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Here’s a pattern a lot of handlers notice but can’t quite explain: their dog has a gorgeous sit stay on the start line in training, but as soon as there’s any excitement, the dog acts like it’s rear legs are hydraulics, and it takes forrreeeeevvvver to sit. Or a dog that sits, but then almost immediately leans forward (we call that being a vulture) and you can see daylight under that fluffy butt…and they seem unresponsive to further requests to sit.

Sensitive dogs need structure even MORE than confident dogs do, because they’re the ones most likely to spiral when they don’t know what’s expected or how they’re doing.

If you’re withholding a no reward marker to ‘protect’ your sensitive dog, you may be doing just the opposite.

“He’s Great With Food, But He Knows When I Don’t Have Any”

Sound familiar? Almost every handler has said some version of this, and it usually gets filed under “food motivated” or “stubborn.” It’s neither.

🎯Find out what’s actually going on, and the simple training shift that turns a dog who performs into a dog who truly believes…

Credit Assignment – it might be the most overlooked concept in dog training, mostly because it’s invisible both when it’s working and when it’s failing. When you reward your dog, does your dog know which moment earned it? Not “was I generally doing well”, but the exact instant?