Mary Allen
Associative Memory
If you always wear a certain jacket when you go out into the woods, the dog will be happy when you take out the jacket. If a car trip always leads to the vet, the puppy will dislike the car. This gives you a great opportunity to shape the puppy’s behavior.
Repetitive Memory
As a stressed puppy owner, you can forget that the puppy can not immediately distinguish between right and wrong (even though you have explained). A repetitive memory needs to go through the same experiences many times before the right behavior “gets stuck”.
Short-term Memory
Research indicates that a puppy’s short-term memory only lasts for 10-20 seconds. It, therefore, has a very small effect to reprimand a mischievous puppy if you do not have it in the middle of the forbidden activity.
Positives Stick Better
Research also shows that a puppy has an easier time remembering a workout if it was completed in a positive spirit. It also leads to positive reinforcement being better than negative!