Learn to Earn
Our dogs are learning all the time. If your dog is not learning from you, your dog is learning from the environment and he adjusts accordingly to what will work for him to gain what he wants or needs.
Many times dog owners don’t realize how the way they behave with their dogs changes or “trains” the dog to do the unacceptable or unwanted behaviors. In this case, what you don’t know will not just hurt you, but it will also hurt your dog too. This is why I am a believer of the teaching human-dog teams the “learn to earn” rules.
So what is this exactly? Learn to Earn is teaching your dog to have impulse control or say “please” for anything he wants or needs. This is done by waiting for a calm sit or down in order to provide the dog with what he wants or needs. You are not just teaching your dog good manners, but you are also providing good communication to your dog of what will earn them what they seek to have.
Your dog learns that you are the gateway to the world. A world that can be earned through polite behavior. It also teaches you to pay attention to when your dog is being a good dog instead of waiting for the dog to misbehave, then provide some kind of punishment for a behavior which could have been avoided all together.
This video provides a small summary of how to put “learn to earn” into action. If you have questions, please comment or contact me. I’ll be happy to answer your questions.
