Rewarding is Reinforcing

rewarding rewards reinforcement dog training pyrwild shaping success Sounds simple, right?  I promise, it is. :)

We all have images in our minds about how we want our dog to be, how we want them to work with us, and so on.  We wonder how can we achieve this ‘dream image’ of training and running with our dog.  In agility and dog training, shaping is often used to develop behaviors, so why not use the same concept to shape the bigger picture, too?  Shaping is a powerful tool.  By using rewarding (read: reinforcing) one can ultimately shape their dog towards success.

Humans love to do things perfectly.  Like, when our dog is doing amazing, they nail their contact, have a tight wrap, find and drive into a challenging weave entry and so on.  We want to keep this ‘perfect chain’ going and finish the sequence successfully.  The adrenal that comes with that along with the pure bliss of satisfaction.  “We did it!!”  It feels great in the moment, but moments pass and we may not see those glimmers when we run our dog next.  What went wrong we wonder: My dog ran perfect last week.  This is especially true for those with soft dogs or dogs who need a little extra encouragement.  Too long without rewards will dim a softer dogs fire and and in contrast, will frustrate a higher drive dog.  Neither of which is setting the dog up for success.  A higher reward rate will only encourage a dog, build their excitement to work with their handler and want to show those amazing things they can do.  So, encourage your dog to do their best and you’ll get more of that: their best.

Retrain your mind to see those ‘We Did It!!’ ah-ha’s as moments of skills, versus completing a chain of behaviors.  A chain of behavior is a collection of skills in sequence.  By reinforcing the chain-links (skills) one is fundamentally strengthening the whole chain (sequence).

Training is just that- training.  I don’t see the word perfection in there. 🙂  Build the little pieces.  If you see a glimmer of your end goal, reward it. Sure, it feels amazing when we run together fabulously with our dogs in training, but save those perfect runs and uninterrupted sequences for competitions (or trial preparation).  Use training to build onto all those glimmers of beauty and perfect skills- which are building blocks for future sequences.  If your dog nails that contact deep and perfect blowing your mind immediately throw a party for them celebrating the brilliance they just showed you.  Not only does this build the relationship and connection between handler and dog- it rewards the dog for that they just did.  And, Rewarding Is Reinforcing. 😉

Those baby steps will become great strides.  Quality and consistency will add up.  So, be mindful of the quality and consistency of rewarding you give your dog in training to reinforce future behaviors.  Reinforcing the little bits will solidify those skills for the long-run.  Think of rewarding as telling the dog ‘hey, I liked that thing you just did, you are awesome’.  This becomes a communication between the dog and handler.  So, when a team does run full courses in sequence they will see those incredible and connected moments of success because the dog understands what to give.

And of course, enjoy the journey. 🙂  The ‘Dream Team’ is in there.  Reinforce the steps to get there and You will be Rewarded.


Other PYRWILD training articles:

🐾A Startline Sermon
🐾Building engagement and confidence by training beyond the agility field – an Aginotes Interview
🐾Problems with US agility 

End of Summer Update

I have been slacking on posting updates here.  It is so much easier to keep our Instagram updated. 😛

We did some competitions this summer and feeling more ‘back in the swing’ after our huge break and moving.  Zae has earned more scores towards tryouts.  Mayhem is chasing 7 QQ’s for his MACH still (with over well over 900 points currently).  I believe we will have two more competitions this year.

Thank you Terry Tuttle for all the great images ! 

The video is from a 4 day trial last month .  I am still having some ups and downs in the ring with Zae and learning to handle and connect with him best.  But am continuing to note and build on the nice parts. 🙂

Another video, with both dogs, from a 4 day trial in California can be seen here.   Was such a fun trial outdoors with mild weather and a lovely drive down the coast there.

It has been a very hot summer and the last two months or so have been extremely smokey from the wildfires cooping us in a bit.  The skies have cleared since (yay !) and the temperature is beginning to drop.  I am looking forward to training more come fall.  My field is continuing to come together nicely and is so cool to have.

We go hiking and into nature any chance possible. 🙂 The lakes are dried now but enjoyed some swimming too.

More of my photos can be seen on Flickr 

I have now offered Teeter Tune-Ups three times and it has been such a fun class to teach !  Students from nine different countries have now been a part of this course- I cannot believe it !! 😀  So cool, and I am so honored to be able to teach online.  I want to send a huge thank you to all my students past, present and future for this opportunity ! ❤️

PYRWILD has also secured sponsorship from two very cool Finish companies: AgiNotes and Nutrolin.  AgiNotes is an app, or online service, which is designed by agility competitors for agility competitors !  It is a cool database to store trainings, competition results, course maps, comments, things to work on, points of weakness, etc and even has graphs and other visuals.  Nutrolin is a human-grade fatty oil supplement company for active dogs.  My dogs are on the Sport blend and also get Skin&Coat.  The dogs LOVE the oils on their food and I have also noticed their fur is soo shiny and feels so soft.  I am so excited to be supported by these cool companies- thank you !  ❤️

Some Heel Upgrades w/ Zae

Lately I have been working on some ‘heel upgrades’ with Zae.  Doing so by playing around with little things seeing what we can do and what works best for us.  The ultimate goal in mind is always to clean up and make his heel even sharper.  I also decided to start to actually train a fun go to heel position.. still in very beginning stages but I am pleased so far.  Also, very happy with how sharp Zae’s turns are getting as I was looking to get cleaner, crisper 90° turns with him.

This little trick is a behavior I never ever actually trained with Zae.  I asked him to do it one day and from there we just started doing it. 🙂  He was just able to quickly figure it out because of all the foundation skills we train. I am intending to use this behavior to further clean up his heel. In the end, I want those sharp turns with a dog who stays nice and parallel to me.  I am also hoping it will help him pay more attention to details like my legs instead of just staring up at me with his goofy face and not paying true attention 😋  The beauty is in the details – training dogs is so fun !


I am currently accepting more online students !   This includes one-on-one personal classrooms with custom learning modules and feedback.  Let me know what you want to learn or improve and let’s get to work. 🙂

FitDogs Class @ ProDogz in Medford

I have an upcoming class that I am teaching beginning in May in the Medford area.  Please contact the respective business hosting the class to sign up.


Fit Paws/Canine Conditioning
@ Prodogz Dog Training in Medford, OR 
IMG_2651.jpgThis course provides basic canine conditioning exercises that also get your dog thinking.  The exercises and skills practiced in this course will require the dog uses his brain to problem solve all while he learns where his feet are and how to balance his body.  These exercises in turn also create a confident dog who knows how to use his body.  This is not a rehabilitation course but a fun way to increase your dogs fitness.

6:00pm – Thursdays – class runs for 4 weeks

I also offer a variety of ways to learn and work with me remotely online as well !  See Training for more information and don’t hesitate to Contact Me with any inquiries !

Agility lessons are now available at my field in Medford !  Please see Training for details. 👍🏽