Luvk9s Dog Training
Set your dog up for success
Positive reinforcement trainers often remind clients to “set their dog up for success.”
What does this cliche mean?
Set your dog up for success by teaching your dog new skills and behaviors clearly and consistently. Increase difficulty in a fair and structured manner. And if your dog is in a really challenging situation, don’t let him fail. Provide motivation and guidance to encourage him to do the right thing.
Timing
Dog trainer Ralf Weber noted that timing is “the difference between making it better or making it worse.”
If your timing is off, you may confuse your dog by inadvertently rewarding the wrong behavior.
A perfect example is teaching the sit/stay. Your dog should be rewarded while remaining in the sit/stay. I have often observed students rewarding the dog when released from the sit/stay which sends a conflicting message to the dog. Is he being rewarded for staying or getting up to get the treat?
Moving too quickly
It’s tempting to move along too quickly when things are going well. Just because your dog has a perfect recall inside your home doesn’t mean that skill will immediately transfer to coming when called at the dog park.
Set your dog up for success by practicing in different locations and adding distance and distractions slowly and thoughtfully. Practice in every room inside your house first. Next, practice on your deck; next might be your fenced-in yard and then your driveway using a long line.
Start out with short distances at first and slowly work up to longer distances. Reward generously every time your dog comes when called. And practice, practice, practice!
Moving too quickly may result in a frustrated dog and a set-back in training.
Be consistent
Everyone interacting with your dog needs to be consistent
It’s not fair to get angry at your dog for begging at the table when he occasionally does get fed from the table. It’s unreasonable to get angry at your dog for jumping on visitors when that behavior is sometimes allowed (and encouraged). It’s confusing when your dog is sometimes allowed on the couch, and other times isn’t.
Quit while you’re ahead
It’s tempting to keep challenging your dog when it seems like he understands what you want. You might have just taught your dog to sit/stay and decide to start adding distance. While it is tempting to see how far you can go on the first attempt, don’t. If you move too quickly, your dog may become confused and frustrated. It’s better to move slowly and stop while you’re ahead.
Don’t overdo it
When you finally have success teaching a behavior, reward generously and stop. Resist the temptation to practice the behavior a dozen more times.
While working as after-care coordinator at a local service dog organization, I got a call that one of our newly placed service dogs was refusing to jump up on the wall with his two front feet to turn the light switch on/off using his mouth. Turns out that the adorable young boy who the dog was matched with thought this was such a cool “trick” that he had the dog do it over and over and over again until the dog refused to do it one more time. (Yes, we were eventually able to fix this.)
Formula for success
Set your dog up for success by not giving him the opportunity to fail. If your dog won’t come when called, make it easier for him to succeed by shortening the distance between the two of you. If your dog looks like he is going to jump up on a friend who is walking towards you, shorten your leash and ask him to sit. If your dog has a history of counter surfing, don’t leave anything on the counter for him to grab. Successful and rewarding training sessions are a great way to strengthen the bond with your dog and keep him sharp.