Dog Trainer’s Sweet Mistake Goes Viral on TikTok

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Created: 05/28/2023, 06:00 a.m

Von: Sophie Kluss

Sometimes mistakes in parenting do something incredibly sweet. A dog trainer from the USA can tell you a thing or two because the video of her cute mistake went viral on TikTok.

Dog trainer Sugako Sasaki (@happystretchdogtraining) from Burien, Washington, USA specializes in using positive reinforcement in dogs to solve problem behaviors. This cute video, which has recently become a viral hit on TikTok, shows how well she manages to be “positive”. So far, over 2.3 million TikTok users have watched the clip of Sugako admitting a mistake in training two puppies – which many are now surprisingly keen to replicate with their own four-legged friends:

You can see two cute puppies, who press their little snouts together like kisses, before they get a treat as a reward from the trainer’s hands.

Sugako Sasaki writes: “Learning to share space, food and toys with friends is difficult. I originally worked on reinforcing all the appropriate behaviors when two puppies were sitting next to each other during mat training, but I accidentally taught them to kiss for treats. oops But it’s a cute kind of oops.” ❤️

What went wrong with behavior training?

At first, the dog trainer didn’t even notice that she had made a mistake when training the baby fur noses. It wasn’t until she was amazed to find that the two were constantly “kissing” that she realized the mishap. But what exactly was it? In an interview with Newsweek, the owner of Happy Stretch Dog Training said the two had learned that kissing meant cheese to them. What happened?

Sweet kisses: dog training overlaps

While black Labrador Retriever puppy Lewis was originally meant to learn to sit on command despite distraction and remain relaxed in a relaxed manner, mixed breed puppy June needed to be taught her proper behavior. Little June used to behave aggressively towards other dogs, barking at them or even pouncing on them. “The goal was to change June’s emotional response to the presence of another dog while reinforcing appropriate behaviors,” said trainer Sugako Sasaki.

For the training that Sasaki wanted to use with June (differential reinforcement of other behavior), she needed another dog and decided on little Lewis as a positive role model for dog lady June. Sasaki told Newsweek, “The goal was to alter June’s emotional response to the presence of another dog while reinforcing appropriate behaviors.”

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To reinforce June’s positive behavior, the dog trainer used treats. Provided her teeth didn’t touch Lewis, the little mongrel got a piece of cheese as a treat. The two interpret their trainer’s command differently and thought the cheese was a reward for touching their noses. “Since they were given treats when they ‘kissed,’ they started kissing more and more instead,” the American explained. “It was a cute accident at first, but the puppies are clearly repeating what happened, and that’s just adorable.” Training in different behaviors probably ultimately led to the sweet kisses among the young four-legged friends.

“I’m teaching Madge and Sherlock to do that.”

The video of the “failed” upbringing has received over 300,000 likes so far. In the comments, the users agree that they now want to teach their own four-legged friends how to kiss:

• “I’m sobbing, that’s so cute. 😭”
• “Ok, but that’s the cutest thing ever! 🥰”
• “I will be teaching this to every single pair of puppies I work with going forward.”
• “I need to know how you did that.”
• “I would like to get two dogs so that I can imitate it. Adorable! 🥰”