You love your pet, but like in any relationship, something comes up that you need to work on. Many times, this means training, for both pets and their owners, to help everyone live their happiest life under one roof.
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Take the challenge to learn how to use positive reinforcement methods to train your pet! Each week we’ll post a video of how you can use positive reinforcement to create a stronger, happier bond with your pet. Click on the link next to the videos below to go to the Facebook post and show us how your pet did with the challenge in the comments. We guarantee you’ll have fun learning together!
Learn more about Positive Reinforcement
The Lollypop Farm Behavior and Training Team uses positive reinforcement training methods to help community and shelter pets overcome challenges in a way that promotes strong bonds with their families. Positive reinforcement works just like it sounds, you reward your pet for doing the behaviors you like, whether it’s with treats, toys, or your praise and attention. Because something good happened, your pet becomes more likely to repeat the behavior, making positive reinforcement a powerful tool to help shape your pet’s behavior.
Exercise is good for everyone! Pets with extra energy with no outlet may find ways to entertain themselves that aren’t ideal for your average home. Walking is a great way to get your dog out, but it can be a struggle if they pull and jump on the leash. Positive reinforcement can help your dog and you enjoy your walks more! And don’t forget cats! Our feline friends need exercise too. Play and exercise can be a great way to bond with your cat at home. Click the link below and show us how you use positive reinforcement to help your pet exercise.
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Week 2: Trading aversive techniques for positive reinforcement
Aversive training techniques rely on your pet’s fear and stress in order to manage your pet’s behavior. These techniques, such as using prong collars, e-collars, or spray bottles, make your pet change their behavior in order to avoid a consequence. And while these training techniques may have worked in the past, positive reinforcement techniques have been proven just as effective without causing your pet unneeded stress or fear. Positive reinforcement will not only help you and pet live together harmoniously, but it will help strengthen your bond overtime.
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Week 3: Train New Behaviors with Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool to enact behavior changes in our pets! When you pair positive reinforcement with something that is scary to an animal or something that they're not familiar with, you're helping them overcome that fear, or learn a new behavior, by associating the positive reward with that thing! Pet owners can teach their pets awesome things using positive reinforcement, plus it's great for your bond with your pet. Click the link below and show us the results of your positive reinforcement training!
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Week 4: Food Enrichment
Food enrichment means giving our pets an opportunity to work for, or think harder about, how to get to their food or treats. This is a great outlet for energetic pets, and can be mentally stimulating, too! Food enrichment is great for pets to do at home while you're away during the day. You can incorporate food enrichment into your pets life in lots of different ways, for example, hiding food inside of a paper tube or box, using commercial enrichment products, or use things around your house like ice cube trays. Click the link below and show us the results of your food enrichment experiments!
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Week 5: Giving Your Animal Choices
Every pet is an individual with their own preferences! We have so much control over their lives most of the time, that it's great when we can give them choices and respect those decisions. Giving your pets options like the choice to work for their food, the choice to participate, the choice of where to walk, all have a positive effect on their behavioral health. Click the link below and show us how you give your pet choices!
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Week 6: Accepting your animal's quirks
Remember that you welcome an animal into your home, they're just that - an animal! Cats, dogs, and all other types of pets have species-typical behaviors - things that they do, just because they're a cat, or a dog, or an iguana. Every pet is an individual! Sometimes their quirks are adorable, sometimes they can be messy, but at the end of the day, we love our pets just for who they are. Click the link below and show us your animal's quirks!
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