We don’t believe “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, but you can start on training even when a pup is still young. Vola Lawson Animal Guardians and AWLA foster caregivers WOOFS! Dog Training Center is currently working with several litters of AWLA puppies, supporting the moms of these babies, making sure they get the attention they need and challenging them to learn new things – providing mental as well as physical exercise. These puppies spend their time in foster care preparing to become pets, including learning new skills, earning treats and having fun with WOOFS! amazing trainers.
Trainer Jennifer Thomas, KPA CTP, gave us an inside look into part of her training regimen with Danny, Dakota, Demi and Duncan, a family of three-month-old puppies currently in the care of the WOOFS! team along with their mother Delilah. Jen has been teaching the litter new skills, and we wanted to share how she showed this unruly bunch how to “Sit” and how you can practice this skill with your own pup of any age.
Perfecting Your Pup’s “Sit”
The first step is to reinforce the recall, which is when your dog comes when called. This is an important place to start in training and is also something that all of our Great Puppy Games contenders are working on now as well. Watch how Jen reinforces recall with the puppies before starting.
Step 1:
After the dog exhibits the behavior, then give him or her the reward.
Tips from Jen:
- It’s okay if the puppies ignore you. Give them treats if they sit, but do not induce them to sit.
2. Always reinforce – and reward – the recall!
3. Bring treats to the puppy when he or she sits so they don’t have to move to receive the treat.
Steps 2 and 3:
For all of your hard work, you can enjoy lots of wagging tails, smiles and adorable moments. It takes some dogs longer than others, but in this short time, look how much the puppies have learned! Watch Jen’s whole video below.
Thank you to trainer Jen and all of our foster caregivers for everything they do to support Alexandria’s Animals!
Jen Thomas works with WOOFS! Dog Training Center’s Board & Train and Dayschool dogs, teaches Puppy Kindergarten and meets with private training clients to address behavioral challenges. Jen is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. She is also a Foster Dog Alliance Trainer at the Washington Humane Society, who provides low cost training for foster owners and their foster dogs. Jen is a recovering lawyer who is delighted to now be working with dogs full time. She clicker trains her guinea pig, Piglet, has played agility and Treiball and loves backpacking with her partner and their dogs.