You might think that your big actions are the most important to your dog when training him. What you tell your dog to do during your training session should have the biggest impact on his behavior, right? In reality—and if you’ve trained a dog to do anything, you already know this—it’s the little things that really make the biggest impact on your dog’s behavior. You shape your dog’s behaviors, sometimes without even really realizing why you are doing it.
One of the most important things that you can do that far too few owners remember to do is to be consistent. Say, for example, that you want to teach your dog to drop a toy at your feet so you can throw it for him again. Maybe your dog is a little too mouthy when you try to take the toy from his teeth. He retrieves the dog and every time he brings it to you and drops it, you say, “Drop it!” and give him a treat and a pat on the head. Four times in a row, you ask him to drop it, he does, and he is rewarded. He’s learned the command, right? On the fifth time, you don’t give him the praise or the treat.
Now he’s confused. What did he do wrong? Dogs thrive on consistency. They learn what we want from them by trying behaviors and seeing how we respond. If we are not consistent in our responses, they will not understand what we want them to do and will just become frustrated Instead of immediately stopping rewards when you believe your dog has learned what you want him to learn, you need to carefully wean him from those rewards. You’ll still be consistent and your dog will still learn the behavior you want him to learn.
There are other small mistakes that can seriously impact the overall efficacy of your training program. For example, if you go for long stretches of time without any training, your dog will begin to sink into auto-pilot. They might still perform the behaviors you want him to perform, but if his training is not consistently reinforced, he is going to forget how to do the things you wanted him to do. Dogs need practice as much as we do. For example, if you were taught how to golf, and then didn’t golf for a full year, you probably wouldn’t remember much about how to properly golf the next time you had to. Don’t let your training lapse! Either only teach commands that you are actually going to use for your dog or find a way to reinforce commands that you might not need as often.
It is also important to practice commands under a variety of different conditions. If you only teach your dog to sit and stay in the quiet and calm of your own backyard, she is unlikely to still follow those commands out in the world, where there are lots of distractions. You need to vary your environment so she gets used to listening to you and doing what she’s told, no matter the distractions.
Good luck, and keep enjoying life with your best friend!
