I was just reminded of this recently - after writing about - Stop Stopping, Start Doin. It was originally posted in 2014 (gee where does the time go...) after reading an article called The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Business Web Sites by 'That Wordy Bird', thank you!
...which made me think about:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Dog Training!
1. Start Late
2. Don't do your homework
3. Only practice in 1 place
4. Don't mix business with pleasure
5. Work too hard
6. Pay too much
7. Use Punishment.
Hey, I thought I'd just leave the list like that. It certainly makes amusing reading as a list. But just in case this is taken the wrong way - remember, these are the 7 Deadly Sins. The only thing you'll guarantee if you followed that list would be that you'd certainly need a behaviourist for your 18 month old mad puppy.
Now, that would perhaps mean more business heading toward our Pawsability Dog Behaviourist, but it wouldn't be very useful for you, now, with your new puppy.
So, let's revisit the list again.
1. Start Late
Traditional dog trainers said that puppies couldn't be trained until they were 6 months old. That's a lot of brain time to learn bad habits. Puppies are perfectly trainable using modern reward based methods at 3 weeks of age, and certainly at 7 weeks old when you get them home from the breeder. Start teaching your puppy how to sit and that it's good to come to you as soon as you get them home. You'll be hard-wiring the training, and it will put you in a good place with later learning.
2. Don't do your homework
Many people take their puppies to class and come home and think that's it til next week! Go on - be honest! Well practice makes perfect and just a couple of minutes a few times a day, practicing your kind, rewarding training will make you the star of the class and the dog-park.
3. Only practice in 1 place
Something else that's often overlooked is that practice is only done in the class and in the living room. Sadly, puppies and dogs just don't learn that way. They need to be taught what it is that you want them to do, in many different places. So practice in the house, but in various different rooms, and then in the garden, then a different place in the garden, and in the dog park, the woods and the beach.
4. Don't mix business with pleasure
Dogs just want to have fun. So really mix up play time with training time. Play fetch, and throw in some sits and downs before the next fetch. And have fun out on walks by keeping your dog or puppy engaged with you, by doing random recalls, sits, and downs. Give your dog a reason to pay you attention when they're out and about. Otherwise they'll just find a way to amuse themselves.
5. Work too hard
Training a pet dog or puppy is best worked on for a few minutes several times a day. Setting aside an hour in the evening will most likely put you and your dog off the training excitement and fun. Fitting it into your every day life, whilst the kettles on, a minute before dinner, 2 minutes when out on a walk, takes up no time at all. What's great too is that randomly throwing wee bits of training in throughout the day helps build your dog's responsiveness to you, and his enjoyment from working with you. Training sessions that go on too long end up with a tired you and a tired dog. Always end whilst you both still want more.
6. Pay too much
Think about the value of your training treats. Use high value yummy treats when your dog is working hard, and a lesser value treat when they're not working so hard. e.g. kibble dog food treats in the living room should be fine, and perhaps tasty liver based treats are needed in the dog park. If you're using a high value treat in the living room, you have nothing left to raise the game value outside.
7. Use Punishment.
It goes without saying that physical punishment is bad - choke chains, pinning and pinch collars are just plain wrong. However, punishment is really also any time you tell your dog or puppy off. For instance, the best way to stop a retriever puppy retrieving is to tell them off when they bring your socks or pants to you. Instead, tell them they're good and encourage them to drop them in the laundry basket (if they can reach it)! If you find yourself telling your puppy or dog off, then take a step back and think - how are they managing to do that? How can I prevent it? If you're working on a training exercise, and they're getting it wrong all the time, then stop! Think about how your training could change so that your dog always gets it right. Ask for less? Be more clear with your signals? Ask for only 1 thing at a time? Use a higher value reward? Use a toy instead of a treat?
For help on training specific tasks such as recall or heel, please have a look at the author's web site - www.pawsability.co.uk
Go here to get helpful tips and advice direct to your mailbox
And avoid sinful dog training by working on these simple dog training guides:
How to stop a dog pulling
How to stop a dog barking
How to build a perfect recall
Anna Patfield