7 Terms Every Pup Parent Should Know

Term #1- Recall Recall is interchangeable with 'come when called'. So basically, recall refers to your dog's ability to come back to you when you call him/her. Recall is one of the most important behaviors you can teach your dog! Term #2- Marking/Clicker If you hear the term 'mark the behavior' that simply means to give your dog a distinct indicator of exactly when the correct behavior occurred.  So for example, if you are teaching your dog to sit you would 'mark' that behavior the instant your dog's butt hits the ground. Marking can be done by using a 'marker word' like "yes" or "good" or by using a training clicker. A clicker is a simple tool that gives a distinct "click" noise when pressed. By using a marker word or clicker while training, you can more clearly help your dog identify the exact moment they did a behavior correctly. And when they understand the timing of when they did something right, the more likely they'll be to do it again in the future! Term #3- Zoomies While this isn't a "technical" term, it's one you will hear quite often.  The zoomies are essentially when your pup gets a burst of energy and runs wildly around. It can involve running back and forth, spinning in circles, overall just acting a little wild. It often happens right before your dog is getting ready for bed, when you come home, and/or after a bath. The only cure for the zoomies is letting your dog zoom around 😅 Term #4- Bite Inhibition Bite inhibition is your dog's ability to control the force of their mouth/bite. This is sometimes referred to as "soft mouth", while those terms are slightly different generally. Bite inhibition is best learned by doing proper training when your pup bites.  But the most effective way to teach bite inhibition is by having your puppy play with other dogs. Dogs have a natural way of letting other dogs know when bites are too hard and painful. Don't skip out on puppy play dates! Term #5- Capturing Capturing is simply a technique of 'marking' (see above) a behavior your dog naturally does. For example, if you're trying to teach your dog to lay down you might wait for them to lay down on their own and then 'mark' and reward that behavior. After doing that a few times, you can start adding a cue word (lay down) so your dog pairs the behavior with a term. Capturing is a very effective way to turn natural behaviors into behaviors you can ask for on cue! Term #6- Jackpotting A big part of dog training is keeping your dog guessing and WANTING to listen to you. And jackpotting makes that happen! Jackpotting is simply giving your dog a better reward (think real steak vs normal treats) or giving your dog more of their normal reward. For example, instead of just giving one or two treats like you normally would you could give 4-5 treats when your dog does something you really want from them. Jackpotting is a great way to more strongly reinforce behaviors! Term #7- Intermittent Reinforcement Similar to the above, keeping your dog guessing can be a very valuable tool when training! Intermittent reinforcement is simply giving your dog rewards at a random interval. So, instead of giving a treat every time your dog does a trick, you only give a reward/treat every 2 or 3 times. Of course, at the beginning of teaching a new behavior, you'll want to reward each time. But as your dog progresses with that behavior, you can start to randomize the reward interval to help keep your pup guessing and wanting to listen! Download the FREE Pupford app here: https://pfrd.site/pupapphere