Love

Word!!

Motivation

Walter turned a year old last month and is a great dog.  He finally got over his fear of going down the stairs, he understands and responds to many verbal directions, goes into his crate without coersion when we leave the house, and sleeps throughout the night.  Spouse & I believe routine is important for dogs of all ages but especially so for puppies.  Treat training is also a great motivator. 

I also believe that talking to them a lot helps them understand and learn, although Spouse doesn't share my feeling on this.  While I can motivate both dogs with treats, I've found I can also motivate Walter with words too.

I noticed that Walter gets a little jealous of Marvin when I give Marvin physical affection, and will try to engage Marvin in play while I'm petting him.  So I decided to use this to my advantage when taking them outside for their final pee pee before bed.  Marvin is always first to relieve himself while Walter often gets distracted by sounds, smells, you name it.  So when Marvin goes pees I say "Good boy Marvin!  Marvin went pee pee!  Good boy!"  Almost immediately Walter will go pee too in order to get the same verbal praise Marvin just received.  It works every time!

NOT our dog  ;-)