C.O.R Dog Training

06/02/2026

On the left side of the screen, I’m rewarding my dog for every single correct repetition.
This is called a Continuous Schedule of Reinforcement — it’s what we use when a behaviour is new or being taught.

On the right side of the screen, I’m rewarding some repetitions, not all of them.
This is called an Intermittent Schedule of Reinforcement — it’s how we keep behaviours strong without making them dependent on food.

Important note ⬇️
Intermittent reinforcement does not mean “reward every second rep.”

Sometimes I’ll reward twice in a row.
Sometimes I’ll skip a few reps.
Over time, I can even increase how many correct behaviours happen between rewards.

The behaviour stays — even when the reward doesn’t appear every time.

That’s how reliability is built.

06/01/2026

Please Take Care in the heat everyone! 💙

**EXTREME WEATHER WARNING**

This week is set to be HOT!
Forecast is set for over 40 degrees in Bendigo for multiple days.

Please help keep your pets safe with the tips below!

Pets suffer in the heat and can struggle to cool down. For some pets this can be fatal.

Plan a head to keep your pets safe this week.
Have multiple fresh water sources available for pets and wildlife, in different areas around the yard and house in shaded areas, so as the sun moves they can still access cool water.

Freeze treats in water or ice trays and place these treats in a water bowl - this will both keep them busy for a little while and provide a cool treat for them.

If possible have shallow paddle pools available for your pet. This provides somewhere they can try to cool themselves or dampen their coat to reduce their temperature.

Do not walk your pet in the heat of the day!!
Walk either early morning or late afternoon when the temperature drops.
If you can't hold the back of your hand on the pavement for 10 seconds, it is too hot to walk your dogs.

Hot pavement, ute trays and fake turf can all cause serious burns to animals paws.

Animals can suffer from heat stress when left in a car for as little as 6 minutes without air conditioning on a warm summer day. When traveling in warmer weather always consider if your pet needs to go in the car and if so avoid the heat of the day.

Fresh water and shade should always be available for pets.

Signs of heat stress include:
- panting
- collapse
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
- going off their food
- pale or very red gum line
- restlessness

Brachycephalic breeds (animals with a short muzzle) such as pugs, pekingese and mastiffs will feel the heat more than other animals, as they can not cool themselves as well by panting.

Hosing your pet down with cool, not cold, water can help to relieve the effects of heat stress.

If you can bring your pet inside with air conditioning on and fresh water sources available, this would be ideal.

If you feel as though your pet is suffering from heat stress please seek medical attention as soon as possible by calling BAH on 03 5443 3322

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! 🎉
Start the year off with a happy, confident puppy, by booking a training session now, so I can help you and your dog reach all your goals 🐾💙!

31/12/2025

What is negative punishment?

Let’s break down the terms.
Negative means something is removed.
Punishment means behaviour becomes less likely to occur.

Put together, negative punishment (P−) occurs when a behaviour decreases because it results in the loss of something the dog values — access to food, play, training, proximity, movement, or social engagement.

The key word here is loss.

The removed stimulus must be appetitive to the dog in that moment. Removing something the dog does not care about is not punishment — it is informationally empty.

This is why intent does not matter. A handler may feel they are punishing, but punishment is defined solely by outcome. If the behaviour does not weaken over time, P− has not occurred.

Dogs use negative punishment with remarkable precision. During play, if one dog becomes too intense, the other disengages. Play stops. If roughness continues, access to interaction is removed. When behaviour improves, play may resume. This is clean, contingent, and highly informative P−.

In training, similar principles apply. Ending a session when a dog repeatedly ignores known cues, removing access to reinforcement after boundary violations, or disengaging when arousal exceeds criteria are all examples of negative punishment if they reliably reduce the target behaviour.

However, P− carries a cost when overused or poorly timed.

Removing access too frequently, for too long, or without a clear path back to reinforcement can suppress offering, reduce engagement, and create frustration rather than learning. When the dog does not understand how to regain access, punishment becomes noise instead of information.

This is why skilled application of P− always exists alongside reinforcement. The dog must know:

🔷️What behaviour caused the loss
🔷️How to regain access
🔷️And that reinforcement is still available for the right choices
Negative punishment should never be about withholding indefinitely. Its purpose is clarity, not deprivation.

Used precisely, P− sharpens criteria and strengthens decision-making.
Used carelessly, it erodes confidence and motivation.

30/12/2025

Negative reinforcement is arguably the most misunderstood quadrant of operant conditioning — largely because it is so often confused with punishment. So, what is negative reinforcement?

Let’s break down the two words:
Negative = taking or removing something
Reinforcement = making behaviour more likely to occur

Put together, negative reinforcement (R−) occurs when a behaviour increases because it successfully causes the removal, reduction, or avoidance of an aversive stimulus.

The key word here is relief.

“Negative” simply means something is reduced or stopped. The definition does not imply that it is mean, harsh, or unethical — those judgments depend on application, timing, intensity, and context.

A classic example is leash pressure and release. Pressure is applied, the dog adjusts position, and the pressure is released. If the behaviour that preceded the release becomes more likely in the future, negative reinforcement has occurred. The dog is learning how to turn pressure off.

Importantly, negative reinforcement does not require pain, force, or intimidation. It requires only that the stimulus be aversive to the learner and that its removal be contingent on behaviour. Relief itself is reinforcing.

This is also why timing is everything. If pressure is not released immediately when the desired behaviour begins, the dog receives no usable information. Delayed relief muddies the contingency and often strengthens frustration rather than learning.

Used precisely, R− can produce reliable, predictable behaviour. Used carelessly, it erodes clarity, motivation, and trust.

Negative reinforcement is not inherently unethical or abusive — but it is inherently powerful. And power demands precision.

30/12/2025

What is positive punishment?

Let’s break down the two words:

Positive= adding something

Punishment= making behaviour less likely to occur

Together, this means adding a consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again.

The word positive simply means something is added. The definition does not imply it is mean, harsh, or unethical — those judgments depend on application, timing, intensity, and context.

A lead correction, a verbal reprimand, and spatial pressure are not automatically considered punishment. These are events. They only qualify as punishment if — and only if the behaviour becomes weaker as a result. If the behaviour continues unchanged, the “correction” was not punishment. At best, it was neutral. At worst, it contributes to habituation and escalation.

This is where some owners run into trouble. Repeated corrections that fail to decrease or change the behaviour are not educating the dog — they desensitise it. The dog learns that the consequence is survivable, ignorable, or unrelated. The inevitable outcome is an arms race: more intensity, more pressure, less clarity.

Effective P+ relies on three non-negotiables:

🔷️Timing — the consequence must occur during or immediately after the target behaviour.
🔷️Contiguity — the dog must clearly associate the consequence with that behaviour, not the environment, handler, or its own emotional state.
🔷️Magnitude — the consequence must meet or exceed the dog’s expectation relative to the motivation driving the behaviour (while remaining ethical and appropriate for the individual dog)
When used without reinforcement, or without escape/avoidance information, P+ does not teach or provide clarity to the dog. It only suppresses — temporarily, unpredictably, and often at a cost to confidence, engagement, and trust.

The goal of punishment should never be repetition.
Its highest success is when it makes itself unnecessary.

Used correctly, in moderation, and alongside reinforcement.

29/12/2025

What is Positive Reinforcement (R+)?

Let’s break down the two words:Positive= adding something

Reinforcement= making behaviour more likely to occur.

Together, this means adding a consequence that increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again

The word positive simply means something is added. It does not mean kind, gentle, ethical, or preferred. Those are separate considerations (which we will always also consider when training).

Food, toys, praise, access to movement, social interaction — can all be used as positive reinforcers, however if behaviour does not increase, the consequence was a reward in theory, but not a reinforcer in practice

This is why context matters. Does your dog want to train immediately after finishing a full meal? Probably not — a satiated dog is rarely food-motivated. Will your dog value praise in a highly stimulating environment? Unlikely — competing reinforcers are simply stronger in that moment.

Remember: it is only reinforcing if the behaviour increases. It does not matter if your dog took the treat if their motivation was low and no behavioural change follows. Learning is measured by outcomes, not intention.

A commonly overlooked component of positive reinforcement is timing.

Timing is everything. The arrival of reinforcement is information. It tells the dog exactly which slice of behaviour was valuable. Late reinforcement is not neutral from a learning perspective — it actively teaches something else. “Good dog” after the sit has ended reinforces standing. Food delivered after the recall has broken can reinforce disengagement. Precision matters.

Variety also matters. Dogs habituate quickly. A single reinforcer used repeatedly loses value — not because the dog is “stubborn,” but because reinforcement follows the same laws as attention and motivation. Rotating reinforcers — food, play, movement, access, social interaction — builds resilience and durability in learning.

Used well, R+ does not bribe, beg, or plead.
It builds behaviour through consequence, clarity, and timing.

And when behaviour becomes reliable, it’s not because the dog is “being good” — it’s because learning has occurred.

28/12/2025

I'd rather my dog knows this 1 skill in 100 places, than 100 skills in 1 place, because a dog that is disengaged makes life more challenging.

Engagement doesn't just happen.
It's not JUST having a bond with your dog. It's a training tool to use in the real-world, where your dog can look at exciting stimuli, like another dog, but they'd rather be with you.

Common mistakes:
1. People often immediately start working on basic obedience skills like, Sit, Down, and Stand- but you will get better results with ALL of your training if one of your main focuses is engagement instead.
Build a connection with your dog first!
2. Chasing perfection e.g. aim for the dog to stare at them all the time, rather than striving for progress e.g. the dog choosing to check-in frequently, of their own accord.

Why engagement is the foundation of EVERYTHING
🔷️Want a loose lead walk?
Engagement assists in teaching your dog to 'Check-in' on walks, making them calmer, and help reduce pulling.

🔷️Want a recall that works around any distraction?
An engaged puppy may be interested in exciting things in their environment, but they will know that you are more valuable to them, and therefore want to hangout with you instead.

🔷️Do you have a puppy?
Engagement is one of the most important things to teach your dog during their socialisation period.

🔷️Do you think your dog is "stubborn"?
No dogs are intentionally stubborn. They could be highly independent or have dominant tendencies. The best correction for these behaviours is working on engagement.

Engagement isn’t something you “train once”.
It's created in every interaction you have with your dog; walking, training, playing.
You don’t need long training sessions-just intentional moments.

When your dog looks up at you mid-walk — don’t ignore it.
That moment is special.
It’s the foundation of great training.
Reward this interaction, by marking the behaviour and giving them a reward (treats, toy, praise, pats).

Below is just ONE game you can play with your dog, but the possibilities are endless!

27/12/2025

Loose-lead/Social Walking starts with your hand placement & movement  🐾
Before correcting your dog, you need to not only understand WHEN it is appropriate to use Positive Punishment (P+), but also HOW to apply a correction/"pop' on the lead.

A tight grip and constant tension worsen a dog pulling on the lead.
Instead, relax your hand and clearly lead your dog, to help your dog understand what you’re asking.
✅️ Keep a soft grip
✅️ Shorten the lead before distractions
✅️ Aim for slack, not tension
✅️ Loop your thumb through the handle correctly (not your entire wrist).
Small changes = easier walks.

Save this for your next walk 🐕‍🦺🚶‍♂️

26/12/2025

🎆Fireworks can be magical for us — but for many dogs, the loud noises and flashes can cause stress and anxiety.
Let’s help our furry friends feel safe & secure from the start of the New Year! 🐶 🐕💙  

26/12/2025

Does your dog only listen when treats are visible?

This is common- but it can be solved.
Using markers helps tells your dog exactly what behaviour you want to see more of. To start you'll have to reward your dog everytime they hear the marker sounds (Continuous Schedule of Reinforcement). Over-time, as your dog builds and association between the sound and food, you can fade the treats (use an Intermittent Schedule of Reinforcement).

Start with your dog today, and let me know how you go 😁