Pawsitive Focus Dog Training

3 years and two babies later, I finally can put CPDT- KA after my name!! 🙌

Planning on taking your dog somewhere crowded? That's great for a lot of our dogs! Lana loves dogs, people, new places, and just going wherever I go.
She is well behaved and enjoys herself, but I still do a few things to set her up for success and minimize any potential stress.
I park away from the people. This gives her some time to get the excitement out of her system. We get the chance to warm up and build engagement before I actually need her to be responsive to me. She also gets to acclimate to her surroundings and enter the crowd at her own pace. If she is determined to sniff, that means she probably doesn't want to go into the crowded space yet and needs a minute. She isn't a bite risk, but I don't want to overwhelm her!
I let her sniff, a lot. This keeps her chill and enjoying herself. It increases her responsiveness and self control because she knows I'm not going to deprive her of enjoyment.
I periodically pull over to quiet areas for her to decompress. I don't always notice if she is getting overstimulated so I've made it a habit to just pull aside whenever I see an opportunity!

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I refer to the time between when you mark the good behavior and deliver the reinforcement as the reinforcement gap. It's an incredibly important moment of time because everything that happens between the reward marker and the reinforcement is also being reinforced and will increase!
So, what goes on during that reinforcement gap? Does your dog jump for the food? Do they cross in front of you while walking? Do they move closer to the behavior you're shaping or farther away?

The good enough dog.
There is a lot of social pressure to have a perfectly trained, mega obedient dog. Unfortunately, that ideal actually requires stamping out pretty much everything that makes a dog a dog.
We forget that they are captive animals who aren't living like we selectively bred them to live. We didn't breed dogs to walk in a heel except to pee/poop, never bark, always instantly do as they are told, and spend the majority of their time quietly home alone.
We have a cultural obsession with micromanaging what they do and imagining that everything is a power struggle. What kind of life is that for either of us?
The good enough dog is a dog that has the tools to deal with the modern world but isn't "perfect". They have the freedom to be themselves while also not causing problems and being able to handle their environment. For example, they walk with a loose leash but are free to sniff and set the pace most of the time.
It requires us to let go of cultural norms and be strong enough to not cave into the judgement we feel from others. That's definitely something that I've struggled with in the past but now have the education and confidence to know that this is a much better life for us both!

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