How to set realistic dog training goals
You’ve probably heard the folk wisdom that most people don’t keep their New Year’s resolutions - and this 2021 study confirms it! The researchers found that when people listed very general or vague resolutions, they had a harder time keeping them. They suggested that people might have more success reaching their goals if their New Year’s resolutions were more specific. (And don’t worry, this all relates back to dog training!)
So for example, say someone sets the New Year’s resolution “eat healthier.” That might sound specific, but it’s actually pretty vague. What exactly does “eating healthier” look like? How do they plan to achieve that goal? Without setting clear and specific goals, the person might be left feeling frustrated and abandon their resolution a few weeks into the new year.
Here’s a much more specific, clear goal: “Cook a healthy meal at home five times per week.” Next, how are they actually going to reach this goal? Their list could include: signing up for a meal prep kit service, taking a healthy cooking online course, or restocking their pantry so healthy ingredients are always available. See the difference? Everything is so much more specific - you can actually visualize it in your head!
Moving on to dog training! The same principles apply. As a new year approaches, guardians might be thinking of training goals they want to set with their dog. Or if they’re expecting a new puppy or rescue dog, they might be brainstorming all the things they want their pup to learn.
But let’s pump the brakes for second. Very general, vague goals don’t work for New Year’s resolutions, and they sure don’t work for dog training! Let’s look at the difference between an unrealistic and realistic dog training goal.
By now, hopefully you realize “I want a trained dog” is way too vague a goal (if only we could just say the words and it magically came true)! But even something like “I want my dog to come when called” is still too vague. Let’s get more specific: Do you want your dog to come when called at the off-leash dog park, when it’s bustling with other dogs? If so, boom, there’s your more specific goal! Now we’re going to break down that big goal into a series of smaller goals.
An educated dog trainer helps you break down your goals to make them achievable for you and your dog. They understand that if you don’t work with an incremental training plan (something actually written down, not made up as they go along) you will most likely end up frustrated with your dog’s lack of progress. They want to see you and your dog succeed, and to get there they start with something your dog can do right now and gradually increase the level of difficulty.
Here’s how I, a credentialed dog trainer, would help my clients teach their dog recall (coming when called). The first step in my training plan would be something extremely easy for the dog, something he can already do, such as “Recall from a few feet away.” I’d coach my clients on picking a unique word that they use just for recall, such as “Cheese!” I’d also coach them on paying their dog heavily for each recall - that means lots of high-value food, not a single dry cookie!
Once the dog is reliably recalling from a few feet away, we’d move on to a slightly more difficult step. The next few steps in the training plan might be:
Recall from across the room
Recall from another room
Recall from the other end of the house
We’d go through the steps of the plan until we’ve achieved the behaviour we were after all along: The dog doing a recall at the off-leash dog park, in the presence of other dogs!
It may feel like that’s a lot of steps to go through for a simple recall, but slow is the new fast in dog training. If you set the bar too high for your dog and ask them to do things they haven’t learned yet, chances are they won’t do it and you’ll be back at step one, with a dog who doesn’t come when called (or whatever behaviour you’re trying to train).
Back to setting realistic goals: Just like with New Year’s resolutions like “get healthy,” the more specific and realistic your goal, the better chance you’ll have of actually achieving it. Breaking down bigger dog training goals into smaller, bite-sized chunks is the way to go - you will end up reaching your goal faster. Make training easier for you and your dog! And remember to celebrate all the little wins along the way.
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