What is an "Auto Check-in?"

An Auto Check-in is whenever your dog offers their attention to you without being asked.

Why is this important?

Many times our dogs offer us their attention but we don't acknowledge it, however, we want them to respond as soon as we ask for it. If you Spot Mark and Reward Train (SMART) whenever your dog offers attention, your dog will offer their attention to you on a regular basis. Your dog is very unlikely to listen to you if they are not paying attention to you. The first step of having a dog who is always wanting to listen and respond is to teach them to always pay attention.

How do Auto Check-ins = Engagement?

A dog who looks to you for everything is an engaged dog. We want your dog to find value in looking at you. The first step of getting them to pay attention, listen, come, and so on in distracting environments is to make looking to you more valuable.

To Practice:

Step 1: Make sure you have a marker word that you use for your dog. (A marker word= a word that means a reward is coming for your dog. I suggest using a word like "yes!" and then always following with a treat.)

Step 2: Start somewhere easy like in your living room. Every time your dog offers attention, Mark (Yes!) and Reward with a cookie. Practice randomly this all throughout the day and week. Many dogs will catch on quickly and just stare at you for the treat. The key is to Capture when they do it, not bribe them. (SEE MARK and REWARD Training)

Step 3: Take this outside! Step outside with your dog on a leash and repeat step 2. If your dog has figured out the game, make sure you're allowing more time in-between each reward for your dog to get "distracted".

Step 4: Give your dog more freedom. Be careful with this step! I always suggest trying this with a long leash or in a fenced yard. When your dog has more freedom, they're more likely to ignore you and not offer attention. If at any point your dog is not offering attention, go back a step until they are offering attention readily.

Step 5: Don't reward as often but start using praise. Last thing you want is a dog who just sits and stares at you constantly. You can use praise and petting to acknowledge when your dog offers attention, just be sure to not say their marker word! (If you say the word "yes!" and that is your dog's marker word, you MUST give them a reward after such as a treat. I will personally say "good" when I am praising them but not giving a treat reward.) If you noticed in the video, I don't give treats for every single check in. The reason is because of the dog's personal level of training and attention. Certain dogs really need to be reinforced for checking in whereas others need to only be acknowledged and encouraged to continue on. My dog Tucker is a classic example of a dog where I can't use food 24/7 otherwise he will just sit at my side all day.

Step 6: TAKE VIDEOS! Whether you're signed up to be able to send me the videos or not, taking videos is the best way for you to watch your timing and improve your "trainer skills". I'm a professional dog trainer and I still notice mistakes I made when re-watching my videos. If you have instagram, upload your videos and tag me! I'd love to share and give you feedback. If you're a direct support member on here, send me your videos and we can go over them in detail and I will give you in-depth feedback on how to best customize this exercise for you and your dog.

So take on the challenge of working on your Auto Check-ins this week! Can't wait to see how you all do.