Building Motivation:

Do you struggle to get your dog enjoying training? Would they rather be sniffing in the garden than working with you? Training at Be More Monty Dog Training goes beyond teaching basic commands. Building motivation and a strong relationship with your dog is key for successful training.

Why do you want your dog to be motivated?

1. Increases work drive: a dog that is motivated will put in more effort and engagement to the training that you are doing with them. Building motivation to work is hugely beneficial for dogs that have lower drive to train and play.

2. Engagement: having positive reinforcement that the dog finds motivating helps to build your dog's level of focus, which leads to more successful training sessions as they will be more attentive to given commands.

3. Relationship / Bond: you want your dog to work with you, and be excited to train - if they're not interested, you need to build on your relationship before focussing on different aspects of dog training. You have to be the greatest value to your dog in order to ensure that they can work in more stimulating environments.

   For example, with Monty, when his "ready" command is used, his excitement levels go through the roof because he knows something fun is about to happen, this is due to the relationship that we have built. I have only ever meant good things to him; therefore, he always wants to work with me he is frequently positively reinforced through play and food when he works with me.

4. Fun and enjoyment: by understanding what your dog finds positively reinforcing, you make the training experience more fun for the dog. Find what motivates your dog (this could be play, food, fuss!) and utilise it in training!

5. Improved behaviour: a dog that is motivated to work with you is more likely to perform desirable behaviours as they want to figure out how they can get what they find motivating to them!

At Be More Monty Dog Training, we understand the importance of building motivation with your dog during training. However, for this to be achieved you must have a strong relationship with your dog in the first place. By strengthening the bond between you and your dog, we aim to create a fulfilling and enriching partnership based on trust, love and a whole lot of fun. A strong bond with your dog takes time, positive reinforcement and patience; but, by investing in this, you can improve a wide aspect of all training.