One of the biggest excuses I hear from people all the time is “I just don’t have time to train my dog”. We have collectively made this concept of dog training a daunting and into a formalized task where you are either totally committed or you just can’t seem to find the time to start so you don't do anything. I want you to understand, dogs are learning all the time. You can have a wonderfully behaved dog without formal obedience training. Using some simple environmental changes and small steps you can achieve big goals.
Professional dog trainers see and consciously reinforce desirable behaviors throughout the course of our day through simple interactions. Most dog trainers actually don’t go to formal training classes. Yes, they have the skill set to work on building wonderfully desirable behaviors at home but they have made dog training a part of their lifestyle just like people who read, eat well and exercise through conscious effort and being present.
Everyone loves their dogs, that’s a given, but not many dog guardians are savvy on how to reinforce behaviors as they occur in real-time. The key is to capture great behaviors when they happen naturally. Unfortunately, the majority of feedback dogs get during the day is if they are doing something undesirable. We say things like “NO BARK”, “DON’T JUMP”, and “STOP PULLING”! This just doesn’t work. First and foremost the non-verbal dog has no idea what most of these quasi-commands mean (unless you have actually gone through the process of teaching them with lots of repetitions) and can we all stop naming negative behaviors, how the hell do you reinforce your dog if he does stop barking, by saying “good, no bark”? Perfect dog behavior gets ignored while undesirable behavior gets all of our attention.
I always ask people, "Are you in the mindset of building behavior or are you trying to stop behavior"? Consider how drastically this shift in approach could change your relationship with your dog. When your dog performs something undesirable it’s ok if say “NO, knock it off”, whatever your natural reaction is, then ask yourself, what do I want instead? So if your dog jumps up to look for food on the table and your yell, “NO!”, then pause and think of something you would like, try “go to your bed”, point to the bed, help him target it, when your dog gets settled on his bed, “good dog, thank you”. Toss him a treat! Teach your dog to beg for that food but from 10 feet away laying quietly on his bed. This much more acceptable behavior earns the same outcome (getting the food) and a stronger relationship based on clear communication.
Rewarding behavior gets repeated and repetition is the language of behavior. So, consider something that feels like a difficult task to train, like not pulling the leash. Teach your dog to walk on a loose leash. First, teach your dog what this concept means. The same way you taught your dog to sit (most likely luring him with food until his head moved upward and his butt fell to the ground, then repeated enough times for him to build the association to the cue “sit”). Walk back and forth in front of your house using his breakfast as a reinforcing reward. Hand feeding him for following you around, maybe he's only earning food when he finds himself on your left side. YOU DON’T NEED TO GO FOR A ONE-HOUR WALK! If you don’t like the way your dog walks on a leash, stop walking your dog. If you let your dog pull you down the street every day you are training him to pull on walks, every single day and it’s extremely reinforcing. Instead, could you exercise your dog with play in the backyard or drive to the park and give some free time and just use leash walking as a training exercise?
I always say, “8 is GREAT”! If you could train your dog for 8 focused minutes (preferably twice a day, morning and evening), you will have a dog who can walk on a leash much faster than if you wait to train one day a week in an hour-long dog obedience class. Before you know it you are walking around the block, then the neighborhood, then one day... the world (or just slightly further in your own community).
Short, frequent sessions can actually help you make progress with your training fater than long training sessions and as a bonus, this can have huge benefits on your own physical and mental health. You may find this concept of consciously working on building a behavior together, rather than trying to stop the behavior will change the relationship with your dog. You will enjoy your dog more and appreciate your time together even more.
If you are trying to make any major changes in your own life and you want to focus on your own well-being your dog can help. Now that these short frequent sessions are starting to pay off your frequency of how often you are willing to just go for a walk may increase. Pro-tip, ditch the phone and really connect with your companion. Activities that make your body work at twice your resting rate are proven to give you health benefits. Little movements like training or playing with your dog could help you with your health goals. These movements all add up. This sounds great but how do you make this a habit which you are willing and able to do as a long-term practice?
Time is one of the biggest barriers. Training your dog cannot become one more thing you have to do in an already busy day because you will not want to do it. Many people fail to build a routine because they feel like they don’t have the time and energy to do it daily. Let’s consider the activities you engage in with your dog on a daily basis already. Feeding, walking, petting, and playing. Could you make these interactions training opportunities? Feeding for example is a great one. When you go to feed your dog hold the bowl up high. Ask your dog to sit and wait, if he comes forward for the bowl as you are setting it down, pick it up. If he waits, then build in a release cue like “OK”, over time your dog will become patient and learn this impulse control based on the context cues of the food bowl. This activity is functionally reinforcing behavior. If he waits patiently, he gets to eat faster. Simple.
Motivation is a huge key when you set a training goal. If your priority is to stop an unwanted behavior, or not to feel embarrassed in public you may fail to keep building and improving your routine. But if you can make improving your relationship and communication your motivation each interaction will reinforce you as well. If you are getting something out of the immediate interaction, you see and feel the mutually beneficial advantage of training your dog. These small changes can be a sea change in building desirable behaviors. It’s important to understand when interacting with your dog, everything counts.