Targeting Behavior: Teaching a dog to touch a certain part of himself to an object or area. For example, touching his nose to a person’s hand. Targeting can be used to…

Stress signals: Behavior and body language indicative of escalating tension and anxiety, such as barking and whining or pacing and panting. Stress signals may begin with mild avoidance and progress to…

Resource guarding: When a dog is protective of his valued possessions. Common objects for resource guarding include food bowls or food puzzles and valued toys, but a dog may also guard…

Rate of Reinforcement: The frequency with which the dog is rewarded. The rate of reinforcement can be determined by counting how many reinforcers a dog is given in 60 seconds and dividing…

Rate of Reinforcement: The frequency with which the dog is rewarded. The rate of reinforcement can be determined by counting how many reinforcers a dog is given in 60 seconds and dividing…

Prompt: Using extra reminders, such as pointing, treats or bigger gestures, to elicit a desired behavior when the dog fails to respond to the initial cue. If you like this blog…

Negative reinforcement (R-): The act of the dog removing a stimulus after a behavior occurs to increase the behavior. Usually something the dog will work to actively avoid and commonly seen…

Systematic desensitization: Training plan designed to change a dog’s response to an upsetting scenario by breaking it into small pieces that do not trigger a fear response in the dog. The…

Socialization: The process by which a puppy learns about the world. The prime socialization period of a puppy is from about 8 to 12 weeks of age but can extend from…

Reinforcer: A consequence following a behavior that increases the likelihood of seeing that behavior repeated in the future. There are both Positive Reinforcers (R+) and Negative Reinforcers (R-). If you like…