Training at Home
Putting Together a 5-minute Training Session
Training Tips
Much of the training you do at home will occur during every day interactions with your dog. For example, when your dog jumps up, you should turn your back, fold your arms and reward him with attention only when all four of his feet are on the floor. Be conscious of all your interactions with your dog! Make an effort to reward behavior you like and avoid rewarding behavior you don’t like.
In addition, devoting a few minutes a day to a training session is invaluable. Many of the techniques we are teaching in class require you to develop new skills, such as timing, reading your dog and simultaneously juggling clicker, treats and leash. The ultimate goal, besides a better-behaved dog, is for you and your dog to learn to communicate effectively. Training sessions allow you and your dog to focus exclusively on each other. For this week, try to build a habit of at least one short training session per day.
Rules for training at home:
* One trainer and one dog at a time.
* Be prepared. Have your rewards, such as soft stinky treats, ready and decide what you are going to work on before you begin.
* Set your dog up to win. Progress comes from building on successes.
* If your dog is not “getting it,” change something you are doing.
* Keep it short, keep it happy and always end on a high note.
A session that ends with both of you happy is a successful session!
Putting Together a 5-minute Training Session
How to get started:
* Find a place to train where you and your dog can be alone. Spectators are allowed only if they promise to sit down and be quiet. Other dogs in your home should wait their turn outside the training area.
* Get your treats ready. Positive reinforcement methods require positive reinforcements. Treats should be small, soft and something your dog is willing to work for. You can put treats in a bowl on a table, put them in your pocket or in a fanny pack.
* Pick a few behaviors to work on before you begin and decide what you will click for. Help your dog choose the behavior you want, by luring or by limiting his choices, and reward him when he gets it right. He can’t succeed if you’re not clear in your own mind on what you want. On the other hand, be ready to ask for an easier behavior if your lure fails or if he never offers the behavior you have in mind. For your next training session, pick different behaviors to work on. This keeps it interesting for both you and your dog. Avoid making training sessions into repetitive exercise drills.
* Set your dog up to win. Click and treat frequently to keep your dog in the game; the learning comes when he is getting it right. If you do not get an opportunity to click and treat within 30 seconds or a minute, ask for an easier behavior. Then assess what is wrong (see below) and try to fix it. Repeated failures, such as when your dog is not responding to your first cue, may establish a pattern in the dog’s mind of behavior you don’t want.
* Keep it short, keep it happy and always end on a high note. A good training session has a beginning, a middle and an end. Begin with a few easy behaviors your dog already knows, so you can give a few clicks and treats right away. Then spend a few minutes on learning a new behavior or improving an old one. End the session on a success – go back to a known behavior if you need to – then give a big reward and let your dog know the session is over. Following a training session with play, a meal or a walk is a nice plus.
The whole session may last less than 5 minutes - don’t keep going so long that your dog loses interest in the game. A tiny amount of progress in any individual session is all you need. Add up all the tiny steps and you will soon see very big changes.
If you are getting frustrated, try again later. Continuing will do more harm than good. What is most important is that both you and your dog enjoy the process, so you are motivated to train again the next day.
* Having problems? Does your dog seem anxious, confused or disinterested?
If anxious, don’t lean over your dog, use a softer tone of voice and don’t gesture or click right in his face.
If confused, make sure you click precisely when you see the behavior you want and that you click for the same behavior each time.
If disinterested, try better treats or a place with fewer distractions. Another possibility is that you need to improve your timing. Once your dog understands this is a game worth winning, he will be interested.
Article courtesy of Dumb Friends League
Reproduced by permission
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