Creating CHOICES for your dogs physical and mental well-being

Emily briefly describes how to expand your dog’s freedom of choice to live a healthier life and as she believes build your relationship and reduce behavior issues that arise from limited degrees of freedom. Expanding your dogs ability to make choices can be done in your house, your yard and when out on adventures, even during alone time. The key is training default behaviors that keep your dog safe as they are allowed to make choices on their own. Please let me know if you would like more videos on this specific topic.
#professionaldogtraining #dogtraining #puppytraining
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[@helensimonsen7200]

This is lovely to hear. My dog decides where we go on walks ( within safe limits) and when he wants the walk to end. People say 'you let that dog be the boss' but it's always felt right, and my dog still listens to me. It feels like more of a collaboration than a hierarchy, which works for us.

[@kikopup]

i like the idea of calling it a collaboration :)

[@Smokeybluetheraccoon]

SO so true! I feel like this gets neglected or downright ignored in dog training. Thank you for highlighting this!

[@yogiyoda]

My dog would make lots of bad choices in many situations, but I try to give her safe opportunities for freedom whenever I can. It's harder to find spots in the city because she isn't dog social

[@kikopup]

cities are hard. yeah i make bad choices too haha

[@inugami-d5355]

Having been watching your videos for... 14 (?) years, I find it fantastically interesting how we have some many similar ways of doing things now. The specific point that made me really spot this was when you explained pointing at a random spot on the floor and acting interested! I do this with my behaviour clients ALL the time and they are shocked it works :P You are wonderful Emily!

[@jjsolly5039]

Hi Emily, this is really important. I have also heard it called "agency." Even just waiting at the back door for that evening potty followed by "smell-a-vision" as my pup checks out the night air. I have learned to just be patient & wait. Due to wild critters I never leave her, but just hang out and let Ruthie decide she's ready to come in. She's such a blessing, it's the least I can do to be on her time then! In Christ's Love, JJ & Ruthie😊🐕‍🦺💕✝️🙏

[@aceofhogan1]

2:31 the dog on the sofa has a heart shape on his leg ❤😮

[@PiaRavenari]

'Go sniff' has been such a game-changer for our puppy. I realised I was really unrealistic in expecting a puppy to be able to handle loose leash walking (and worse, heeling) all the time, and ended up reading some Turid Ruglaas and went to a looser / longer leash and let him have more decisions on our walk provided he didn't pull hard (at which point we stopped, paused, and turned / changing direction. We found that giving him treats beforehand when he was walking on a loose leash made him shoot off like a rocket, so this is an area where we've had to reward the least with treats to get improvement, as weird as it sounds). We saw huge results though. After that we introduced a strong 'go sniff' command, and now it's like everything's clicked together. He knows he gets to make his own decisions completely for a while, and we know he'll be more likely to be polite with us on the walk because he trusts it's not just what we're doing non-stop. We've found he's more responsive to commands when out and about even for a very excitable, nervous dog, and it's also helped a lot with his confidence. He knows we trust him to make his own decisions, and he knows we'll follow and support him doing that, and we get to know he's happier exploring sections of the park/s on his terms, and not just ours. It feels more fulfilling for all of us that way! So hopefully we all continue to learn more (and my expectations stop being so demanding!) going forwards.

[@ShainO8]

I love letting my dogs go on a sniffari. It's good to hear a trainer recommend giving freedom.

[@kikopup]

yeah, honestly i didnt think to make a video like this, because I felt like it was common knowledge but now seeing videos popping up that are to the contrary that dogs shouldnt have choices...

[@ShainO8]

@@kikopup I definitely think your view is the best! I'd hate for someone to make every decision for me.

[@marieb5251]

Excellent video, the kind of content I look for as a regular dog owner.

[@kikopup]

yay! I spent about a decade training trainers, so i am trying to get back to creating info for dog owners without making it indigestible

[@wildatheart7704]

Hiyas, thanks for sharing this great tip about choices for our dogs, your collies are beautiful, take care UK 🇬🇧

[@kikopup]

awe thanks!

[@Curry_Alejo]

I remember giving my pup freedom of choice when I first received her. I bought many toys and a small crate but never closed the door so she can decide if she wants to go in there or not. Doing so really built a lot of trust with my doggo. And although I give her all the freedom in the world she always looks to me for confirmation on a lot of things for both safety and respect. Especially when it comes to getting on the bed, saying hello to people, and hell even barking lol I’ve been subscribed to this channel ever since I got her 5 years ago and I’ve learned quite a lot.

[@mobstercrow7515]

When I crate trained my dogs, I made sure they had a crate that was a lot bigger than it should be. I kept a kong and a lick mat inside of the crate, as well as their favorite toys and a blanket. They were only crated during their naps, and at night time. Once they were potty trained, I left the door open so they could go in if they wanted. I always made sure that my puppies went for a walk, did some training, and played right before bed time. If they ever woke up during the night, they could play with their toys, lick their kong or lick mat, or dig in a blanket. They never had accidents in the crate! The crate was 2 times longer than my first puppy, Lola. Sadly, my second puppy was 6 months old when we got him and he was the size of our boxer so we couldn't find a giant crate 2 times larger than him, we used a playpen instead. Lola was afraid of the crate at first so I put her food inside of the crate towards the very front, and her water was next to the crate. I moved her food in a little further each day until she was fully inside, then she started to LOVE the crate because of the blanket inside. She loved sleeping under it and rolling on it!

[@christophbader3713]

What a lovely video. Helpful as usual, but this one has been more like just enjoyable.

[@joannaycwang2706]

❤

[@bugbean5500]

I became quite creative with giving my dog as many choices as possible, no matter how small they might be. I put different types of chews in one box because I live in a small space and instead of just giving one to him, he gets to pick whichever he wants out of the box himself. He always takes time to sniff different parts before taking one, sometimes he even comes back to quickly get another one 😂

[@doglabdogtraining-gus.8873]

Constructional approach

[@LorenzoWake]

This is awesome. I really would love a structured step-by-step Kikopup-approved puppy program to follow. I love these YT vids, but I need structure. What to do on Day 1, in Week 1, different things to teach them, etc :) Specific q on this: I'm going to be travelling a lot, so need to crate train. But I get this too, this agency. How best to balance?

[@tammiebertrand]

Nice!

[@kavitalevel3]

I didn't realize this needed to be said! My dog is young and very curious, and determined to eat everything, so he's gotten sick quite a few times from our hikes. People criticize me occasionally for working him on a long leash, but they don't seem to get that I'm doing it to teach him his default behaviors when he is young so he can have more freedom by degrees, safely. Dogs do need guidance before being given total freedom. They’ll say "It seems like a shame he can't be free" or "so you think he'll just bolt from you immediately?" as if I am cruel for ever having him leashed, rather than understanding the concept of building skills so he can be more and more free. It's pretty offensive, actually.

[@eyjayy]

rly helpful framework for thinking about this! im gonna look for videos of yours about creating/shaping that default behavior.

[@kikopup]

For the loose in the house I think I talk about it in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2W8f4aQp9eNbJosi=bAlZbOk2AQDXUnID the rescue puppy in the video died at the er becuase of Covid I was not allowed to see him and I think his issue was misdiagnosed and he died from the treatment… :( so I’ve not been able to watch the videos he’s in but I think it’s in this video

[@eyjayy]

@@kikopup sorry for your loss 😞💕 ty for the link that’s rly helpful!

[@MinaMaksova]

Dream 🤍

[@Jamie-813]

Thank you! I'm only 45 seconds in and already I would agree. This is what I've seen with my mini aussie. He's 11yo now, but he's always needed help co-regulating due to his anxiety. However, over the years I've been trying to give him the choice to walk away when he sees another dog and gets excited. I'll wait and call for him to come, and more often than not he'll make the decision on his own to walk away. Then of course he gets a treat. Recently, for the last years or so, I've been walking with him on a flexi-leash though, and giving him even more freedom to make his own decisions on a walk. His reactivity has reduced a lot and he'll even stop to look at a dog and turn back to me unprompted to get a treat. It's so good to see him thrive as I've given over control and opened up to trusting him to make good decisions. I've realized just how confined his life in the city is, so giving him the freedom of a flexi-leash has been fantastic for both of us.

[@trickberto1358]

Do you have a community to discuss your training?? I’m running into a lot of problems with my dog and have no idea how to troubleshoot

[@manolopapas]

Great video

[@itlitlitl6]

Thanks for that. About the dogs bed that epic lays.. do you recommend? Good for border collie as well? And which brand is it?

[@kikopup]

I chose it because 1 cheap 2 the surface is easy to remove dog hair from 3 washable 4 - has a zipper- this smaller one I put a heating pad in 5 I like the walls of it don’t get smooshed - like others I’ve bought downside- the bed is washable but there is no area to remove the wall only the bottom pad- so my washing machine struggles with the larger beds- I’m sure they are going to break it one day. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B3HXHHN3?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[@inaecht]

If you want to add a scientific explanation, look up for Bowlby's and Ainsworth's Attachment Theory. It's already well approved for animals as well.

[@abdumalikov7]

Brave warrior 85

[@AndyHibberd]

Very good. Please write a book/articles so your philosophy is preserved and spread easily. It's a new and progressive paradigm in dog psychology/behaviour/relationship with us. 😊

[@carlomonte5341]

Crazy beast 09

[@drewflanagan4296]

Don't go chasing waterfalls please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to

[@Moagie1]

I'm sure you're fully aware that I sang that in my head

[@inaecht]

It's kind of sad, that you have to mention the importance of having degrees of freedom. 😢 That should be a given thing for every family member combined with consistent everyday rules for a peaceful living together. Well, I hope many people get you message.

[@carlomonte5341]

Crazy beast 09

[@user-px1xu6qq5f]

Crazy beast 09