Over the years I have worked with hundreds of clients here at “I Said Sit!” School for Dogs. We help lay the foundation and make progress toward goals in our training programs, and in many cases, we completely achieve the goals.
However, even the best progress can unravel quickly if it isn’t maintained back at home. While every case is different, there are common denominators of what can help and what can harm the work.
Keep training sessions brief
This will ensure that you’re consistent. You’ll be less prone to practice at all if you think of it as this big chunk of time you must set aside for training. Luckily, dogs learn best in short, fun sessions. It is a win-win scenario! You’re better off doing 4 sessions that are 3 minutes long than doing one session that is thirty minutes long. So instead of not watching your television program, you can do the training during the commercials!
Use real-life rewards
You don’t have to go out of your way to set up training scenarios. The dog’s life is filled with various people, places and things he or she enjoys. These can be used as reinforcers for desirable behavior. In this context, the entire world every day can be used to naturally help you meet your goals.
Make a list of what your dog likes and make a list of what behavior you need from your dog. To earn something from your dog’s wish list, he or she must at least perform a baby step toward something from your list of acceptable behavior.
Manage the situation
This is the flip side of the coin to the above “real-life rewards” paragraph. Managing can mean preventing the dog from getting it all for free, thereby reducing motivation to change. Pick up the food bowl. Stop subconsciously petting your dog every time she solicits it. Budget the resources.
Managing also means preventing the dog from self-rewarding while practicing unwanted behavior. Your dog gets its own thrill from barking at the fence. No more front yard for now. Counter surfing to help himself? No more untethered in the kitchen for now. Jumping on people at the door for the love of contact? Your dog is on leash or restricted from the door for now.
Make a list of all the things your dog can do on his or her own that thrill your dog but aren’t acceptable. Next, make a list of how you can prevent those actions from happening.
Independence training
To “manage the situation” as mentioned above, you’ll need to practice independence training. Worried dogs don’t learn well. Over-stimulated dogs don’t learn well. Dogs without boundaries don’t respect boundaries, but they become pushy and devalue your input. Independence training helps alleviate anxiety, aggression, house destruction, potty accidents, over-alert noise reactivity, and attention seeking behavior.
Whether it be crate, pen, tether or baby gate, help your dog to learn to be calm while separated from the action. Even if you work from home or your dog is an emotional support animal – actually, especially in those cases – practice independence training.
Avoid the dog park and cage free day care
One of the easiest ways to undo your work, is to take your dog to a canine version of “Lord of the Flies.” I do know of a couple of well managed cage free day cares, and for well-adjusted dogs they are decent places. However, if your dog has issues with impulsivity, reactivity, on- or off-leash aggression, resource guarding, fear, housebreaking, focus, or rough play, then even a well-managed cage free day care may undo your efforts.
Dog parks are generally brimming with untrained, ill-mannered dogs and often inattentive owners, or owners that cannot tell the difference between “submissive” and terrified. Not to mention parasites. While observing dog body language at local dog parks for a weekend back when I was preparing for one of my certifications, I saw more fights (and bad habits forming) than I’ve seen in over 8,000 hours of on- and off-leash canine work since that time.
In summary
Only one of the above tips involves taking up time, and in that case it only in 3 or 4-minute increments a handful of times per day. The other items involve making changes to your routine without necessarily adding to your schedule. Lack of time is not an excuse.
You may need help matching the above general solutions to your specific family. If you’ve already worked with us here at “I Said Sit!” School for Dogs, you already have your individualized outline. If you are just getting started on the path to a solution, give us a call for a consultation.
We’ll help you keep it simple!
