SULLY
SCHEDULED SESSIONS
04/13/2023 - 6:15pm: Meet & Greet Consultation
SCHEDULE TRAINING
GENERAL TRAINING TIPS
USING “YES!”: The “yes” acts as both a marker and secondary reinforcer. The “yes” marks the precise moment that a dog rehearses a specific behavior that is going to elicit the primary reinforcer, usually tasty treats. The dog now knows that when “yes” is communicated, the behavior they just performed is about to be rewarded. This association of the marker with a primary reinforcer also means it is a secondary reinforcer, which promises the delivery of the reward in the near future. You don’t have to use “yes”, you can choose any word you would like or you can use a clicker as well.
HIGH vs. LOW VALUE REWARDS: I recommend using lower value treats (kibble) in less distracting environments, such as inside the house. Save the higher value treats for outside where there are more distractions.
RATE OF REINFORCEMENT: The rate at which you reward your dog may need to be increased when there are more distractions or when a distraction is particularly stimulating. For example, practicing settling on the bed inside your house without distractions will require a lower rate of reinforcement as compared to when a new person enters your home which will require a higher rate of reinforcement that may feel like you are constantly marking and rewarding back to back.
JACKPOTS/FOOD SCATTERS: Jackpots and food scatters are similar in that they are both unexpected, large, and valuable rewards, and can contain the same amount of treats, but they are different in terms of the purpose they serve. A jackpot is used to provide multiple treats, to possibly increase the value of the reward, whereas a food scatter is intended to provide a break while the dog sniffs and searches for each piece of food.
04.13.23 Recommendations
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Keep walks short in order to avoid triggers as much as possible.
Try walking in the neighborhood instead of the trails so you have more sight to be able to see the triggers ahead of time, unless the dog reactivity becomes more of an issue, then we can discuss and go back to the drawing board.
Food scatters - use high value treats when out on walks and you see someone coming before Sully. See if you can distract him and turn him away from the trigger by tossing a large food scatter. He may also catch on that when you do a food scatter this means a trigger is coming so it may also be good to do random food scatters when there are no triggers present to keep him on his toes.
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Feed meals in a slow feeder or food dispensing toy like a bob-a lot
Puzzle toys/snuffle mats
Frozen kongs, lickimat, or toppl (can he have peanut butter, yogurt, and/or pumpkin?)
Long chews that fulfill diet requirements, we can brainstorm together to make sure he has options
Scent games/find it
Rotate which toys are in use so they seem brand new when you switch them out!
Frisbee
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Train basic manners in-home where there are no distractions and move to practicing the skills outside. This includes sit, down, leash walking, come, stay, leave it, drop it, etc.
To start reactivity training, start practicing Control Unleashed pattern games by Leslie McDevitt, first inside the home without distractions. This includes:
Ready-Get-It: I couldn’t find a link for this one but to sum it up, you ‘load’ the treat by saying “ready?”, then wait for some kind of attention like a glance in your direction (ideally full eye contact but we make the criteria achievable when first starting) then once they give you their attention, say “get it!” and toss the treat, and repeat
ALTERNATE DIRECTION RECOMMENDATION:
PEACEABLE PAWS WITH PAT MILLER
It looks like they do have private training options as well but I’m not sure if the distance or availability will be a hindrance.