Owning a dog should be enjoyable!
Let Mark help you change your dog’s behaviour, while improving your relationship at the same time.
Mark provides individual advice based on your unique situation,
using exclusively positive reinforcement techniques.
Raising a puppy gives you a unique opportunity to prevent nuisance behaviours from developing into major problems. Learn how at puppy school.
Attending a professionally run puppy school is critical to having a well behaved dog joining your family. As we learn more about dog behaviour and development, there has become an increased emphasis on early, thorough, positive socialisation of young puppies. Research has shown that it is vital that this occurs during the Critical Socialisation Period […]
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Mark offers private, personal dog training sessions to help with most behaviour issues. Why Hire a Professional? It is quite normal to try and fix your dog’s behavioural issues by speaking to friends and family, searching Google, reading books, and watching videos on the internet. Often times this advice can contradict itself, and it can […]
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Mark Ehrman of Canine Counselling by Mark is the first Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT) in Australia. After completing a certificate in dog training and behaviour in 2006, Mark continued to study and learn about dogs and dog training. As a result of his continuing education, Mark changed the way he trains, adopting the […]
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Read the latest news and advice from Mark and other dog training experts
Client: yeah, my dog’s not really treat motivated. I can’t get him to sit even when I have a treat!
Me: *pulls out roast chicken*
Dog: *sits*
Client: well, yeah, if you use ROAST CHICKEN of course he will sit...
Me: *blank stare* 🤦♂️
As dog trainers, one of the reasons we use food in training is that it can be motivating and rewarding for most dogs. Yes, I have come across dogs that prefer a ball or a stick to a treat, but for the vast majority of dogs food is a great training aid.
The trick is to use whatever it takes to get the job done. Just like money and humans, sometimes I have to raise the pay to get the job done. You may not do 20 sit-ups for a $5 bill, but I bet if I give you a $100 bill you’ll do them!
So often times is not that the dog isn’t treat motivated, it is just we haven’t found what is the $100 bill for that dog.
So, experiment, try various things, find your dog’s $100 bills! I heard from clients about dogs that love shredded cheese, green tripe, or even one that loved diced carrots more than any meat.
Another time, we’ll talk about how you get off treats and keep your dog motivated to still do the behaviour. 🙂
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