Puppy Performers

Siblings Charles and Lizzie have long wanted a puppy. So they’re thrilled when their father brings home a young rescued golden retriever. But the kids soon find that puppies are more work than they expected! 

That’s the plot of the first episode of Puppy Place, a new TV show on Apple TV+ based on Scholastic’s Puppy Place book series. In each episode, Charles and Lizzie foster, train, and find homes for puppies.

A script tells actors what to say and do in a scene. But how do dogs learn their parts? They get help from Angela Koons and Kristy Gerosky, animal trainers with Birds and Animals Unlimited. They teach the pups how to perform like professional actors!

Gerosky and Koons had just two weeks to train the puppies for Puppy Place. They taught the dogs to sit, stay, come, fetch an object, and walk to a spot. The trainers like to start with the tricks each dog seems to enjoy most. That keeps the dogs motivated, says Koons.

During training, Gerosky and Koons use treats to encourage dogs to follow commands. For instance, to get a dog to sit, they might hold a treat just above the dog’s nose. As the dog looks up, it naturally sits. At the same time, the trainers use cues, like words or hand motions. The dog then gets a treat. 

Encouraging behaviors with rewards is called positive reinforcement. Dogs quickly learn that reacting in certain ways to cues earns them treats. Next, the trainers lengthen the time between the behaviors and rewards. Eventually, dogs do the tricks on cue without treats.

According to Gerosky, any dog can be trained—if the trainer makes it fun. “If the dogs love what they’re doing, they’re going to do amazing things,” she says. 

Dogs can be easily distracted by new scents in their environment, thanks to their keen sense of smell. That’s why Gerosky always gives dogs time to sniff around a new set. “That’s how they learn about their surroundings,” she says. 

During filming, trainers give the dogs cues from off camera so the pups know what to do in a scene. Some scenes call for the dogs to play with the actors. That can be hard for older dogs that are used to following cues. But the puppies on Puppy Place were eager to play!

That was fine with the show’s human performers, like 10-year-old Riley Looc, who plays Charles. “I spent most of my free time playing with the puppies!” he says.