People are always amazed at how fast I can get results with their dogs.
It’s easy for me because…..I can read your dog’s mind.
I know, sounds like woo woo, hocus pocus stuff and maybe the wheels finally came off the happy bus with our old friend The Amazing Dog Training Man.
Please, before you dismiss me let me make my point and PROVE that I can read your dog’s mind. Even better, I am going to teach you to do the same.
You see, dogs are not good at hiding what they are thinking and if you pay attention you can use this to your advantage.
The last few days my in-laws have been here with their dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel name Charlie.
Charlie loves to eat so one of his targets is Scarlett who is always walking around with food in her hand that is eye level for Charlie.
This was a problem until I decided to step in and end the stealing. Charlie was not good at hiding what he was about to do. He would see Scarlett walk into the room with food in her hand.
Charlie’s attention is immediately on her. His ears goes up, his nose starts to sniff the air, he starts to make his way towards her. When he is about a half a foot from her I know what is going to happen next.
I know he is going to snatch the food from her hand. The best time to apply a negative consequence is when your dog is thinking about doing a behavior.
So a second before he went for the food I said, “NO,” and applied a negative consequence.
Charlie has since decided to stop grabbing food out of her hand which makes the house much more harmoniousness. Kids hate having food snatched out of their hands and it usually results in high pitched screaming and crying.
Most of the time a dog will grab the food from the child’s hand. The adult will see it happen and then step in and say, “NO,” as the dog is gulping down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Too late, ineffective, usually won’t stop the behavior.
The trick is to apply the negative consequence before the dog makes his move. Read his mind and make your move. Kind of like when you were a kid and your mom was in the other room as you were reaching for the cookies.
You mom would yell out, “Don’t touch the cookies.” How did she do that?
Teaching NO is easy and I can show you how. If you’d like to learn that and much, much more about dog training and behavior, head over to The Dog Training Inner Circle and get started for just $1.00!
All the best,
Eric