Friday, May 9, 2025

Enrichment for Behaviors

Enrichment to Enhance Your Dog's Life

Not all dogs find the same things enriching. But how can we know what our dogs find most enriching?

First lets figure out what the difference is between reinforcement and enrichment. As dog owners, we use reinforcement to reward our dogs for the behaviors we like. Enrichment is not meant to be a reward but more of a way to meet our dog's natural instinct needs from day to day. Dog Trainers & Behavior Consultants from around the world have pretty much agreed that enrichment activities should into these criteria.

Enrichment should...

be an activity that has interaction between the participants.
effect the response a dog has to a particular action.
lead to evidence based, behavior changes.
be changing constantly.
differ from dog to dog based on their needs.
reliant on the evolution of learning experiences of the dog and human.

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"Enrichment for Behavior" Workshop!

Available on Patreon

In the Enrichment for Behavior Workshop we will be taking a look at enrichment and how it impacts our dog's behavior. This will be a deep dive into what makes "enrichment" enriching to our dogs, how individual dogs have different needs and how meeting our dog's needs can impact their behavior.

In March, Yooper Paws did a series of videos on simple enrichment activities using food. But what do you do if your dog doesn't enjoy food?

Most dogs find sniffing to be enriching and that can make food more enjoyable. Some dogs love to hunt, some love to chase, some love to dig and so forth. Many owners know what their dog loves, but often struggle with ways to take that behavior the dog loves and use it in an enriching way that can then aid in training the behaviors you love.

We, as dog owners, don't always love our dogs doing the behaviors they love. Sometimes other people don't love our dog's behaviors. And sometimes other dogs & animals don't love our dog's behaviors. However as a Canine Coach I believe that it's not fair to our dogs to totally prevent them from doing the things they love. This would be like asking the artist not to paint or telling the musician they can't sing or play music. With a little bit of thought, we can find ways to let our dogs do the behaviors they love without causing problems for us, other people, or other animals.

Azul loves to watch or stare at other dogs but often other dogs do not appreciate this behavior. As Azul's human, I've struggled to find ways to allow him to do the staring he loves safely. With some trial and error, I've learned to work with this, giving Azul a chance to stare when it's safe and training a "look away" cue when staring isn't a good idea. I make sure that he has time to stare every day, meeting his needs to do the staring behavior. Then I can ask Azul to look away if his stare is causing stress to another animal.

When we meet the dog's needs and train the right behaviors, we can keep everyone feeling safe, calm, and happy!

Monday, May 5, 2025

Repetition Without Success: Why It’s Not Enough in Dog Training

Let’s pause and think about this simple but powerful idea:

Repetition without success is useless.

At first, that might sound a little harsh, but when it comes to dog training, it's absolutely true. Repeating a behavior over and over without progress doesn't lead to learning—it leads to frustration (for both you and your dog).

So let’s unpack that.

What Is Repetition in Dog Training?

Repetition is doing the same thing multiple times—asking your dog to “sit,” then “down,” then back to “sit.” Think of it like a cycle, sometimes even turning into a routine like “puppy push-ups.”

This type of repetition helps build muscle memory if it's paired with reinforcement. Reinforcement (treats, praise, or play) is how dogs understand which behaviors are worth repeating. Without it, repetition becomes noise instead of learning.

Why Reinforcement Must Evolve

We don’t want to reinforce “sit” every day for the rest of our dog’s life, right? At some point, we want that “sit” to evolve into something more—a polite greeting, part of a recall routine, or a step in learning heelwork. That’s where shaping comes in.

From Repetition to Shaping

Traditionally, shaping means waiting for your dog to offer a behavior (like stepping into heel position), then using a marker (like “yes” or a click) and reinforcing. The dog starts repeating that behavior to earn the reward.

But if we only reward the first baby step—like stepping into heel—and never ask for more, learning stops there. The behavior becomes stagnant.

Instead, shaping should look like this:

Step into heel → treat.
Step into heel + take one step with you → treat.
Step into heel + walk a few steps + turn left → treat.

This progression builds toward your final goal while keeping your dog engaged.

Team-Based Shaping: A Better Way to Learn

While traditional shaping involves waiting for your dog to “guess right,” I prefer a team-based shaping approach. Instead of waiting and hoping, I use body language and movement cues to help guide the dog toward success.

For example:

As your dog finishes a treat in heel position, pivot your body slightly in the direction you’ll walk next.
This subtle cue helps them adjust naturally without confusion or repeated mistakes.

This type of communication helps build behaviors more quickly, with fewer boring repetitions of the same old thing.

When Repetition Does Matter: Generalization

Now, let’s talk about when repetition is essential—generalization.

Teaching a behavior like heel or stay is one thing. Getting your dog to do it in any environment is another. Dogs don’t automatically generalize behaviors from your kitchen to your front yard or the local pet store.

So here’s how to generalize:

Start simple. Teach in a quiet space.
Add low-level distractions. Another calm dog in the room, a friend nearby.
Change the location. Try the backyard, then the porch, then the driveway.
Go public. Practice during a walk, at a park, near a group of kids, or in a store.

Each time, your dog needs repetition in that specific environment to solidify the skill. This is where purposeful repetition becomes valuable.

Wrapping It Up: Quality Over Quantity

So, is repetition useless? Not entirely. But repetition without reinforcement or progress is.

Instead:

Use shaping to guide your dog with clear body language.
Keep them engaged with meaningful progression.
Use repetition where it matters most—generalizing behaviors to real-world environments.

With smart training, your dog will learn faster, stay motivated, and carry those behaviors wherever life takes you.

Yooper Paws of Love