YOU CAN`T HANDLE THE PAWLOV

Dogs. You either love them or you don`t. Or, you have a bad time. There aren`t a lot of other options. One thing that you should keep in mind with dogs, and any pet I should say, is that there is a training process involved. If you want your pet to respond in a certain way that you deem acceptable, or if you just want them to be able to get by in life, you must put in the work. Ivan Pavlov Blanken owner and lover of dogs, made this very clear to me early in my life.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were signing, when my parents decided to take Ivan Pavlov Blanken and I to the park. We usually just went to our backyard, but the park was a special occasion. We took a blanket, a book, my favorite toy, and everything we would need for a very nice time out. My parents laid down the blanket, while I ran around with my toy, enjoying the great weather.
Pavlov wasn`t having any of it.
Pavlov sat down, like a rock and stayed there. I walked up to him, petting and cooing at him, but he wouldn`t budge. He sat as if he was glued to the ground. I tugged on his leash, but he didn`t move. I walked far away from him, and ran back to him, but he wouldn`t budge. My parents came to see what was going on.
They tried to get him up again, but he wouldn`t budge. They coaxed him, and forced him, but he wouldn`t move.
Ivan Pavlov Blanken had had enough.
"It`s no use. You have to train a dog. He`s not going to do anything for you if you don`t. You have to reinforce the behavior that you want to see in him."
He explained to me that every time that Pavolv did something that I wanted, even if it was just sitting nicely, that I needed to give him a treat. He told me that this would reinforce the behavior, and that he would want to repeat it to get the reward.
As I was thinking about this breakthrough that I had just been given, Pavolv got up and ran to the other side of the park.
My father laughed and said, "I guess you should chase after him and give him a treat."
And that`s what I did.
From that day on, Pavlov was the best dog. He was always happy to see me, and was always looking for a treat. I think that he even did stuff that he didn`t want to do, just for a treat.