Amanda Teixeira
Dog training is a long process. There are always days when training with the dog just doesn’t work out. Before you get discouraged, we have 7 promising tips for you so that the exercises are firmly in place.
Dog training should not only be successful, it should also be fun for dog and owner. With these 7 tips for daily training you can do both!
End when it’s most beautiful
Everything is going like clockwork, the dog is enthusiastic about it and you are cheering inside? Then set a time goal. You shouldn’t challenge your four-legged partner for more than 15 minutes at a time, even if he doesn’t show any signs of fatigue. Otherwise you risk a sudden drop in performance or unhealthy heating up. End the training with something positive, such as a game session or a cuddle.
Wrong ambition is harmful
Learning and internalizing something new takes time. If your dog understands something and promptly follows the command, don’t take it one step further. Let him and yourself enjoy what you have just learned. A few routine exercises that he has already mastered are better. Then repeat your lesson with him and be happy if he remembers it.
Back to the start is often good
Is your dog unfocused, restless, distracted by everything around him? And you notice that he doesn’t really listen when you ask him to do something complicated or new? Then it’s best to take a little break from training (he might just need to loosen up) before starting again, but this time with exercises that give him a sense of achievement.
Not always a treat
Going to training with a hungry dog is just as inconvenient as going to one with a full stomach. A larger meal should last at least two hours. He should have fasted for a maximum of six hours beforehand so that he doesn’t only think about the treats you’re carrying with you. You shouldn’t keep handing it to him after every exercise you’ve completed.
Take turns, because there are also other possibilities for positive reinforcement: sometimes there is verbal praise, sometimes a short petting, sometimes a toy that he can follow, catch and fetch, and always something tasty in between. This way you avoid the dog demanding his reward (not his confirmation) at some point.
Never from zero to one hundred
We humans live by the clock. When there is class, we start on time. The dog ticks differently. First he wants to sniff around, get his bearings and, above all, get blood flowing through his muscles and clear his head. You offer him the best conditions for this if you run a few hundred meters with him before you start your training session, treat him to petting and thus concentrate on himself. This increases his desire for “more”, even if the more is exercises.
Doubly motivated
You really don’t feel like training and exercises? Then don’t. Your bad mood is automatically transferred to the dog, which correctly interprets your facial expressions and body language. You’ll also be more impatient if you work with the dog just out of a sense of duty. The same applies, by the way, if you feel unwell. The exercises will only work if both you and the dog are motivated.
Variety in training
Add variety to the “sit,” “down,” “stay,” and “here” exercises, especially during monotonous obedience exercises. Getting the dog from running to ‘sit’, then back to ‘stand’ or ‘down’, letting it go from ‘down’ to ‘sit’, from running fast to calling a leisurely ‘heel’, challenges him mentally and prevents him from doing the 08/15 training in a bored and ever more flippant way. Feel free to reverse the usual routine. Take turns!