During a dog’s board-and-train, we play games of choice, which is another term for training. My board-and-train dogs are given choices to do behaviors, and if they comply, they get the reward they’re seeking. If they don’t, they don’t get what they want, but do get another chance at the game until they win. This happens during formal training sessions where the rewards are usually food, and it happens during the course of the day, when the dog wants something in particular.
Examples of what a dog wants may be access to the back yard or back into the house. Maybe he wants to have a certain toy, or to investigate a new toy. A dog may want to play with another dog, as is the case with my two board-and-trains in this video. They love to play together, and in order to do so, I ask them for behaviors before this big ticket item is rewarded to either.
The example in the video is of a first-morning outing. Playing is a high priority with the dogs after sleeping all night, but to me, elimination – going pee-pee! – is high priority. Some dogs get so involved in playing that they forget to do important things like that. And when they come back into the house, they make mistakes. So keeping my eye on who’s done what in the morning is a priority.
Contact me if you’d like to enroll your dog in my comprehensive board-and-train program.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-KA
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Your Dog Trainer for Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Broward County South Florida
By Helen Verte
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