Lesson 4

Now that your puppies have developed some impulse control and maturity, you will introduce the stay exercise in a systematic way to build maximum stability. With the stay, and with the month-long history of one-to-one reinforcement of all behaviours, your puppy is also ready to be introduced to new reinforcement schedules: instead of rewarding every time she sits, for instance, you will begin rewarding unpredictably, but still at an average frequency high enough to maintain the behaviour at full strength. The concept of variable reinforcement schedules will be incorporated from the start of the stay exercise.

In this lesson, you will also begin to expand upon the body handling and positive socialisation exercises introduced earlier to create a lasting cooperative attitude toward veterinary handling, grooming, dental hygiene, and other essential animal care tasks.