First a very Happy Birthday to Cooper who turned 4 years old on the 8th of August!
The dogs work very hard on their relationship building skills. These are skills they use to make friends with humans. One of these skills they learn is asking for permission by making eye contact. Since dogs can’t talk all of our Canine Advocates ‘ask’ for permission by making eye contact. They might ‘ask’ to go outside or ‘ask’ to be release to go play with a favorite toy or treat.
They make eye contact and then they are released to a puzzle box where they get to solve the puzzle to get their treats! These puzzle boxes are also used in a training program called “Connection, Cooperation, Control” and it focuses on relationship centered training. It is a great way to connect with the dogs and make training fun! Learn More About ‘Connection, Cooperation, Control’
Each puzzle box is a little different, so the dogs need to figure out how to open each box when they get there.
Teaching dogs eye contact also allows us to take very nice photos of them too!
