So you know how much I love watching football.
I even watch (GASP) The Giants sometimes. It is usually with my friend Craig so I can root for the other team. Since they lose so much (like last Sunday), it’s fun to watch him sulk. He then has to talk about old games and lucky plays to make himself feel better.
The commentators are a funny group. ESPN and the NFL network become obsessed with a certain player and repeat his name over and over.
Think I’m kidding?
During the 2014 NFL draft, ESPN said Johnny Manziel’s name 113 times. They said “Johnny Football” (his nickname) 30 more times.
Jon Gruden said his name so many times I think he probably went home and called his wife Johnny Manziel.
The commentators also did this with Ray Lewis when he was playing. I’ll never understand the NFL’s love affair with a guy that was involved with a murder after the 2000 Superbowl – but that’s a discussion for another time.
Anyway, you can use the NFL’s goofy ways to help train your dog.
One of the best things you can do is teach your dog a marker. A marker lets your dog know that they have just correctly performed a behavior.
A clicker is a marker. A word like “YES” or “GOOD” can be used as a marker.
Dogs learn two ways. They learn from association and consequence.
You want to associate a word or clicker with a treat so you can use it for training. So you say the word “YES” and then give your dog a treat. Do this enough times and your dog will learn that the word “YES” has value.
YES – Treat
YES – Treat
YES – Treat
Pair it enough times and your dog will associate the word with getting a reward. You can now use this to train your dog.
You ask your dog to sit, the second he sits you say, “YES,” and reward.
Down, stay, come, say, “YES,” and reward.
Using markers will help with communication between you and your dog. Markers help with timing. Markers work at a distance. Markers truly are the best way to train a dog.
In order for a marker to work, you have to charge it. Saying “YES” or clicking a clicker will have no meaning to your dog until you successfully pair the word “YES” or the sound of the clicker with a treat over and over.
Which brings us back to watching football or a TV show. I used to get mad at how many times Ray Lewis’s name was mentioned until…
…I decided to use it to help train my dog.
Every time I watched football I would hear his name and I would say, “YES,” and give my dog a treat. Imagine if I had done this with Johnny Manziel’s name during the 2014 draft. My dog would have heard the word “YES” 143 times.
My wife told me there was a drinking game like this when she was in college. If they were watching a movie like Forrest Gump they would drink every time Forrest mentioned his momma or showed up in an archived news reel.
You can do the same but instead of drinking you are going to “charge the marker” with your dog.
It’s important to remember that you use small, tiny, high value treats.
So there you go.
Train your dog while watching TV. Aren’t you glad you read today’s email?
BTW – you can also train your dog for just $1.00. You can get started with The Dog Training Inner Circle for just $1.00 by going here NEXT:
All the best,
Eric