How to develop an effective & practical training program for dogs

We’ve all done it, got a new puppy, taught it to sit or perhaps give a paw and then stopped teaching anything else and in effect stopped any training. It’s no surprise that the dog starts to do its own leaning, as of yet I’ve struggled to find a dog that has read the book on how to behave impeccably, so don’t be surprised if some of this self-taught behaviour includes jumping up or not returning when called.

Here are some useful tips to enable you to incorporate an effective training program into your busy lifestyles.

Plan what you are going to do

Schedule in an exact time when you plan to carry out some training. Scheduling will enable the training to become part of your daily rituals, like

putting the bins out. Be precise with exactly what you plan to do. Rather than just say ‘train the do’, which can lead to uncertainty about what you are trying to achieve, try saying, improve the sit command by carrying out in a new place, try to get 3 successful sits in this environment.

Train with small steps

You generally know how you want your dog to behave, i.e. come when called, chill when visitors come to the house, sit when asked, but to reach these goals, unless you have a dog that can speed read the book on good dog behaviour, it is unlikely that you will achieve this in a few days. Most start off with good intentions but give up after a while having achieved a basic sit and the odd recall. Training doesn’t have to be extensive long periods until you and your dog get it right, indeed this can lead to the dog becoming bored, not enjoying training and generally being less responsive to your commands. To avoid this, break your training down into small chunks. Plan what you hope to achieve in 5-minute pieces (sometimes less if it’s a young puppy). It may be something as simple as increasing the duration of a stay or increasing the distance by a couple of feet when you give a command, whatever it is break it down, take it slowly and set the dog up to succeed and most of all, make it fun!

Never miss an opportunity

It is pouring with rain outside, your plan to do some sit and stay training in the garden has been thrown out of the wet windows! It could be raining the next day and the day after that, so in effect you are breaking the training consistency, which, studies have shown, reduces successful results. Try to ensure you build a training habit, even if it involves a slight alteration from your original plan. Like a good dog owner you are still going to venture out in to the rain so ensure the dog sits by the door before exiting and perhaps get them to stay for a few seconds whilst you put your wellies on.