you can go in, two paths to changing the behavior. Just like with kids, we can tell our dogs NO all the time, but it's exhausting. And it can be an uphill battle.
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So let's explore the two paths...

Path A:
Stop the problem behavior. Remove attention, remove access, give consequences (never physical). Tell your dog NO, don't do that. Stop running away. Stop begging. Stop jumping. Essentially, you have to wait for the behavior to happen so you can tell your dog not to do it.

Or...

Path B:
​Teach your dog a skill that is incompatible with the problem behavior. 

Your dog takes off with socks? Teach him to bring it. He can't run away with an item and bring you an item at the same time

Your dog begs at the table? Teach him to stay on his bed. He can't beg and be in his bed at the same time

Your dog runs away when you are trying to get him to come? Teach him to target your hand (touch your hand with his nose). He can't run away from you and offer that behavior at the same time

What problem behavior are you dealing with? What could you intentionally teach your dog to replace that behavior? 

So Path A or Path B. It's your choice but I know what I would prefer!

If you need help learning HOW to teach those replacement behaviors, that's exactly what my Elementary Pup Course in the Canine Homeschooler Academy teaches you

Imagine this...

Someone knocks. Your dog takes that as a cue to run to his bed and lie down. You can then open the door, let the person in, get settled, and release your dog to say hello

Guess what? It is possible but it takes time. If you break that whole sequence down into small pieces, it's very do-able.
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Maybe even enjoy a glass of wine. Drown in a little tv...but as soon as you sit down, your dog is ready to go...

Yup, me too. Willow is notorious for it. The picture above doesn't happen until long after I'm ready for it.
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Willow's trigger for needing to go outside and pacing or needing to bring me a toy or needing needing needing...is me sitting down.
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You know what? I have kids. I'm virtually schooling. I'm creating content, answering emails, taking videos, posting on social media, keeping the house somewhat tidy, feeding everyone, throwing the ball, doing the dishes, doing the laundry... must I go on? So at the end of the day, I like to put my feet up - watch a little TV and maybe enjoy a glass of wine. Do I want to play with Willow at that point? No, not so much. Do I want to cuddle with her? Sure. But she's not ready for that. She hasn't settled.

So we started a routine. I shared it on Facebook a couple of nights ago and it was appreciated by many so I thought I would share it here too!

I don't know if you've ever heard of Brené Brown but she has a famous talk and framework for trust, called the Anatomy of Trust. Here's a link, in case you haven't heard of it. In my humble opinion, it's an important understanding for all humans for grasp: Anatomy Of Trust

She also talks about the concept of the Marble Jar. A marble goes in when trust is built. A marble comes out when an aspect of trust is removed.
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She talks about 7 key aspects to trust, several of which I believe also directly apply to our pets. 
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