Training Homework: How to Get It Done

Note from Con Slobodchikoff: This is a post by guest author Nancy Frensley, CPDT, CAP2, who is Manager of Behavior and Training at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society in Berkeley, California. She will write periodic posts about the behavioral challenges and joys of shelter dogs.

Most people who have dogs participate in a dog training class at one time or another. At the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society’s K-9 College, we teach close to 700 students every year (mostly dogs from shelters and rescues), who are moving on to new lives with new families or partners. In our classes, we find that people are often stumped by one thing: the homework.

Dogs cannot learn by practicing only once a week during class. This is the same logic behind kids going to school several days a week and bringing home their work. Learning, in any species, takes practice.  It is one thing to work in class with a trainer coaching every step of the way and quite another to attempt the exercises at home – even if they are written out. Moreover, training a dog requires a bit of timing, mechanical skill, and consistency, as well as the ability to see what the dog is communicating to the human. In the daily struggle to get everything done training the dog can fall through the cracks.

In order to make the most of a dog-training class or to home school a dog, it helps to write out a plan. Note the activities for each day and keep it in a spot where it can be easily viewed.  By keeping an accurate activity log, it will be easier to build on it the next day. (Tip: A magnetic whiteboard (with or without calendar blocks) is easy to use and see. It can hold a week’s worth of documentation.  At the end of the week, it’s ready to be erased to start over with new activities.)

Advance planning might consist of writing down everything to accomplish during the week. For instance, “Priorities for this week are: Sit, Down and Leash Walking”. Do three, 3-minute sessions per day, one for each activity.” This notation creates a simple, clear directive for each day’s work. 

A typical notation might read:

            Monday morning: 

Planned:  Sit - 12 repetitions (with treats)

                                Done:      Sit - 12 repetitions (gave extra treats for the three best sits)       

Monday afternoon: 

Planned:  Down stay - 4 repetitions of 6 seconds each

Done:      Down stay - 3 repetitions for 10 seconds each. Success!

Monday evening: 

Planned:  3 minutes of loose leash during walk

Done:      1.5 minutes attained

These notes help keep the human student on track and thinking clearly, which pays off in communicating better with the dog. 

 There are a few principles of teaching that will make it easier for a dog to get better for each training session.

•             The combination of repetition and reward is important.

•             Be consistent by practicing the same way every time. This includes saying things the same way and using the same gestures and movements for each repetition.  

•             Deliver food rewards so that the dog gets them while in the correct position. 

•             Keep the training sessions short and give the dog lots of fun games and activities in between. 

•             Do training sessions in a lot of different locations. Most dogs learn rapidly if situations are varied.

We give all our students what we call the Three Golden Rules of Training:

1. Start your training on a happy note with an easy exercise your dog can do well. Reward and praise generously. This will build both the human’s confidence as a teacher and the dog’s confidence as a pupil.

2. Train for 10 minutes a day, breaking it up into one or two-minute sessions. End each session with the easiest exercise. This closes the session on a successful note.

3. No matter what happens during the training session, take time to engage in a pleasant activity afterwards for about five minutes.

Training a dog to a very good level of reliability is possible in only 10 minutes of practice a day.  Start with a lot of rewards and reduce the number of rewards as the dog gets better at each behavior. It won’t be long before the dog magically responds correctly to each cue and command and you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Comments

[Nancy Frensley CPTD-KA, CAP2]

Sean, What a great pack and journal you have. I just adopted a a 14 month old Aussie and am back to having to log basic training.

Today: First outing at park on long line. Worked on recalls. He comes without further prompting 50% of the time.

This way I can track my progress. Also, a trainer friend of mine came up with
"perfect day" stickers. She had a special sticker for the calendar every time she and her dog had a perfect day. She got a lot of encouragement seeing his progress.

Keep up the great work-and keep that journal going.

[Sean]

Thanks for the information, I am guilty of not being consistent with my training at home as well. I haven't been to any training classes with my dogs, but I still feel a responsibility to keep my dogs engaged, at a minimum I make it a point to do marker training once a week on my days off work. Writing down the plan will help me keep on track.