Get the Most Out of your Performance Dog

How to foster an enthusiastic working partner

BE THE COACH YOU WOULD WANT TO WORK WITH: Think about what message you're sending to your dog. Are you fun and motivating? Do you celebrate success and give clear, positive feedback during the learning process? Think about your behavior from the DOG'S standpoint - do you focus on the negative of your dog's performance? If your dog had a choice, would they come play with you more than anything else?

INCREASE THE ENTHUSIASM: Your dog reflects your enthusiasm, be excited and be FUN and your dog will reflect that. Boring trainers have boring dogs! Make training and playing with you the most fun your dog can have.

REWARD ENTHUSIASM: Always reward for effort, even if your dog did not succeed. You can always retrain a behavior but once you lose enthusiasm you've got nothing! Think about what you're rewarding, do you reward slow and careful and ignore excited and animated? Teach your dog to perform with ENTHUSIASM and you will always have it, but teach your dog to be slow and careful and guess which dog you will end up with? Enthusiasm is VERY difficult to recover, always reward a good effort! Make enthusiasm a part of your criteria for every behavior you train.

INCREASE THE POSITIVE: Tell your dog what you WANT not what you DON'T want (proactive vs reactive!), there are an infinite amount of behaviors that are NOT the one you're training, so focus on the behavior you DO want. Negatives will shut your dog down, positives will increase behavior you do like.

ALWAYS SET YOUR DOG UP FOR SUCCESS … go back to an easier behavior if your dog does not succeed! Don't lump behaviors, break it down so that your dog is always successful. YOUR GOAL SHOULD BE FOR YOUR DOG TO ALWAYS BE SUCCESSFUL. This also means keeping a very high rate of reinforcement!

THERE ARE NO 'BAD DOGS' … only bad trainers! Your dog is a direct reflection of your ability as a trainer. If your dog does not succeed then you did not train the behavior completely! You can never blame the dog, you can only go back and work harder! (see the rule above!)

THE LEASH IS NOT A STEERING WHEEL: The leash is a necessary safety device in a group class setting. However, think about what you would have to do to keep your dog engaged and with you if you did not have that piece of equipment. Always try to train as if you did not have that leash available to 'control' the dog. Try tying it to your waist when you're working so you won't be tempted to use it to 'get the dog's attention' or 'move the dog' from one place to another. At home, always train offleash so that both you and the dog can learn to focus independently of the leash.

HAVE A PLAN: Know what you want to teach your dog and have a plan in your mind of the steps you will need to get there. Try to train several short, fun sessions throughout the day and always leave your dog wanting more. Don't drill behaviors! Use your dog's enthusiasm level as a guide, always make sure he's having fun and is in the game.

ALL GOOD THINGS COME THROUGH YOU: You might not be more exciting than a squirrel running across the yard, but your dog needs to know that in order to chase that squirrel he needs to look to you for permission. In this way even in a very distracting environment your dog will still be focused on you trying to find out how he can be released to the fun.

TRAINING = PLAY, PLAY = TRAINING: Your dog should not be able to tell the difference between 'just' playing and learning a new behavior. If your dog is excited to play but not excited to train think about what you're doing differently with the two exercises. Incorporate both more training in your play and more play in your training!

DON'T LET YOUR DOG PRACTICE BAD BEHAVIORS: If your dog is doing something you don't like, think about how you can control that behavior so he doesn't have a chance to practice it. Then train an alternate behavior!

TRAINING HAPPENS 24/7: If you're not consistent your dog won't be either, learning happens whether you're actively 'training' or not! Don't let your dog practice bad behaviors at home and expect him to be well mannered in class or in public.

POSITIVE IS NOT PERMISSIVE: You control all the resources in your dog's life, not the other way around. Let your dog know what behavior is appropriate and what is not by controlling access to your dog's resources.