Get the most out of your Training Sessions with your Dog!

As you may already know, I have five dogs at home. It takes some time and energy to train all five, but of course that’s what we chose! I always try to get the most out of my training sessions, to be as effective as possible. Hence today another blog in the Dog Training series, about how you can get the most out of your training sessions. Read on!

Understand your Dog

What exactly do I mean by this? Well, actually very simple: learn all you can about the body language of your dog, and of dogs in general. This way you can act faster when you see mild stress signals, for example.

In addition, part of understanding your dog is knowing what motivates him. Make a list of his favorite rewards, and don’t just focus on food. For example, create a Top 5 food rewards and a Top 5 game rewards. Number 5 is always a reward, but of lower value than the reward at number 4, and so on. By then training mainly with rewards at numbers 5, 4 and 3, you leave the rewards at numbers 2 and 1 for situations and exercises that your dog finds very difficult.

Consistency in your Training Sessions

It is sometimes said that dogs think in ‘black and white’, which means that dogs do not know nuance. Something is okay, or it’s not okay. Something is always allowed, or it is never allowed. If you allow something one time and then no longer the next day, it is extremely confusing for your dog. And confusion causes stress, and stress reduces learning ability. So be consistent in the signals/cues you use in your training, always use the same words. But also be consistent in the training itself! You will not achieve success if you train for a few hours once in a while, training for a shorter period every day (or a few times a week) is much more effective and consistent.

Positive Reinforcement

This approach is based on the idea that if you perform an action and receive a reward that you find pleasant, you will tend to repeat that action. Take, for example, the following scenario: you ask your dog to sit. The dog sits down, after which you treat him to a snack that he really likes. The next time you ask him to sit, chances are he will do so again because you have positively reinforced his behavior.

It is very important to know that the dog decides what a reward is, not you. You can of course offer him things, but he decides whether a particular snack or game is worth it. Think of it this way: imagine you’re a child, and your mother decides that to celebrate doing well at school, you’ll get a plate of Brussels sprouts for dinner. And you don’t like sprouts at all. Is it a reward then?

Avoid Overstimulation

I said it before: training for shorter periods at a time is usually better than training for very long periods at a time. During a training session that goes on for too long, your dog builds up too many stress hormones in his body, and his learning ability deteriorates. In addition, he is exposed to too many stimuli, which can lead to overstimulation. Then too, learning ability deteriorates, and numerous behavioral problems can arise in the longer term. Learn to recognize those early stress signals (see also this blog about Stress in Dogs) and stop training in time.

Rest is extremely important! For the body to be able to recover, but also to be able to mentally process what has been learned. So make sure that your dog can get enough rest between training sessions.

Make your Training Sessions Fun!

It’s a bit of a no-brainer, but I’ll mention it anyway: Make training fun! Make sure that both you and your dog enjoy it, so that you can last longer together. If one of the two doesn’t like it at all, the other’s enjoyment will eventually disappear as well. Introduce game elements into your training and take a break every now and then to do something else.

Keep track of the Progress

If you keep track of your dog’s progress in a training diary, for example, you can always fall back on previous successes when things aren’t going well during your training. You can see at a glance how far you have come, and that always gives a good feeling! You can also see earlier where you still have some work to do.

I have developed a PDF Journal that you can print out and put in a folder. You can write a lot of information there, including your progress in your training sessions. You can find these in my Etsy shop DogStore.