Desirable Behaviors

How do we “mark” desirable behaviors? How do we get dogs to understand what it is we want and how do we communicate our pleasure?

Oftentimes people will ignore good behaviors and only “mark” bad behaviors. It’s ok to show or “mark” these negative or undesirable behaviors, but we should spend much more time encouraging and marking good behaviors.

I always tell people it is far more important to teach your dog what you want him or her to do as opposed to what you don’t want them to do. However you see more people telling their dogs to STOP DOING THIS and STOP DOING THAT! All the while never really telling them what they SHOULD DO.

If I tell you don’t think about the pink elephant, I can guarantee you that you will think about the pink elephant, even though I told you not to. Instead if I say think of the tiny elephant on the bicycle… you might actually picture that!

This is a training methodology I used when I taught martial arts years ago to both adults and children. NEVER teach or even say what you don’t want… if at all possible!

Video: Desirable Behaviors