Tips to Help Motivate Children to Help Teach and Train the Dog

For this Omaha dog training session we share a secret to getting kids to help train the dog to help 13 month-old Goldendoodle Rupert learn to stop nipping people who reach to pet or touch him.

One of the easiest ways to get a dog to stop niping when you reach to pet it is to stop reaching or petting when the dog nips. Sounds simple, and it is, if you stop precisely. Not when the dog’s mouth touches your skin, but the moment the dog starts to lean towards you in the slightest.

It may take 2, 3, 10 or more reaches that turns to stops before the dog gets the message. This is basically operant conditioning at its most basic. The dog’s actions cause the attention to stop. If you stop consistently when the dog starts to lean towards you to mouth or nip, you can teach a dog that nipping causes the human to stop petting them.

I like to combine this technique with what I call petting with a purpose. Dogs who nip you when petted often do so because they think they have the same or more rank than their humans. Peting with a purpose is a easy way to establish a healthy leader follower dynamic.

As this home has small children, I shared my secret to getting kids to help train the dog. The best part of this plan is its sneaky ability to motivate kids to teach and train the dog without really being aware of the fact they are doing it. You can learn how to get your kids to help train your dog by watching the free positive dog training video below.

The best part of this plan to get the kids to help train a dog is anyone can do it, even if you are not a professional Goldendoodle dog trainer. All you need is a good reward for the kids and vessels to collect their rewards when they pet to say thanks.

There are many reasons that Rupert acts out and tries to nip people who pet him. We covered many dog behavior tips to stop dog nipping when petted as well as ways to add structure so the dog sees ands respects the humans as authority figures.

To help the guardian remember all the tips I shared with her in this in home Omaha dog training session, we recorded a roadmap to success video.