Today I’m going to share with you something really fantastic that you can put into place RIGHT NOW. As flawed humans, we tend to be reactive vs proactive when it comes to our dogs behavior. We tend to forget that we need to reinforce behaviors that our dog is already giving us that we take for granted. You will be amazed once you put this protocol into place how your dogs behavior will change… for the better!

SMART 50 Protocol, Developed by Kathy Sdao

Step One

Take a glass container and fill with 50 small treats and kibble pieces. Place this in a high traffic area of the home in which you spend the majority of the time with your dog.

Step Two

Throughout the day, your assignment will be to “capture” moments in which your dog is doing good things! 

You’ll want to use your marker word “yes” or a clicker so your dog knows why the good stuff is happening. 

Some examples:

• Sitting quietly while you are doing something
• Standing there (not jumping, not barking, not whining….)
• Laying quietly 

You can also:

Cue/ask your dog for a behavior they already know!

• Hand target/touch
• Coming when called
• Going to mat/bed
• Fun tricks they already know

Do this every day until your container is empty. Refill your container and keep the momentum going!

Why This Matters

As mentioned above, we often are not proactive reinforcing the behaviors we WANT. This exercise prompts you to become a much better dog trainer with your dog and your dog will start offering more behaviors you love. Why? They know you’ve been rewarding them!