A lot of people do! The thing to realize is: motivation can be complicated, and “rewards” are not always what you intended them to be. And, you need a bit of knowledge and skill to wield them properly, to maximum effect.

 

If you call your dog away from playing with a friend, “reward” him with a treat, then leash him up and put him in the car… was he rewarded by the treat? Or punished by the end of playtime?

 

It would depend on the individual dog, but it’s likely that it’s a little of both. And you might notice which was more meaningful to him next time you try to call him away from playing with a friend … and he ignores you!

This doesn’t mean reward-based dog training doesn’t work. It just means you accidentally punished the behavior you meant to reward.

 

This happen SO often! Humans aren’t born naturally understanding motivation, rewards, and dog body language and behavior. It has to be learned. And we, the professional dog geeks of Fur and Feather Works, really want to help you avoid this common pitfall and experience the kind of joyful relationship effective reward-based training will create with your dog. There’s no such thing as magic in animal training (no matter what you see on YouTube) – it’s all just science. It’s just a skill to be learned.

 

And you know what? We also love making it FUN to learn!

 

We have dog training classes ranging from Puppy Kindergarten to Therapy Dog training, fun classes like Super Tricks and Nose Work, private training for more individualized coaching, and lots of things in between. Contact us to find out where you and your dog can get started!