My Sidekick and Me: Using Awesome to Build Awesomeness

By Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM, CPBC

The opportunity to play with another dog, to go for a walk, or to jump in a pool. These activities can be big distractions when it comes to your dog doing what you want…OR, these activities can be an asset to you in teaching behaviors.  

The Premack Principle, often referred to as Grandma’s Rule, is a concept in psychology describing motivation. A person or other animal is much more likely to do mundane or difficult behavior (low probability behavior) if doing that behavior leads to the opportunity to do a more valued behavior (high probability behavior).

I want to take my dog for a walk, but I cannot do that until I finish this column. Therefore, finishing my column now is more likely because I need to do that in order to go for the walk.  

My dog loves to run after squirrels in my yard. If I ask him to sit at the edge of my porch, he will do that because he knows I will release him to run toward my garden.  

How does this relate to training?

By knowing what your dog values, you can add a lot of value to the behavior YOU want your dog to do by teaching a contingency – *IF* you do *THIS* (the less probable behavior, *THEN* you get the opportunity to do *THAT* (your valued activity).  

Do you want to go outside?
Awesome! Ask your dog to do a behavior it knows first.

Can you walk a step or two by my side?
Super! Let’s go sniff the fire hydrant!

Do you want to play a game of fetch?
Can you sit in front of me and give me eye contact? Terrific, chase the ball!

The list can go on and on.

Remember, before you can ask your dog to do a cued behavior, your dog needs to know what that behavior is in advance. Spend time practicing with your dog doing the behavior such as sit or lie down first, where you can get a lot of repetitions in. I often use food in the early stages as I can quickly practice a behavior this way and build fluency with the behavior.  My goal is always to teach so that my learner can experience success.

By seeing the world is a big classroom filled with lots of reinforcers, you will be making yourself so much more fun and valuable to your dog.

Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, FFCP, FDM, CPBC, with So Much PETential was voted 2024 Cincinnati’s Best Community Choice Award winner in pet training. She is a certified dog trainer, a certified Family Dog Mediator, and the first trainer in Hamilton County to earn Fear Free certification. She is also a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator. She is committed to using and teaching the most positive, science-based approaches to changing behavior. For more information, visit SoMuchPETential.com.