Not cruelly. Not badly. Just wrong. What Darran explained about how puppies actually learn changed everything about how Sarah sees training.
"I recognised myself in every single misconception. Every one."
This week's insight
Puppies learn by discovering — not by being shown over and over.
The learning moment doesn't come from repetition and luring. It comes from Luna figuring out that a particular behaviour results in something good. That shifts training from something you do to a puppy into something you do together.
🧠
How puppies learn — the short version
Consequence and association, not repetition and pressure. Luna needs to discover the behaviour works — not be forced into it.
⚠️
Training misconceptions — the common ones
Luring too much, repeating cues before they're understood, training when overtired, expecting generalisation too soon. Darran covers them all.
💬
Training as a conversation
Luna isn't a student waiting to be taught. She's trying to figure out what makes good things happen. That reframe changes everything.
D
From Darran · Postgraduate Canine Behaviourist
Why understanding how puppies learn changes every session you ever do
Module 4 starts with two short modules — How Puppies Learn and Training Misconceptions. Watch both before anything else. They reframe everything that follows in this module and every module after it.
Take your understanding and Luna's training to the next level
Join the VIP Coaching Club and get personalised online support from Darran and the team — direct responses, video review, and expert guidance tailored to you and Luna specifically.
$175 NZD
/ $160 AUD · 75 GBP · $97 USD · per month · cancel any time
Next up: the marker. The thing that changed training from something Sarah was doing to Luna into something they were doing together. 🐾
We value your privacy
We use cookies to enhance your experience, analyse site traffic, and serve personalised content. You can customise your preferences or accept all cookies. View Policy.
Customise Consent Preferences
We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.
NecessaryAlways Active
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site. These include: security cookies set by Cloudflare to protect against bots (__cf_bm, _cfuvid), and our consent preference cookie (dt_consent) which remembers your choices. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data and cannot be disabled.
Functional
Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
vuid (Vimeo) — tracks video usage. Duration: 2 years.
player (Vimeo) — stores video player preferences. Duration: 1 year.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
_ga (Google Analytics) — identifies unique visitors. Duration: 2 years.