The Cold Hard Truth of Dog Training

The Cold Hard Truth of Dog Training
By Christen Cupler

Smarty Paws K9 University LLC

I have been training dogs professionally for over 10 years now. I started in a retail pet store running classes, and it grew mundane. Minimal class offerings, corporate rules, wearing too many hats, and no real income to be made. I branched out on my own in 2013 while still working in retail there and began to see the advantages of working for myself.

I eventually left the big-box store and went full scale on my own. It’s been touch and go, particularly in the last few months due to the coronavirus pandemic, but my clients are slowly booking their remaining classes and lessons. New clients will hopefully start flowing in soon.

My point to this is not to bore you with my story but to give you some inside dog-training info. I don’t know many people who’ve never had a dog. I also know many people with differing opinions on how to raise and train a dog. So what’s the correct way? How are you supposed to know the right way when there’s a dog trainer everywhere you look.

We’re everywhere, and we each have our training methods. The question is, will your dog trainer’s methods work? The answer to that is simple. Are you willing to employ those methods daily and commit to practicing with your dog continually throughout its life?

The answer to that question will help you choose a training method and ensure it works. Think about anything in your life: workouts, diets, savings, etc. If you don’t employ the methods you used to accomplish your goals, even if you achieve them, they won’t last if you stray from the routines that got you there.

Here’s a fun fact about dog training that everyone needs to know: It’s not your dog trainer’s job to teach your dog. You may be asking yourself, “what am I paying for, then?”

Again, there’s a simple answer: You’re paying your trainer to share their knowledge and skillset with you. Most trainers train by explanation (explaining what they will be showing ), demo (showing you with your dog or a dog how to do a command), and practice (having the pet parent practice what they learned).

You have the dog seven days a week, and we typically have them for an hour a week. Your practice and commitment is the only way those lessons are going to imprint fully on your dog. If you don’t practice between your sessions, that’s not your trainer’s fault, and you’ve wasted money.

I hear ALL the time, I did training with my dog, but it didn’t work. That’s false. Your trainer trained your dog, but you didn’t work on what you learned. Or the dog works great for the trainer but not me. Dogs work better for trainers because we have years of experience and understand how to communicate what we want out of the dog fluently.

Learning this fluency takes practice – just like your dog needs to practice what we are teaching them. Communication and body language is critical when working with dogs. Yes, they learn some words over time, but dogs communicate with body language and very few sounds.

As humans, we have a terrible habit of over-talking to our dogs. Talking to your dog to keep it engaged is great, but we must realize they don’t understand full sentences. Simple words, phrases, and noises are the best means of communication with them.

A perfect example of over-talking a dog – and my biggest pet-peeve:

Trainer: “OK, id like to see you run your dog through some commands. Let’s do sit.”

Pet Parent: “OK, Fido, Fido, Fido, can you sit for mommy? Sit, sit, sit. No, I need you to sit. Sit, sit, sit (dog sits but immediately gives its paw out of confusion). OK, that was close enough. Good boy (gives treat).”

I get the point and understand to some degree, but the issue is your dog doesn’t understand. All those extra words and the frantic sound in your voice aren’t helping. Instead, they make the dog think, “Oh my goodness, what in the world does this human want me to do. I just don’t understand. Well, let’s try this and see if it works.”

When the dog gives the paw and receives a reward, it thinks, “nice, i got the treat. She wanted my paw! Yay me!”

Dogs need a level of guidance and fluency to help them understand things properly and learn the behaviors we want. Yes, the dog followed the “sit” command, but the problem lies in the fact that:

🐾 The rapid name use and frantic sound as you plead sends an unnecessary sense of something being wrong
🐾 The use of “sit, sit, sit” taught him that the cue (word) for this position is “sit, sit, sit” and not “sit.”
🐾 Rewarding after the paw negates the “sit” command. When this happens, a simple ah-ah (remote correct) and holding back the treat reminds them that the behavior you wanted was a sit. Typically, the dog will put the paw down upon hearing the correction, and you can then reward for the sit. If they repeat the paw, repeat the correction until you can offer the treat without the dog offering the paw.

You must execute all your commands this way. Short, clear, precise, and confident. Along with proper follow-through on the command. This follow-through means you correct the dog deliver a “sit” command, but it sits then drops into a down. Make the dog sit back up before rewarding it.

Now, I need you to think about your dog inside versus your dog outside and remember this tidbit: Dogs don’t generalize well. They don’t understand the “sit” command at home is the same as when you’re out on a walk and a stranger approaches with baby talk. This is where your dog needs extra help. Help your dog by showing the reward. You can even lure if you need to help the dog along.

All dogs will progress at different levels and will understand these things over time. The key is remembering it’s our job to teach them what we expect. They are only capable of learning what we teach and reinforce. If we aren’t clear on what we do and don’t want and don’t test them on what they’ve learned, they will forget what they’ve learned.

No matter what you’ve spent on training, that’s your lifetime responsibility, and no one else’s.