Three things I always try to do to make my training better. They can be hard but committing to do these things before you start will turn into a better session.
1. Never be in a hurry. I will break the simplest things down into even simpler pieces if the dog seems stuck. I want to take plenty of breaks when working on something that is emotionally or physically hard for the dog to do with simpler tasks. Don’t just ratchet stress up on the dog continuously through a session trying to push through some boundary in your mind. I don’t let the clock come into the equation. Slow and steady will win the race.
2. Stay calm. Even when the dog I’m working with is blowing up one of us needs to stay calm. If you can’t stay calm, if problems from the outside world are robbing that from you, it might be a good day to go walk outside without a dog that needs training, or without a dog. 🙂
3. No ego. Don’t worry about how the dog is making you look. This is the hardest part for me. If the dog is not doing great don’t take it personally, if the dog is doing great don’t take it personally. If you find yourself avoiding situations because they might make you look bad as a dog owner or dog trainer you are not taking advantage of the training opportunities you have. No dog is perfect, no owner or trainer is either.
Keeping these three points in mind will take you much farther than ignoring them, and your dog will be the better for it.
