The Truth About Your Dog's Training Progress | Pupford
28 Comments Filed under pup parenting+ training
Dog training isn't always ups and "forward progression"... it actually usually consists of a LOT of setbacks, challenges, and "dips" in behavior. But truthfully, that is to be expected!
Remember that not every technique will work for your dog, and that sometimes your dog may just be having an off day when we ask for a behavior.
In fact, sometimes training will look more like this:
But there are things that we can do to improve your pup's behavior over time to experience more peaks than valleys.
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5 POWERFUL TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR PUP'S BEHAVIOR
TIP #1- SET GOALS
Most things worth accomplishing in life take a lot of hard work. In my life, I've seen the most success with my dog's behavior when I've set goals.
I don't typically like focusing goals on 'behavior growth' necessarily, but more on how often you'll train, how long you'll train, and what behaviors you will work on.
If you set SMART goals (look that up if you aren't familiar with it 😃), you'll find that you'll become more consistent with training. And in my experience, staying consistent (more on that later) is one of the most vital ways to help your dog's behavior see more growth than setbacks!
Related Reading: 21 Dog Training Mistakes
TIP #2- TRACK PROGRESS
Part of setting goals is keeping track of progress. Plus, keeping track of your dog's progress can help you visualize the growth that is occurring.
In the Pupford App, you can rate your dog's behaviors so that you have a snapshot of where your dog stands with different behaviors like recall, leash walking, and more!
Again, tracking progress will help you understand more thoroughly how your dog is actually progressing!
TIP #3- VIEW BEHAVIOR AS A WHOLE
If you're feeling down about a specific behavior your dog is struggling with, remember to look at your dog's behavior as a whole.
While your dog may be struggling with jumping, for example, find the good things your dog is doing and focus on those. And what you'll realize is that your dog's "behavior" is likely better than you're giving your dog credit for!
TIP #4- STAY CONSISTENT
The key to pushing through your dog's behavior setbacks is consistency.
Training takes a lot of effort over an extended period of time. And it can't just be for a few days or weeks... it takes consistent effort! Even if you only train for 5-10 minutes per day, that's better than nothing!
Plus, the more consistent you are with training your dog the more quickly you will be able to overcome the setbacks and 'dips' in progression.
TIP #5- BE PATIENT
Even more important than consistency is patience! Staying patient with your puppy is vital.
Often as pup parents, we put timelines in our head as to how quickly our dog should learn a certain behavior... that is a mistake.
Not only do you need to be patient with your dog's progress, but you need to be patient with yourself. Raising a dog can be hard work, so remember to cut yourself some slack and be patient with results!
What else has helped you overcome setbacks in your dog's behavior and training? Let me know in the comments!
28 comments
Leave a CommentI have a five month old border collie. He is doing something that someone told me is called shadow dancing. He goes around the house pouncing like a deer and barking and moving on to a corner of the neck, space and pouncing and barking he can go on for half an hour he is so loud it is unbelievable, he will not focus on me at all when he is doing this, he generally will come very well at this point if I have some thing in my hand of course I don’t know what to do about this behavior
Help! My dog pulls so hard when I am trying to walk her. She’s a chiwawa mix. She only weighs 18pd but I almost fell on my face when she saw another dag. I’m so discouraged. I will not walk her now.
Ann
5 month old Max has exceed all trying. Sit, stay, stop jumping, shake hands. Walking with leash. Potty trained. Etc. Very proud of him.
Thank you for your help. Ann
Yes so true
We adopted a dog 4 1/2 months ago. He is about 9 months old now. We rescued him from animal control. He is mostly Australian Shepherd and very smart, but lately he is really struggling with sleep and it is making me lose a lot of sleep as well as my husband. He was supposed to sleep in his crate in our room next to my side of the bed. When he would wake up around 5 am and need to use the bathroom I would take him out and sleep outside for about an hour. until my alarm went off. Lately we have been trying with opening the crate door so he can sleep on a rug in our room or even on the bed if he chooses (because he wasn’t chewing as much). The problem is, he just doesn’t sleep at night lately. He will go through his kong and lick mat or bone, then he will whine, and if I don’t get up he will sleep for about an hour or two, then wake and whine again. This goes on all night with him waking every hour or so and waking my husband and I every hour or so.