When I first brought JoJo home, I was afraid I may have made a big mistake. This little dog barked at everything. He hoarded his food dish, running off with it after gulping down his meals. Nothing was safe from his chewing. He cowered whenever he got yelled at.
We began slowly. First step, 'sit'. At first he cowered and tried to slink away as if I were yelling at him. When instead, he got a reward and praise he began to understand his first "YES!"
We continued finding new things to do and tricks to get more praise. He sure enjoys hearing that 'Yes'.
Still, we have some issues to work through. He has run off on me more than once and I find myself keeping him on a lead or a leash. He seems to tune me out when I call him. Then it struck me, he hadn't learned the associated 'yes' yet. I've extended his lead so that he has the entire side yard for his playground. I use treats to put him into a sit/stay and walk around the corner. Wait a moment and call out, "JoJo, Come!" He comes flying to get his treat, praise and 'yes'. I have stopped rewarding with the treat every time and do so at random, but he is coming when called, even when he's out on his own and I'm just calling him in.
How remarkable the transformation since the days of hollering "no" and generating even more fear and nervousness in this poor animal. The simple act of recognizing that he didn't know what I do want as opposed to me simply appearing to not wanting anything he was doing has resulted in incredible changes in both of us.
We truly enjoy our time together and finding new things to say yes to.
I wish I had such an epiphany when I was raising children. With the advantage of age, I see so clearly now how always correcting kids does little in teaching them the joy of "Yes, I'm proud of you. You did a good job!" Give children the opportunities to do the 'right' thing at every stage of their lives and be sure to reward them when they do. The results are astounding.
Now, if I can only figure out how to reinforce the 'yes' to not barking whenever the fuel truck backs up the driveway!
