Sien focused 'look' and I gave a 'click' with the clicker and now she is getting her treat. Sometimes the best lessons with our dogs come from experiences that don’t go as planned. I signed up my pup Sientje for a puppy class at Petco, hoping it would help her socialize and learn. Instead, the busy store setting, intimidating trainer, and older reactive dogs only made her more anxious. After four stressful sessions, I called it quits.
A trip to Tractor Supply showed me she could still handle new people, but her confidence wasn’t the same. That’s when I turned to Marty Becker’s From Fearful to Fear Free, a fantastic resource for understanding anxious dogs. One of his key tips? Teach your dog fun tricks. Tricks aren’t just for entertainment — they strengthen your bond, give your dog focus, and help turn fear into fun.
So that’s what we’ll be working on: adding new tricks to our toolbox to bring Sien’s happy, confident self back.
I asked AI to write me a step by step training plan for 10 tricks including the fact that we have a multiple dog household.
AI came up with the following tricks.
Some of these tricks Sien already learned, like target touch, shake paw and place. 'Look' also is already in her tool box however this one AI didn't include but is as helpful to have her focused on something other then the 'thing' that makes Sien anxious and that's why I mention it here. But she's not a pro yet. Coming time I'll work with her (and the pack) and hope to write a couple of blogs about her progress and the things we encounter. One thing is for sure; it's going to be FUN!!!
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