Giving Mindful Thanks: The Importance of Gratitude in Dog Training

Rookie, the famous cover dog. Photo © Angela Gardner

Have you ever done something for someone and wished they showed gratitude? What if the only thing someone pointed out to you was what you did wrong? Wouldn’t it be great for someone to acknowledge that you finally did that thing they’ve wanted you to do even if they didn’t ask? And why wouldn’t dogs feel the same way?

Recently, I taught a puppy class focused on impulse control, specifically not jumping up on people. To do this, we worked on getting the puppies to do a rock solid ‘sit’ so that if a puppy jumped on someone, she’d be asked to sit instead. After demonstrating this for the class, I went around the room to coach people as they practiced with their pups. One puppy was doing particularly well, giving a solid sit each time her owner asked. The owner was doing well, too, giving praise and delivering a treat with excellent timing. As we chatted, the puppy started to jump on me, but then immediately plopped down into a ‘sit’ and stared at her owner. I saw the puppy offering up the very behavior we were working on, so I said “yes” right away and gave her a treat, even though the owner hadn’t asked for a sit.

So many times I see this happen in training: owners neglect to praise or reward a behavior because they haven’t specifically asked the dog for it. Of course, it’s great to praise and reward when we’ve asked for a behavior, but we should be mindful to do this when we haven’t asked as well. More and more in my classes or private training sessions, I make it a point to tell people to reinforce the behaviors you like, even if you haven’t asked for it. If you’ve been working on ‘down’ and your dog spontaneously goes into a down, treat them for that - in other words, pay for the position. This is also a form of dog training called ‘capturing’ where we mark a behavior and then reward for it. We don’t always have to ask for a behavior; we can ‘capture’ a behavior we like, reinforce it, and then give it a verbal command. Capturing is another way that dogs learn.

If your puppy has been jumping up on visitors and you’ve worked on ‘sit’ and one day she offers up a sit versus jumping up, treat this as if your favorite team just won a championship! Like most humans, dogs thrive on praise and gratitude. Don’t just point out what the dog is doing wrong. Appreciate the behavior you do want, even when you haven’t specifically requested it. Instead of just saying no, train an alternate behavior that you would rather your dog do and reward for that. 

Positive reinforcement goes a long way toward getting a desired behavior from a dog, such as coming when called. When I trained my dog, Rookie, to come when called, I’d reward him with a treat and then let him go back to play. To this day, Rookie still checks in with me while playing off-leash, often popping over to sit for a treat before he’s off again. Even though I didn’t call him, I still reward him for it because he is giving a desired behavior. 

Rookie’s learned that when he does check in with me, I’ll reinforce it with treats and  usually allow him to continue to play off-leash, which is also a reward. No words are exchanged in these interactions: just desired behavior, positive reinforcement, and gratitude - that’s it. Most important, I am present enough to notice that he’s giving the behavior I want, even when I haven’t asked for it.

So when your dog does something you wish she wouldn’t do, such as lunging while on leash, instead of saying no, ask yourself what you’d rather have her do. If you’d rather your dog learn a ‘watch’ command to turn and look at you versus pulling and lunging, then train it, reinforce it, and show gratitude when that becomes her new behavior. 

In fact, most dogs will continue to do these things we’ve trained them for Iong after the praise and treats have stopped. But whenever they choose the right behavior, let’s try to be present enough to notice and to show them the gratitude they deserve.