So much of what we need and want to teach our dogs is what NOT to do. Don’t jump, don’t pee in the house, don’t steal food, don’t pull on leash, don’t run away on hikes, don’t say hi to every dog you see. The list goes on and on! To get the best success with the least stress for you and your dog, we like to teach a “no” by teaching a different “yes” instead. Teaching a “yes” tells your dog exactly what you want them to do, which gets you better results faster. Plus, rewarding the behavior you want instead of punishing the behavior you don’t want is better for your relationship and your dog’s wellbeing.
Here’s how it works:
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Think of a specific behavior that you would prefer to what your dog is doing right now.
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In the situation where your dog usually does the undesired behavior, cue your “yes” behavior instead.
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Minimize the chances of your dog getting rewarded for the “no” behavior.
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Repeat until the new habit has grown strong enough to beat out the old one, usually a few days to a few weeks, depending on the circumstances.
Examples
Here are a few situations where we focus on teaching a “yes” instead of a “no.”
Jumping on people during greetings
Yes behavior: Standing with all four paws on the floor.
Instead of scolding a dog for trying to be friendly or playful in the wrong way, we use baby gates at home and leashes while on the go to prevent a dog from jumping on people during greetings. Then we also reward them with treats and attention anytime they have all of their feet on the floor. If they do happen to get a jump in, instead of scolding or pushing, we turn our backs or go back out the door to make sure they don’t get any attention for jumping.
Pulling on leash
Yes behavior: Checking in with you
Traditional leash walking training can be really tedious: stopping anytime your dog pulls or even changing directions when they pull. Instead, we like to use a harness with a front clip to minimize how hard a dog can pull and focus on rewarding them anytime they look to see where we are, even if we didn’t ask them to.
Begging for food at the dinner table
Yes behavior: Lay quietly on a mat
Most dogs ignore “shoo!” “no!” and “go away!” when there is a table full of food in front of them. Instead, we like to teach dogs that they will get a few treats if they lay quietly on their mat in the dining room during dinner. If you can’t imagine your dog staying on a mat for more than 2 seconds, check out All Dogs Go To Kevin’s tutorials on teaching a down stay. Is it the quickest thing to train? No. But will it be more effective than scolding in the long run? You bet!
Use it with your dog
What’s a “no” that you want to teach your dog that might be better as a “yes?”