I REFUSE to Be the “Alpha”. What 4 weeks of Positive Reinforcement looks like with an Untrained Dog.

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I’ve been training chop the wild alaskan Dog for the last four weeks and we’ve Shown you every step along the way over This 15 episode series we’ve had our ups How about that and we’ve certainly had Our downs on this journey so far When chop came to me he couldn’t even Sit and he’s come so far but there are Still a couple of serious issues that we Must address before he goes on to his New home i think we may have found the Perfect family for chop but first we Have to make sure chop is going to get Along with their dog and i felt like in That moment Every bit of training i had done with Him was meaningless This is reality dog training subscribe And click the bell so you never miss an Episode From pretty much the first second we got Chopped it was very evident that there Were some potentially scary issues that We were going to need to address Throughout our time together you might Recall he even snapped that inertia While he was chewing on his bone on day One Inertia come so we do see some potential Resource guarding over the bone there And ideally i don’t want to turn chop Over to a family if he has an issue of Snapping at other dogs over a bone it’s Natural for dogs to want to protect

Things that they value so i can’t really Blame chop for that it’s on me to show Him that he doesn’t need to feel Defensive around things that he likes Now look every dog and every scenario is Different so when dealing with issues Like this it’s always a good idea to Enlist the help of a professional Trainer who subscribes to modern animal Training standards if you don’t know What that means i’ll have a link in the Description that will cover that in Detail since then i’ve been really Focused on working with chop on not Feeling so threatened when he has Possession of something he loves i’ve Been repeatedly doing exercises like Giving him a treat and then offering him His bone with the aim of helping him Develop a positive association anytime We’re near the bone now when i’m dealing With potentially dangerous issues like This my strategy is first off 99 Management and that’s as simple as Making it literally impossible for an Issue like that to escalate up to this Point i’ve had chop and inertia in Completely separate rooms whenever his Bone is present and he’s not in the Crate since he’s done so well today i’m Ready to let chop enjoy that bone in the Presence of inertia for the very first Time without being in a crate or in an Otherwise controlled setting well i mean

I will be doing my best to keep things Controlled My aim here is nothing fancy i just want Him to behave calmly enjoy his bone and Have a good experience with inertia and Me in the same room and i really want to Verify that i have inertia under total Control during this lesson if she goes Up to that bone while he’s chewing it That could very easily reinforce chop’s Fear and make him feel overly protective Or even cause him to act out inertia Come I’m watching him to see if he stiffens Up as we go back and forth I’m going to put her into a right heel And we’re going to walk up here come on Here Good Inertia is doing so well and it looks Like chop is discovering that a training Session is underway i’m kind of not Surprised by this because it seems like He’s got a hunch that i’m using some Extra powerful kibble traditionally for Most dogs and inertia especially Everyday dog food is only mildly Reinforcing during training that’s why We’re using the good stuff today you Guys have got to see what’s so cool About it let me see if i ah there’s one Yep you’re automatically getting those Vitamins and supplements spark eats Actually invented a completely new

Technology that allows them to cover the Food with apparently very delicious Stuff i’m guessing both dogs are into This because of how good it tastes they Actually send it to you pre-measured Which is great this also has the added Benefit of making your dog food very Portable which is handy when you’re Training a dog you answer a handful of Questions on the site and then a Qualified nutritionist will make your Meal plan for your dog if you are Looking for a really new high quality Kibble to try give this food a shot bark Will give you 60 off your first order Barkeats.com Zack george link below so this is going To be a huge test i’m going to have chop Take the bone and let go of it a couple Of times and so i mean i feel confident In doing this you can see how close they Are he’s able to chew the bone inertia’s Being a good girl by not going for it But he doesn’t seem alarmed in the Slightest so i feel like we’ve made a Ton of progress here take this do you Know yes Let go Yes hey how about that That was pretty good i’d say i’m this Task Pretty much an a-plus for chop and Inertia too Okay so there is kind of one massive

Obstacle that we’re still trying to Overcome before chop goes to his new Home And that is Not running after stuff and acting Ridiculous When in public and look you cannot over Practice stay and come they’re so Important every dog has to know those Okay we all know how much chop loves his Ball so i want to start by using that as A temptation for him while asking him to Stay Here look at me Okay Go get it That’s the first time we’ve really done That the delayed fetch there and he’s Like really I think he’d prefer to chase it while It’s moving but that’ll do generally Speaking for a few weeks of training his Stay is looking pretty decent especially When he’s distracted but i’ve got to Make sure that he will come when he is Called as well Come there’s no faster way to success in Dog training when you can use something They love to teach them a skill in this Case chop loves playing the game of Fetch and it’s also a fantastic way to Reinforce what the requests come means And today i have a personal goal of Seeing if we can achieve our longest

Recall to date okay when i’m really Connecting with a dog during a game of Fetch it makes it so much easier to work On things like come when called from a Farther distance chop come i can more Confidently run away from him and feel That he’s more likely to return to me Because he wants another throw of that Ball and i’ve got to be able to have Chops attention on me when i request it It’s doing some basic Leash training here or heel training We’re gonna turn this way i’m gonna keep Him on the same side and right now i Love how he is staying so close to me Without me even having to touch his Leash right now that is a solid looking Heel these right turns are looking good Those amazing or what Stay here look at me Yes Okay I mean these are the really good Examples of the in-between steps of the Dog actually learning for the first time I love that we capture those moments in The series he’s just a street dog just Walking the streets and i mean you see How smart these guys are i’m just blown Away by him great training session right Well Yes but it wasn’t the toughest one by Far the hardest thing for chop to do is To pay attention to me when he detects

Dogs anywhere it rained all night long But fortunately the sun is out and it’s A beautiful morning so we’re headed out To address that very issue Have to reward that close heel These do not look like waterproof i know They don’t but they are because i just Noticed you were in those and i was like I’m wearing these boots because it’s Like wet in this field we’ve had days of Rain how confident are you because i Want to test it okay there’s a big Puddle right there i told you it’s been Raining see that completely submerged Here i’ll show you let’s go over here The whole reason these shoes exist is to Keep your socks completely dry and They’re completely dry right now Watch look Yeah seriously I know Yeah they’re amazing Hush I’ll have a link in the description go Get your own Oh he sees a dog in the distance Very far away he’s being good he sees The dog i’m gonna call him It’s a fine line here one hand i want to Call him away from the distraction on The other hand i don’t want to overwhelm Him with frustration by trying to get His attention off the dog but he’s not Reacting here

And he’s even checking in with me as you Saw right there the way i’m rewarding Him here is by letting him observe those Other dogs that’s something that he Really finds valuable right now i love How he’s sitting calmly this is Definitely an improvement over his Behavior around dogs just a few days ago We did finally have that breakthrough at The dog park and it looks like some of That foundation is even carrying over Here yes I’m gonna go offer him a treat since i Said yes for the yes good man I mean better than i thought i think This is a really good example of how you Can see how we’re walking that line Waiting for him to initiate some Initiative really and look at me and Then come to me and i was able to get Him to willingly walk away there and now I’m Letting him know Okay i appreciate that compliance go Back to looking at the dog if you’d like There’s no harm in that i think what he Wants more than anything right now is Just to evaluate those dogs and i’m Happy to let him do it when his conduct Is like this now at some point in the Future i need to be able to get his Attention pretty willingly around these Dogs it’s not really advantageous to Just keep calling him over and over in

This case when i can see that he’s very Distracted i want him really thinking it Through feeling what it’s like to want To come to me so i’m making sure to give Him an amazing incredible reward every Single time he comes to me particularly When in that state whether i call him or Not for now chop yes good man what a boy That was a really important moment he’s Doing really well watching those dogs Pretty calmly but for a second there his Excitement almost got the best of him But i have faith in the communication we Built at this point so rather than Jumping in to correct him i wanted to See what he would do and he used his own Self-control to stop himself from having An outburst this is a glimpse of what We’re working towards i don’t want chop To behave because i’m forcing him i want Him to understand how we’d like him to Behave because of the time we’ve taken To teach him that doing what humans want Can be the path to all of the best Things in life i would say in that first Year of training at least reward them as Close to 100 of the time on that skill Coming to you when you call them as Possible in the medium term the idea is To phase out treats but with core Behaviors like come when called staying With you in public i really want to Enter the side of really sealing in Those behaviors with good treats for an

Extended period of time rather than Being stingy and withholding and being Too picky and risk losing him on some of These behaviors but you can see here He’s very willingly engaged in this Training session i’m trying to give him As much reasonable freedom as i can here With the lead but I don’t want him just pulling me in the Direction of the dog Hey chop this way You can see he’s pretty interested in The other dogs but even though he’s Distracted by them and wants to keep Checking them out he’s not acting Frantic or anxious like he did in the Past here Good oh gosh And with this great opportunity Throughout this lesson i’m focused on Getting chop’s attention on me several More times around those dogs so that i Can try to work in as many successes as Possible so the hypothesis is that the More times he will come to me when Distracted like that the more likely it Is that he’ll be able to do that in the Future See how he’s starting to wander away but Come back a little bit Quicker come on let’s go it’s natural to Wonder about phasing out treats and it’s A really good thing to ask about i’m Tempted to keep going and going without

Treating him because he’s doing so well But i also don’t want to get to the Point where he starts to wander off Where i pushed him too far Here yes Really really nice example we’ve been Out here probably less than 30 minutes And we have the distractions of the dogs Over there the emphasis here is on yes And i just love that he’s being so Obedient right now i mean we’re vibing Right now me and this dog i’m seeing a Possible opportunity to give him some Higher level exposure in other words Being closer to the dogs you have to Test eventually okay we’ve about halved Our distance now To the dogs really if he just looks away From the dogs that’s what i need to mark Yes come Good boy That was perfect see that just patient This is a great illustration of how much Of a difference distance can make in Your training shop has been knocking it Out of the park all day around these Same dogs but now we’re closer to them And he’s finding it a lot harder to Summon his self-control You can see when the dogs start running After a ball he gets a little more Interested but we’ll see if we can Replicate what happened down there while Under more difficult circumstances here

With the dogs closer by let’s take Advantage of it do some back and forth Leash walking all right i’ll take that That’s fine Good come on Okay we’re getting somewhere here chop Is doing much better around those Exciting dogs even when we’re closer to Them he even wanted to play some fetch While those dogs were nearby that’s Something he certainly wasn’t able to do Just a short time ago remember changing A dog’s emotional response to something Is not a fast process but it’s time to See what we’ve actually been able to Accomplish over the time that we’ve had Chop we’re at a critical point in this Reactive dogs training right now i don’t Know if you guys remember what shop was Like just a few weeks ago when we first Started training How could anyone forget that we’ve laid A ton of groundwork and i think chop is Ready for one of his toughest challenges We’ve faced in his training so far and Even though i think we’re going to have A lot of success there’s nothing i can Do to totally guarantee that And so this is the moment of truth this Is one of my last chances to work with Chop on minding his manners when it Actually counts when he’s out here in The real world and when he gets Surprised by other dogs that he has to

Resist i love how you can shake with him While standing up It’s like Like a grown man hello nice to meet you Sir this is a more dog dense setting Where we have fewer options to create Distance between chop and other dogs he Encounters that dog’s relatively close But i’m going to do my best to walk chop Away from this dog to help prevent an Outburst Coming off let’s go this way come on Good man good man let’s go Yes Very good so he’s starting to get real Excited he’s actually still looking at The dog right now yes Which is fine i wanna it’s okay to look At the dog Here Yes In these desensitization training Exercises when i decide to ask for Things alternative behaviors to barking And lunging at another dog for example i Tend to reward any focus or attention on Me Here Yes Working with reactive dogs like this Requires you to test the times you don’t Always know for sure how your dog is Going to behave let’s also remember he’s A relatively young dog so he gets very

Excited Okay That’s chop’s first reaction of the day I’m going to create some distance to Hopefully bring him back under his Threshold Missed an opportunity there Yes Hold on i’m getting there I know well again you know i can I marked the behavior i like so i can Take my time getting to the treat there He knows what’s coming a bit of a rocky Start but That’s okay we’re about to get another Chance here comes another dog already Here good man yes Here another helpful thing is to have Your dog face you while the dog passes If they’re willing to do that here Good yes Yes we’ll walk him away like that giving Him little bits of chicken right now if You’re wondering so i’m using a high Value food reward Good Here Really good so Dog really close by again you see this Pattern of being fair to him letting him See other dogs at a distance and let him Look at the dog and again i’m waiting For the right moment to ask for his Attention or acknowledge him for giving

Me his attention without me asking just Feeling it out here yes Good boy Here Good man and so We’re starting to get some serious Compliance here i’m told there’s a dog Approaching from behind yep A lab Get his attention i’m gonna move that Way here I’m gonna move that way yes Come on Good man now i’m gonna make a turn Towards the dog Good man let him look yes love how he’s Checking in Good boy that’s a great example of what I’m saying is capitalize on those Moments when your dog’s like okay i’m in The right frame of mind to do a training Session with you and over time they Learn that training can be pretty fun so They’re more incentivized to go along With your training sessions all right Here’s another dog hey Good yes Look at this boy go He’s doing such a great job of being Good and paying attention to me It almost looks like he’s been living With a dog trainer This takes a ton of self-control for a Dog like chop he’s really reaching deep

But now we’ve got a whole bunch of dogs Coming all at one time Another dog right here Here This way We got some amazing traction these are The breakthrough moments when you’re Working with reactive dogs that you live For I couldn’t be more proud of chop he’s Come so far in our few weeks of training But We still have one more episode to go Next time and i felt like in that moment Every bit of training i had done with Him Was meaningless We had sarah and steven come over to our House to meet chop they also want a Playmate for their other dog shuggie Then it felt like a nightmare scenario This is reality dog training get 60 off Your first order of incredible dog food From bark eats and if you like to look Cool and have dry feet you definitely Want a pair of vessies too you can get 25 off at my special link i’ll have all The links in the description of this Video and follow us on instagram and Tick tock get a copy of my books and Subscribe to my channel we’ll see you Next time in shop’s final episode