The concept I repeat again and again as a trainer:

The concept I repeat again and again as a trainer:

Focus on clarifying what the animal SHOULD DO, vs. focusing on correcting/fixing what NOT TO DO.

If they are displaying “unwanted behavior” they need more help and support figuring out what they should be doing instead. Simply telling them NO or STOP THAT, or giving a physical correction, doesn’t help them learn what they should actually be doing, and it often just creates tension and confusion in the animal/human partnership. Help them understand what TO DO, and guess what? The “unwanted behavior” starts to fade away!

The more positive repetitions of a behavior the animal experiences and practices, the more confident and happy they are in that behavior, and will offer it more and more.

Help them by strengthening their understanding of what to do, rather than just correcting them when they do the “wrong thing”. This approach will help their training progress on a deeper level.

If you’re thinking “but the mama dog (or mama horse) physically corrects their baby all the time”, stay tuned for my next post :)