i have learnt that, engagement will be the corner stone of all training. Engagement means a dog paying sustained attention to you, we must build this before teaching any behaviours. A reward event should be an interactive activity that you and your dog can only do together, there should be a large contrast is what you were doing before the reward event and what you are doing during the reward event. For example this could be standing still while you ask your dog to sit then exploding into backwards movement as you are rewarding the dog for the behaviour. Your regular behaviour and your behaviour when preforming a reward event should be vastly different. Many owners/trainers will try to increase motivation by feeding the dog less to create hunger. this isn't increasing motivation, it is simply making your dog hungry which will decrease as the dog goes through the session reciveing more rewards. This is why we use prey and chase based behaviours rather than hunger, as these behaviours intensify through rehearsal. Rewards should be delivered ob a variable schedule as this keeps the dog engaged without checking out as they dont know when the reward will end. We can also use what we call auditory stimulators to help motivate our dogs, these are sounds we condition to our dogs when they are chasing food/toys to bring up excitment when hearing the sound. Dogs are biologically inclined to enjoy the persuit of the reward over the reward itself. This is why predatory animals will still continue to hunt even though 80% of their hunts are unsuccessful. You can also increase a dogs motivation to work with you by utilising something we call "social isolation", this is restricting a dogs access to you. With an already highly motivated dog, this can cause behaviour issues if overused, but when working with a dog with little motivation this can be very beneficial. We can use arousal patterns to increase a dogs motivation in certain environments. For example, if you train on the same field with your dog everyday, the field itself will start to heighten your dogs excitement/ arousal levels as soon as you step onto it. Restricting your dogs energy into certain activities like training and play can also be a useful tool in training rather than allowing your dog to expend energy in digging holes and chasing squirrels. You must be careful not to violate your dogs expectations in training, this meaning if you have been training with your dogs favourite toy and then reward them with their least favourite half way through that is incredibly demotivating for your dog. Finding a balance between possessive play and interactive play is also crucial for using toys in training. You must figure out how the specific dog you are working with enjoys playing and tweak your technique so that it is suitable. When training insecure dogs, we must make sure the dog is habituated to their environment before trying to make them engage in a reward event as doing to could cause the dog to associate their negative feelings with the reward rather than the environment.

i loved this course and will be doing many more! Thank you

- on 08/12/2026

I adopted a 1-year-old Malinois x Staffy from the pound. She had clearly had very little experience as a puppy and was highly lead-reactive, struggling with even the smallest distractions.

We’ve come a long way together. After trying a few trainers who didn’t have the experience to work with such a driven, high-energy dog, we found a great place: Yorkshire Canine Academy. They really set us on the right path and she has made excellent progress. However, there are still areas we can improve. The main limiting factor at the moment is my lack of experience with very driven dogs, and I am working hard to improve this. I chose this course to improve my consistency and fine-tune our training to better suit her temperament.

Starting with Module Two, I already understood that she is a “fighter” who enjoys possession games. She has no trouble with physical pressure; in fact, she enjoys a good wrestle during play. She is not overly possessive, but for her the game has always been about possession. She initially found the imposition of rules challenging, and attempts to enforce them would shut the game down.

This course has helped me understand that I need to observe more closely and find the balance where she can accept rules without losing the joy of play. She is starting to understand that “outing” the toy is just another part of the game and that it does not mean the game is over. As a result, she is now showing anticipation and eagerness to re-engage with the toy once she has released it. The guidance on handler movement has also been very helpful in improving my consistency.

I had already worked on the lure described in Module Three, but the detailed information helped me refine my position, speed, and direction, which again improved my consistency. The input on the reward event was particularly valuable. She has a habit of checking out immediately after being rewarded, so I am now working on being more variable and less predictable to keep her engaged.

Module Four has been especially helpful in applying everything to her specific needs. She tends to isolate herself in the house. I had considered using a crate to help with control, but the course suggests this may create too much isolation, especially as she already self-regulates quite well. I know she can be insecure: she is stressed in new environments and has been reactive in the past, which is why I have focused on increasing her motivation to stay engaged with me.

The restraint exercise has been excellent for building a sharper recall, and combined with improvements in luring and reward timing, she is beginning to check in much more consistently even in increasingly distracting environments.

Thank you for the detailed information, which helps me work more automatically and reduces the tendency to overthink things in the moment. That overthinking has been a major cause of my inconsistency.

- Simich69 Segger on 06/22/2026

This course was extremely valuable and genuinely refreshing. Having worked professionally with dogs for over five years, I have completed a wide range of courses and continued professional development, and it is not often that I encounter material that feels both new and immediately applicable in practice. This course achieved exactly that.

What I found most helpful was the clear and practical explanation of how to increase motivation and drive in dogs, particularly in relation to working for food. The way the course broke down the use of food, toys, and affection/attention as functional reinforcers — rather than treating them as fixed or interchangeable rewards — significantly deepened my understanding. Learning how to intentionally build food drive, use food toys strategically, and apply reinforcement in a way that maintains engagement and enthusiasm was incredibly useful.

I also really appreciated the structured strategies taught by Michael and how they can be implemented in real-world scenarios. The emphasis on clarity, consistency, and thoughtful reinforcement helped connect theory to practice in a way that felt realistic for everyday work with dogs. These techniques have already influenced how I structure sessions, manage motivation, and assess what each individual dog is actually working for.

One of the strongest aspects of this course was that the content did not feel repetitive or recycled. Even with my existing experience, I came away having learned new perspectives and practical tools that I had not encountered elsewhere, which is rare in online education. The course encouraged critical thinking rather than rigid formulas, which I found both engaging and professionally valuable.

Overall, this course has strengthened my skill set, expanded how I think about motivation and reinforcement, and provided strategies that I can confidently apply across a wide range of dogs and situations. I found it highly informative, practical, and genuinely enjoyable, and I would recommend it to both newer professionals and those already established in the industry.

- Brittany Johnson on 02/10/2026