One of the keys to being successful in any training endeavor with your dog is preparing for success by taking all variables into consideration before you even get the treats out. There are several things we encourage our students to do before beginning a training session with their dog at home. The first step is setting training goals for yourself and your dog. After deciding on training goals, one of the most important things is the environment that you’re training in. The environment you’re working in can make or break your session! We always encourage our students and clients to start in their homes in the least distracting room they can find. Practicing behaviors at home before coming to class is very important. Why? Because the group class setting is VERY distracting and can be stressful as well.
Missy is a young Malti-Poo in one of our Family Dog Manners classes. She recently moved to her second home and her current pet parents are ensuring that they get started off on the right paw by joining our group classes! Missy had no training before they adopted her, so they were starting completely from scratch. Even with diligently following the instructions for their homework, Missy was struggling to keep up in class. She found the other dogs distracting and had a hard time performing behaviors she knew very well at home. In between working on behaviors, she was often trying to hop into her pet parents’ laps instead of settling down on her bed. We did our best the first few classes to set up her training space in such a way that she would have minimal distractions, but it wasn’t until week three that we got to the bottom of the issue…
It turns out that at home Missy spends most of her time relaxing on the couch or in the recliner! She even knows how to go to her chair on command. We discovered this as we were trying to figure out how to lure her into a down to prepare to teach Missy to go to her “place” on command. We discussed with her pet parents their goals for her and realized that for them, a key to having a successful relationship with their dog includes Missy spending much of her time her time on the couch! Well, how can we replicate this in class? I jumped up and grabbed two chairs to create a dog couch just for Missy. She immediately jumped onto the chairs and her anxiety and distraction visibly decreased. She was then able to perform many of the behaviors she was previously too distracted to do in class. She even followed a lure into a “down”, and then remained laying down calmly, taking in the class around her.
Akuna is a 5 year old pit bull mix who is also in our Family Dog Manners class. She is a calm, well mannered dog. It’s a pleasure to watch how well she and her pet mom work together. They always seem very in sync with each other. Part of our classes is starting from scratch with desired behaviors, so we begin with luring so that the dogs learn how to “sit” or “lay down” by thinking it through, not through anything else. Akuna is the star of each class, so I was surprised when I lured her into a down and she immediately popped back up!
I lured her down a few more times and was careful to quickly reward her between her feet to keep her from popping up, but with no success. She kept jumping back up to her feet. After about 5 tries her mom had a suggestion -maybe Akuna didn’t like the feeling of the painted concrete floor on her belly? It turns out that while Akuna is not from the Watauga Humane Society (where our classes are held), she was rescued from a similar shelter. We grabbed her blanket and spread it wide across the floor. I lured Akuna into a down one last time….and there she stayed! I was so proud of her pet mom for assessing the situation and quickly coming up with a simple environmental change that caused a major difference in her dog’s comfort and level of success in class.
It’s incredible the difference a simple change can make when you are working with your dog either at home or in a class setting. Be your dog’s best friend by studying them closely so you can pick up on things you may need to change to improve their environment and help them learn.
What are some simple changes you can make to your environment to help your dog be successful in your next training session?