[alaskayorkie]

Positive reinforcement and treats has worked wonderfully for me. I've never used that method exclusively until Eddie, and I've never had better results in 40 years of owning dogs.

I resisted taking my dogs to obedience classes for 35 years because of memories of my youth when my brother took his golden retriever there. They used choke chains and recommended sharp jolts on the chain to the point that the dog was physically moved into the correct position. Oh, she learned how to heel, but she didn't enjoy it, and I don't think my brother did either.

I went into modern obedience school with a healthy dose of skepticism. The second it turned into something other than fun for me or Eddie, I was gonna walk. I was overjoyed when I heard instructor after instructor talk about the power of praise and positive reinforcement. We never scold or punish our dogs, and corrections when needed are tiny ones. And we used treats liberally in the early classes and only started weaning them off them slowly in the more advanced classes.

LOL. Just as I finished writing that, our 7-year-old rescue, Jack, just came up to me and barked to go outside. He was peeing and pooping in the house when we got him. Believe me, he got a lot of praise for doing it. And a treat.

Just my .02, uh, I guess that was more than .02, huh. Sorry. .98.