Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
A lot of people are making a mistake when trying to use positive reinforcement to work on their dogs reactivity issues when out on a walk. The mistake is not raising criteria and their dogs never get better and are stuck on step one, every walk. Basically what is happening is people are taking their dogs for a walk and feeding a treat AS the dog passes something they are worried about, then they keep walking. So the dogs behavior is contingent on the food being in the picture, so they have not been prepared for what to do when the food is gone, and it’s a completely different picture as well as the fact the dog is not feeling more relaxed and needing to be distracted by eating the treat to get through the situation. INSTEAD, you need to get to the point where you can pass the other dog or person and THEN the dog gets the reinforcement, so the dog can start learning what it feels like when no feedback is given during the event. This is much easier to do in training setups where you can have someone pass with their calm dog over and over again, first marking and feeding AS the dog passes, then AFTER passing and then see if you can get to the point where the dog can pass multiple times before the reinforcement to then where the dog is not needing any reinforcement and is calm and relaxed and ignoring the distraction while the dog is passing back and forth. After success you can then add different variations and situations.
If you get stuck in this cycle of just using management, STOP and make a plan to create progress.
PROTOCOL FOR EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION- Text and video with dogs going over the steps to know when to raise criteria-
academy.dogmantics.com/pages/protocol-for-emotional-and-behavioral-modification
#dogtraining #professionaldogtraining #positivereinforcement
A lot of people are making a mistake when trying to use positive reinforcement to work on their dogs reactivity issues when out on a walk. The mistake is not raising criteria and their dogs never get better and are stuck on step one, every walk. Basically what is happening is people are taking their dogs for a walk and feeding a treat AS the dog passes something they are worried about, then they keep walking. So the dogs behavior is contingent on the food being in the picture, so they have not been prepared for what to do when the food is gone, and it’s a completely different picture as well as the fact the dog is not feeling more relaxed and needing to be distracted by eating the treat to get through the situation. INSTEAD, you need to get to the point where you can pass the other dog or person and THEN the dog gets the reinforcement, so the dog can start learning what it feels like when no feedback is given during the event. This is much easier to do in training setups where you can have someone pass with their calm dog over and over again, first marking and feeding AS the dog passes, then AFTER passing and then see if you can get to the point where the dog can pass multiple times before the reinforcement to then where the dog is not needing any reinforcement and is calm and relaxed and ignoring the distraction while the dog is passing back and forth. After success you can then add different variations and situations.
If you get stuck in this cycle of just using management, STOP and make a plan to create progress.
PROTOCOL FOR EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION- Text and video with dogs going over the steps to know when to raise criteria-
academy.dogmantics.com/pages/protocol-for-emotional-and-behavioral-modification
#dogtraining #professionaldogtraining #positivereinforcement
