Common Scenario: an owner has taught her 9 week old yellow lab how to sit for a few seconds in her living room. Well done, smart puppy! However, later on in the afternoon the same owner becomes frustrated when her little star will not hold his sit while greeting a friend outside a busy shopping mall.

Whoa!

Young puppies can easily learn a “sit” and hold for a few seconds (kindergarten level) however, it is a huge jump to expect him to hold this sit outside a busy urban mall (grade 12 level). This is setting them up for failure; no fun for a smart puppy. Your puppy can certainly get there with your help, as long as you increase your training in realistic increments so that your dog is always succeeding; extreme fun for an eager puppy!

We all know what it feels like to be learning a new skill and end up becoming frustrated, and even shutting down, when we are pushed beyond what we can absorb. Learning is a team effort but how fast the learning takes places is dependant on the student and demanding more than the student can handle is not fun for anybody.

So how do you know when to push your dog’s training? Trainer extraordinaire, Jean Donaldson, has an easy system called “push, drop, stick” (see Train Your Dog Like a Pro)

Start by thinking in repetitions of five. For example, if you are working on a ten second sit (time it or count to ten) with low level distraction (at home in your own kitchen) and standing directly in front of your dog, do this exact scenario five times.

After five repetitions, count how many times your dog was successful in holding a sit for 10 seconds. If he got 5 out of 5 correct, increase or “push” the training up a notch (e.g. try a 15 second sit). If he got only 0, 1 or 2 out of 5 correct, the lesson is too difficult so decrease or “drop” the training down a level (e.g. try for a 5 second sit). If he got 3 or 4 out of 5 correct, he’s only understanding part of the lesson. He’s not ready to be pushed yet he does not need to drop down a level either, so stay at the same level and complete another round of five x 10 second sits.

Using the “push, drop, stick” system keeps us objective so training progress is also objective and you won’t be pressured to expect more simply because you want to show off your puppy’s new skill to a crowd of friends!

This also helps us “push” our dogs when they are ready, otherwise dogs can become stagnant in their learning which may lead them to creating their own mental stimulation (read: causing havoc around the house).

So, how much do you increase or “push”?  First, think of what you are working on; duration (time), distance (from dog) or distractions; only increase one at a time. If you are working on duration, you may try increasing from a 10 second sit, to 15 seconds, to 20 seconds, to 30 seconds to 40 seconds to 60 seconds. If distance, you may try increasing being one step away from your dog, to two steps away, to three steps to five steps away from your dog. If you are increasing distraction difficulty, you may try putting food on the ground 5 feet from your sitting dog, then 4 feet, then 3, then 2, then putting it directly in front of your dog. You will know if you have increased too much if your dog is only succeeding 0-4 times out of five; “drop” down a level or split the increase in half.

Do the exact same training lesson for five repetitions and count how many times your dog succeeds; then “push, drop or stick”.

Try these tips out and for expert, one-on-one canine coaching for faster progress, contact a Dogtime canine coach (www.dogtime.ca) in your area.

Michelle Sevigny

© 2011 Michelle Sevigny. www.dogtime.ca. Reprint permission granted with full copyright intact.

Photo by Roger Sevigny.