It was bound to happen sooner or later….writer’s block finally hit me!  I’m rarely in a position where I can’t talk or write about something, but for several weeks…a few months, even, every time I started a post….it fizzled out and I just couldn’t find the words or emotion to finish it!  But this topic is one that has great passion for me, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get back in my blogging groove once again!

This month’s positive training blog hop has a topic about “Training Mantras.”  Those little words that you speak to yourself to keep things positive and moving along when you’re training.  I guess if you read the title of this post, you can guess what my mantra is when I’m training!

A dog like Rugby is clearly enough to make anyone want to throw their hands in the air and give up!  High energy, emotional, reactive dogs are sooooo tough to train!  They really, truly are!  The reactivity can be aggressive, and these dogs often have multiple hairpin triggers, which means that can they go off like rockets, from zero to two hundred in three point five seconds!  That can be absolutely overwhelming for the average owner, and I really do understand that!

When Rugby initially came to live with me, those first few weeks were daunting, to say the least!  As I worked and worked and he either didn’t respond or made marginal progress forward, I remember feeling like I had really gotten in way over my head with this speckled and spotted puppy!  I was at an absolute loss over what to do and where to turn to get help for him!

SO MANY PEOPLE TOLD ME TO GIVE UP!!  They did!  Colleagues, family members, friends….strangers on the street….you name it!  At every turn….I felt like everyone said to give up, and a part of me really, truly wondered if that’s what I should do!

But….in all honesty, I knew that the buck had to stop with me.  Rugby had no one else.  He had been on 24 hour death row at the animal shelter before the rescue stepped in and pulled him at the last minute.  I was a professional dog trainer, and if I couldn’t make things work for him, I knew that no one else could either, and that meant euthanasia.  I couldn’t bring myself to give up on him.  I just couldn’t.  If you have ever looked into his eyes of liquid chocolate, well….nothing more really needs to be said.  I just knew I wasn’t going to be the next human to fail him.  I just couldn’t do it.

I’ll tell you something about myself:  I’m a bit of an optimist, but I like to think that I temper that with being a realist as well.  Initially, I was super optimistic that I could “fix” Rugby’s broken behavior.  He was only eight or nine months old, so easily young enough to create new patterns of good behavior.

However, getting Rugby on board with that created a hiccup in the giddyup of my training plan!  Rugby is one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever trained.  He really is.  But….when it comes to connecting the dots on social issues, much like a special needs child….he seems unable to put the behavioral pieces together, no matter how I order them or what I try.  He seems to have a piece of his thinking that is broken, and I’m unable to fix that for him and make it work.

It sounds like it would make good sense to just give up and accept things as they are, and move along with my life, right?  Well, that’s one option for sure.  But at the end of the day, what does that get me?  A crazy, wacky dog.  If I don’t at least try and keep trying, I know for sure that I’m going to have a crazy, wacky dog, because that’s what I’ve started with.

So while I was thinking all of this through, the quiet, little voice inside of me said, “But what if the next time you try….it works and he figures it out?  What if he can improve? What if he’s less wacky tomorrow?  Doesn’t he deserve someone who will try?  You’re all he has in the world.  If you give up….where does that leave him?”

It’s so easy to get hung up on our own perspective and our own needs, wants and desires.  We’re selfish, really, especially when it comes to life with our dogs.  We want what we want the way that we want it!  Bottom line.

We can’t ever, ever forget that our dogs don’t get to choose who they have as owners.  Rugby had no vote in coming to live with me.  I chose him….he got stuck with me.  I started thinking about how scared my little puppy had to really feel on the day that I brought him home, and that perspective has made all the difference in the world to me.

I thought about my little speckled and spotted puppy, eight or nine months old, sitting in a new dog crate in a complete stranger’s car, driving him away from his foster home where he had just begun to settle into a new life.  Prior to that, he had been in a transitional home or homes while the rescue tried to find the best possible place for him.  And prior to that, he had been in a kill shelter for who knows how long….but long enough to end up on death row and a twenty-four hour countdown to euthansia!  How he got to the shelter remains a mystery, but he had to have had at least one prior home before ending up in the shelter.

I wondered just how terrifying that had to feel for him.  His entire life up to that point had been one transition after another, and he was simply at the mercy of the humans who were calling all of the shots in his life.  One human after another put him here or there, and he got stuck with the luck of the draw.  Did I mention that he was only a puppy?  He was trying to figure out how the human world worked, but that world for him had to feel like quicksand with all of the constant and consistent change that he encountered in his young life.

When I looked into the sweet little eyes of my adorable but very broken puppy, I saw two little eyes who searched my face, looking for what, I didn’t know.  But Rugby often looks at me this way, even ten years later.  His eyes get soft and moist and he looks from one of my eyes to the other, searching and searching.

I knew that if I gave up on him, I’d never, ever forgive myself.  I was all Rugby had.  I had to become his advocate and his cheerleader!  I knew that I could provide him with a safe home and a soft place to land, even if he never, ever improved.  It wasn’t what I wanted, if I’m going to be completely honest with you.  I didn’t want a broken dog that couldn’t be fixed.  I wanted a dog who was stable and whole.  That’s what I wanted.

But then I realized that I was forgetting Rugby in all of my wondering.  What did Rugby want from life?  What kind of home and human guardian did HE really want?  When it came to working through his wacky behavior, what if HE didn’t want to give up?  What if HE wanted to keep trying, even if it meant that he would fail over and over?  What if he had things that he wanted to teach ME that would forever change my life and my heart?  If I gave up on him, I would never have an opportunity to let him be my teacher, and let me tell you something:  This little broken dog that went from home to home has had plenty of truly amazing things to teach me over the ten years that I’ve lived with him.

I’ve come to a really important conclusion that God doesn’t always give us the dog that we want, but He will always give us the dog that we need.  And where Rugby is concerned, that is absolutely the truth.  I didn’t want a broken dog, but I needed one.  He’s fixed broken places in me that I never knew were broken.  And he’s taught me never to give up, because that’s the heart of my Rugby James.  He doesn’t give up.  And if I never learn another thing from him, that alone is more than enough.

Never give up….Never surrender!!

 

 

Mama Sally:

It’s early November, which means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just lurking around the corner! We look forward to opening our homes to friends and family and always imagine that perfect Hallmark Christmas!  We imagine our dogs behaving at their very best, and Grandma is smiling and nodding, rubbing their heads and offering small tidbits which our dogs take gently, without jumping up on Grandma, or nipping her fingers when they take their snack from her.

Go ahead.  Close your eyes and imagine that idyllic scene….in your house and with your dog!  That scene really can happen, but not without some consistent, targeted work.  But when you’ve got a high needs, fearful or reactive dog, that scene feels like a pipe dream!

Training your high needs dog in anticipation of the holidays at this point in time, is a little like training for the Olympics a month before the games begin!!  To be honest, if the holidays are the Olympic event for our dogs, then training needs to start much sooner than November!

It’s not enough for a dog to simply learn what to do in a given situation.  That’s only part of the equation!  Dogs don’t generalize information easily or well, and it really takes a decent amount of time for a dog to understand how to behave when there are heavy duty distractions and big energy present in a given situation.  High needs dogs need much more time to process all of that information, simply because their emotions often rule the day!

Starting early in the year will enable you to have time to work through distracted training, so that by the time the big Olympic event happens, you and your dog will have practiced plenty enough times so that you both know exactly what to do!  To plan ahead for 2018, you’ll want to hire your trainer right after the holidays and get things well in hand long before next Thanksgiving or Christmas.

But, having said all of that, what about owners who didn’t start the process early?  What about dogs who get adopted in November or December of 2017?  What then?  Are the holidays doomed for everyone this year? Is there no hope at all for those dogs and families?  Trust me….I have plenty of hope for you!!

When we can’t effectively train through something, we can take some preventative measures instead, and that’s what I’m going to suggest for you today.  I’m going to give you some very effective but simple things that you can do which will help you survive those wonderful, but stressful holidays that are just around the corner!  It will get you through in a pinch, but you’ll definitely want to follow up with training your dog so that next year will be a piece of cake for you and and your dog!  These tips will work for all dogs, but will really be especially helpful for those of us with high needs or special needs dogs!

• Leash Your Dog.  It’s so very simple, but so incredibly effective!!  When your dog is on a leash, he’s not able to jump on anyone, raid tables or counters, and as a result, you’ll find that he’s going to get into far less trouble!  It also becomes a bit of an umbilical cord from the dog to his safe leader, which is going to help the wacky emotions of your dogs dramatically!  It keeps your dog and guests safe, which is always number one in my world!

• Be sure to Exercise Your Dog Before Your Guests Arrive.  That means a long, focused walk, doing some basic training, work some puzzles or do some tricks.  Play some fetch outside in the fresh air, or any game that will allow your dog to run around a bit and work off some energy.  Simply putting your dog out in the back yard alone doesn’t mean that your dog is getting any exercise.  He’s simply doing a mosey in the yard, and not really working off any energy, or he’s right outside the door, waiting for you to come back and let him in.  That’s not exercise!
  • A fearful or anxious dog will really benefit from some exercise, because that helps calm down those raging emotions.  The old saying that a tired dog is a good dog is absolutely true!

• Be sure that your dog is comfortable in a confinement area.  Have a backup plan so that your dog is already accustomed to a confinement area.  This can be a room or crate confinement, depending upon which is most effective for your own dog.  I’ve used both areas successfully with Rugby James.
  • If you’re using a room confinement, I always prefer using a walk through dog gate in place of closing the door.  Dogs often feel more inclined to be a part of the family and not shut out with a gate versus a closed door.  However, safety is the most important factor, so if any sort of aggressive behavior is present, be sure that your dog is secure in his confinement, which may mean a closed door!
  • In most cases, you’ll have plenty of time before the holidays to acclimate your dog to a confinement area if you start that process now.  That way, when your guests arrive, or you’re ready to eat, or when your dog has simply had enough fun for one day, he will have a safe place to go where he’s happy and comfortable.

• Watch Your Dog’s Body Language and Let Him Tell You When He’s Had Enough!  I can’t stress this one enough!!  Many anxious or edgy dogs that I train can do well for a few short hours with new guests in their home.  But often for the holidays, people stay and stay and stay!  Sometimes the fun can go on for hours, and sometimes it goes on for a few days!  When your dog is done, he’s done!  Fair is fair!  If you’ve trained him to be comfortable in confinement, he will be grateful and happy to go chill and escape the stresses of new people and extra activity and energy in his home!
  • When things go south, they really can get ugly!  An overly tired and stressed dog will not respond well, so let your dog tell you when he needs a break so that you aren’t faced with a dangerous situation which can escalate super fast!  Safety first!
  • Remember that your anxious/fearful/reactive dog is likely not a social butterfly to begin with.  They are introverts who will be very happy to have a safe place to chill and relax.  A nice snack like a filled Kong toy will help them feel good about their confinement while the activity is going on in another room.

I’ll let Rugby explain the process that we use in our home when guests come over!

Rugby James:

I has plenty to say about this subject, on account of I likes the idea of guests over, but when it all happens, I always remember that I really doesn’t like stuff being different at home!  It wigs me out.  I barks lots, and sumtimes I nips and bites at new Uprights or even the Mama or the Daddy when they is trying to help me calm down.  I doesn’t think anything through when I’m all wigged out…..I just react, and the Mama sayes that mostly I doesn’t use good judgment about these things!  Pfft!

Before we has company, the Mama does lotsa things to get me ready for it.  She puts the dogger gate up in the hall, sos I’m already used to seeing it and using it.  She doesn’t wait until the last minute, on account of I needs time to process those changes and relax wif them.

The Mama always puts my Thundershirt on me a few hours before company comes over, and she puts my harness on too….sos I’m all ready to go when the strangers comes over.  She has my leash handy sos she can grab it right away and doesn’t hasta hunt it down!

She does stuff to get me tired, like yard play wif me, or tricks and puzzles what I lubs a big much!

Then, she puts me in my crate at least fifteen minutes before sumpawdy comes over, sos I’m confined and all comfy.  The Mama always uses my crate for me as my safe place.  It’s plenty big sos I can fully stand up wifout my ears hitting the top of it, and I can lay down, curl up, sprawl out, and turn around very easily.  She puts a rabbit bottle on the side of it, sos I can get sips of water on account of I’m always panting extra when I’m scared or wigged out.  I lubs my crate, so I’m always a happy boy to get in it!

When strangers comes over, the Mama tries to see them arriving before they can ring the doorbell, on account of the doorbell is one of my really bad triggers and I can bark for an hour or more after the doorbell rings!  So she has the big door open, and she’s usually waiting right there to let sumpawdy in.

I can hear the new strangers from my crate, and I always barks my stranger danger barks, only nopawdy pays any attention to that!  They always come right in anyhow, even though my family could be in real danger!  Sumtimes I doesn’t getsa meet the new strangers, so after a while, I stops barking and settles down.

Once I gets quiet for a while, the Mama will come get me wif the leash and sum high value snacks in her bait bag what she wears on her jeans.  She puts my leash on and then she takes me out to my special placemat what’s right by where she sits, and purty far away from the strangers.  She helps me focus and uses words I know like “Leave it” and “Watch me.”

When I has relaxed from that step, she will let me off my placemat and she quietly takes me sumplace in the room where I can do some tricks to really focus and pay attention, even if the Mama and me is bof moving.  Then she puts me on my placemat and lets the strangers frow high value snacks to me.  Mostly I gotsa stay right on my placemat or behind a gate on account of the Mama sayes I’m a lil bit unpredictable.

Sumtimes I does really good wif strangers, but sumtimes I does a nip too, sos I doesn’t getsa take any chances unless I gotsa basket muzzle on.  The Mama at my house is really big on keeping everpawdy safe.  If I’m hasing a good day, the Mama will let me meet strangers wif my basket muzzle on, and over time, I getsa has it off if I’m being able to cope wif fings okay.  Mostly strangers gotsa leave me alone at my house.  I really likes it when they frows treats to me on my placemat though.  That’s grand!!

When the Mama can see that I needsa break, or when she can’t watch me real close, she puts me behind a dogger gate or lets me hang out in my crate for a lil bit.  Usually she gives me a loaded Kong toy or sumping specials sos I getsa has my own pawty when I’m confined!  Mostly if strangers leaves me alone for a long time, I does really good wif them in the house.  I needs long transition times to understand that sumping different is happening.

So that’s what we does at my house, and I hasta say that I likes this plan purty good.  Mostly I doesn’t really wanna meet the new people; I just doesn’t like being left outta stuff what’s going on. I’m just nosy that way!  So the Mama and me has worked out a plan that works really good for us!!

This post is part of a blog hop.  If you look below, you can see additional blog posts on this subject written by blogger friends of mine!

Rugby James:

Doggers ignore their owners for all kindsa reasons, and sum of them might surprise our readers:

• They is distracted wif sumping else more interesting, like a skirrel in the yard, or the neighbors are out, etc.
• They doesn’t wanna give up doing what they wantsa do for what the Uprights wants them to do
• There’s not enuff paycheck to convince the dogger to do what the Upright wants
• They’re off leash sos they doesn’t hasta do what the Upright wants.
• They is past their threshold for reactivity, sos they can’t listen because they is all stressed out, over-excited, etc.

When I was a new dogger to the Mama, I had already learned that I didn’t hasta do what she wanted, so we hadda start slow and undo sum stuff what I had already learned.

One common fing in all of those items on my list, is that doggers gots stuff to do, just like Uprights does!  We fink our stuff is important, just like Uprights does!  And, we is just lil doggers wif small brains what doesn’t understand the big picture of safety, and Uprights gotsa leave on time for work, and stuff like that.

If you remember one fing today, just remember that your lil dogger is trying the best that he can!  He’s really trying, and he needsa has you understand that and help him to have success!  The Mama will tell you how to make that happen!

Mama Sally:

This issue is probably one of the most frustrating experiences for a dog owner:  a dog who just won’t listen!  However, most of the time, I think owners really have put their dogs in a situation where they will likely fail.  Look at the reasons that Rugby gave for why dogs don’t want to listen to their owners.

Typically, when your dog won’t pay attention to you, it’s most often when the dog is off leash, so they are a free agent, and your dog knows it!!  When your dog is off leash, you have zero control over what he’s doing, and you can’t “make” him do anything he doesn’t already want to do.  Do yourself a huge favor, and put a leash on your dog before you ask him to comply with anything!

The common denominator in all of Rugby’s examples is that the dog is distracted!  Expecting a dog to ignore distractions and focus on their owners is a long process.  Dogs don’t generalize things easily or quickly, so it’s very difficult for them to understand commands and focus in the midst of distractions.

Systematic introduction to distractions is the key to success.  When the dog understands how to focus on their owners, with no distractions, and then they are taught to focus through small distractions and increase to bigger distractions, they will be able to generalize that focus over time.  Two commands that are helpful here are “Leave it” and “Watch me.”

When I teach “Leave it,” part of the signal that the dog gives is that he must break focus with what he wants, in order to look at me from either a sit or down….whatever position the dog chooses.  It’s really a very important part of the process to help a dog learn to break that focus and look at his owner/handler!  As long as your dog is looking at the source of his focus, he is going to do what he wants to do, and he’s not paying attention to you.

One thing that works right along with teaching distracted work, is watching your dog’s threshold with the distraction.  The further the distraction, the more likely your dog will be able to focus on you.  As your dog learns how to focus on his you,  the threshold can be reduced gradually over time.

Remember that all distractions are not created equally.  You really need to know your dog and what trips his triggers.  I like to start focus work with things that don’t trigger a dog at all.  That way, he can practice and learn the correct behavior that you want from him before you start distracted work.  It really makes things go faster by the time you add in distractions.

The other thing that comes along with distracted work, is the paycheck that you offer your dog for his work.   When he is working with no or low distractions, he likely won’t require a high value treat.  However, when I want Rugby to focus on me when the neighbors are out in their back yard, I know I have to pull out a super high value treat because of the proximity to our yard, and the movement and sounds the neighbors are making.  A low value treat just won’t do it.

To summarize:

• Be sure your dog is on leash when you start focus work.
• Start your work with training “Leave it” and “Watch me.”
• Your initial training should be with no distractions at all.
• Systematically add distractions little by little as your dog learns and becomes consistent with his responses.
• Consider your dog’s threshold to the distraction, and be sure the distraction is far enough away as your dog is learning.
• Make sure your paycheck matches up with the work you expect from your dog.

And remember Rugby’s sage advice:  Your dog really IS trying to get things right!  He’s trying so hard to figure out what you want him to do!  Help him in the process by following my suggestions, and you’ll be off and running with a dog who can’t wait to listen and focus on you!

I’m really excited to have joined a wonderful Positive Pet Training Blog Hop!  What that means, is that you’ll see some additional blog icons at the bottom of this post.  This month our Blog Hop Theme is all about what to do when your dog won’t listen.  You can click on the additional blog icons if you’d like to know more about this subject from a different blogger.

 

Mama Sally:

Rewards Based Training

Rugby will tell you that I prefer to train using rewards that I know a dog likes or wants.  I tend to call it “Rewards Based Training.”  Some of you might know it as “Positive Reinforcement Training.”

The term “Positive Reinforcement” is so overused and common, that I find most of my clients really don’t have a clue what it means!  If you miss the complete understanding of “Positive Reinforcement” you will miss the entire point of why this method of training is so good and so very effective!

I like to call my training style “Rewards Based Training” because I think that this term is actually more descriptive in defining what I do. Simply said, I train with a reward that I know a dog wants or likes!  Boom.  Easy peasy, right?

In theory, yes, it’s easy.  Dogs learn by simple means, and they learn fairly easily, so that’s one reason they have adapted to life with humans so well.  You may think that your dog is snoozing and not paying attention, but don’t kid yourself!  Your dog is a master of observation!  He’s watching the patterns of your life with him, and using his problem solving skills get what he wants and needs.  And he’s a master in getting those things in the easiest way possible.  That’s smart!

We can use all of those observation and problem solving skills to our advantage in training, because when we can create a way for our dogs to learn a specific pattern of behavior with consistency, our dogs will fall right into the behavior that we want from them! Consistency plays a huge part in successful rewards based training, because a dog has to understand and know that he’s going to get a predictable positive result that he likes and wants, when he produces consistent behavior.  This is really critical to success with rewards based training.

Commands or Tricks are Simply Small Encapsulated Games

Think of commands or tricks as small, simple games that have specific rules for play.  “Sit”, for example has a rule that your dog must place his rump on the ground in order to get a treat.  Pretty simple, right?  In order for a dog to quickly and consistently produce that behavior, he has to first understand what the “Sit” game is.  He has to learn the word where he can focus on his handler, and receive a consistent reward long enough that the game makes sense to him, and then he will be able to quickly and easily produce the behavior of placing his rump on the floor when he hears a specific cue to “Sit”, and sees a corresponding hand signal as well.  No surprise there, right?  It makes sense to you so far, doesn’t it?

This next part is where I often see a disconnect in humans understanding how dogs learn.  Dogs simply can’t generalize their behavior quickly or easily, and that’s very difficult for humans to understand!  Owners often place unfair and unreasonable expectations on their dogs, feeling frustrated when their dog is “stubborn,” “willful” or “disobedient.” Most of the time, when I see the “stubborn” behavior in a lesson, I can easily see why there’s a disconnect between the dog and owner.  Often, it’s simply because the dog has not yet figured out exactly what the rules are for the specific game, or, sometimes, the owner has made things too hard, or too fast for their dog to figure out.

In order for a dog to really, fully understand the “Sit” game, his handler must carefully add distractions one by one until his dog can generalize his behavior in relation to that specific word cue.  This means that for success, the handler and dog must  practice the “Sit” game many times in various contexts.  For example, training needs to happen in various rooms of your house, when people are walking in and out of those rooms, outside in the back yard, on walks in the neighborhood, at the park, etc. When dogs have worked through the generalization process, and fully understand the desired behavior, then they can quickly and easily produce it. The generalization process just simply takes time, and humans aren’t terribly patient creatures.  We want what we want….the way that we want….and when we want it!  That can be very frustrating and unfair to our dogs!

Dogs Aren’t Robots!!  They Learn at the Rate That They Learn!

None of the dogs that I train are robots.  They can think, feel, experience and choose.  They aren’t something that we program and then they spit out consistent data in a weekend. Yes, we can “program” the behavior that we want to see, over time and with consistency.  But unlike a computer, dogs can think and choose what they want to do!  If we want positive results, we have to respect our dogs for who they are:  living, breathing, thinking, feeling, creatures!

Dogs learn at the rate that they learn.  So do you and I!  Some complex concepts are easier for me to grasp than others.  In that regard, it’s no different for Rugby James as well!  Some dogs can quickly problem solve and figure out a new behavior lickity split.  Others take more repetition.  Neither one is bad, wrong or stupid.  They just are what they are!

For good training success, think of being a partner or teammate with your dog, rather than looking at your dog as a “minion” or something that you can boss around.  Ain’t no dog got time for that!  You’ll feel far less frustrated with the process if your dog is your partner and you’re building a team with him.  Trust me on this one!!

Rugby James has plenty of opinions on this subject!  Let’s hear what he has to say!

Rugby James

I’m a lil dogger what has had lotsa different homes and mamas, so I know about these fings.  I has lived at the shelter before, on deaf row even, what means that I was gonna get putted to sleep when I was just a lil pupper and not even all growed up!!  I gotted fished out of the shelter by a rescue group, but then I hadda go to sum new foster homes before I gotted my forever home wif the Mama I gots now.

When you’re a lil dogger what has been in lotsa different homes, you understand fings in the Upright world purty good.  Uprights like you and then they doesn’t like you.  Sumtimes they does fings a certain way for a while, and then they changes fings and does it a completely different way….just when you’re trying to figure out what the first way is!!

Sumtimes, if there’s a bunch of Uprights what lives in the house, sum of them does fings a certain way, and then sum of the udders does it a different way too….only it’s really hard to know what way they all want you to do stuff.  It’s like a game you can’t win what gots lotsa different rules to it, and the rules changes every single time you play the game!

Doggers isn’t dumb critters.  Nopawdy wantsa play a game when they can’t win.  So sumtimes, doggers just stops playing the games, what can make Uprights mad.  It can get you dumped at a shelter or gived back or gived away! Uprights expect doggers to be mind readers and just “know” how you’re supposed to act.  I always tried so hard to figure it out, only when I maked mistakes, I gotted yelled at a big much, what hurted my feelings.  When my feelings gotted hurted, it was really hard for me to trust the Uprights again when they was nice to me after they was all done being mad.

The Mama always tells me what a smart lil pupper I am.  I fink I’m purty smart too!  I try really, really hard to get fings right, and to do the fings what I knows that the Mama likes and wants from me.  I know lotsa words and what specific fing I’m supposed to do when I hears those specific words.  And the Daddy uses the very same rules, so nuffing changes between them what makes it a lot easier for me to know what to do!

It taked me a long time to trust the Mama on account of the udder Mamas and Daddies teached me how flaky Uprights can be. When the rules always changes, and when a lil dogger doesn’t understand and can’t figure out what to do, the world can really be a scary place.

But, I want you to listen to the Mama in this lil movie where I was working a puzzle.  Isn’t she a good coach?  Doesn’t she encourage good?  I lubs the happy, escited sound she gots in her voice, and even when I mess up, she doesn’t fuss at me.  She just helps direct me to the right fing to do.

The best fing, is that when I work for the Uprights at my house, they gives me a good paycheck for that work.  I doesn’t get snacks for basic fings what I has learned really good, but the Mama is always teaching me new fings, so I always getsa chance to earn snacks wif new stuff I’m learning or for puzzle play.

Next time, we’ll tell you how we faded snacks sos you can learn to do it the right way!