What a delightfully vague title? You might be reading this simply to figure out what on this green earth I am talking about! Well, I shall hold you in suspense no longer!

SMART 50 brought to us by Kathy Sdao, is a game or training technique. Let me ask you a question, how do you reward your dog for the behaviours you want to see from them? How many times? Do you only reward these behaviours during active, engaged training sessions that happen a few times a week when we are working on things, but for a settled, ” well-behaved” adult dog, probably even less? 

Imagine this: your child goes to school every day, behaves themselves all the time, and gets good grades on every homework task, but you only tell them they did well on parents' evening. Not really very fair, is it? 

This is where SMART 50 comes in. 

S= see, you see positive, desired behaviours multiple times a day.

M= mark: when you see it, mark it with a click or a reward cue word or action, whatever you have conditioned with your dog. 

A= and

R= Reward: reward them, calmly give them a little fuss, treat or other appropriate reward for your dog. 

Do this about 50 times a day, Now, I hear you “But Helen, I can’t give my dog 50 treats a day, he’ll get spoilt, he won’t eat his tea, he’ll always expect my attention all the time!’ But really? 50 pea sized training treats? And like I said, it doesn’t have to be food; let's say Rover is walking nicely at your side, or she checks in with you on your walk, perfect op for a fuss!

So, how do I know what to reward? Well that is the easy one! You have set the rules in the house, would you tell your child they were doing good if they waited until you finished on the phone before they bombarded you with questions? Ok bad example, but I’m sure you get the idea! Toby settled calmly in his bed? Reward it! Molly checked in with you on a walk before sniffing at the suspicious-looking dead animal? Boom! They stay out of the kitchen while you cook? Yes my boy! Staying off the bed? Have a biscuit!