Practice is defined as purposeful and single-minded application with the intent to get better. I don't think anyone really enjoys practicing. Nobody says, "we had so much fun practicing this week!" I mean, wouldn't it just great if we could just wave a magic wand and our dogs would turn into perfect model citizens? Or poof, your fairy godmother comes and turns your son into the best football player on the high school team? It would be lovely. Except we don't live in that fantasy world! Instead, we have to send our kids to football practice, run plays with them one-on-one. We have to get out our dog's homework, do a few short sessions a day and try to get the behaviors down-pat!
I once heard that "10,000 hours of practice is required to acheive the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert at anything." Now THAT is a lot of practice! I know that my clients aren't looking to be master dog trainers or anything like that, but they are motivated and eager to see their dogs become well-mannered, socialized, adaptable, obedient, and knowledgable in any circumstance, regardless of distractions, or competing reinforcement.
To get to that goal, I give my clients homework every week and I suggest 3-5 short training sessions a day (about 2-5 minutes). A week later, I ask how practicing a specific behavior went, and a usual response is, "well we didn't have enough time" or "we didn't even practice, I'm sorry" and I explain that I'm definitely not mad and I won't give anyone a zero for the week LOL! After all, practice is hard if you hate to do it! I'll be honest, sometimes I hate practice too!
Here's some reasons why we put off practice:
-Poor technique.
When we work on loose-leash walking, I draw a little illustration on the handout to help with the technique. You have your dog on one side, on that same side you should have your treats in hand. On the opposite side, your clicker and your leash. Once you have your technique right practice comes easier.
-Unprepared.
If you just pick up some treats and your clicker and start clicking away with no real plan or goal, you might get stumped, clumsy, and lax with your clicker mechanics!
-Training for the wrong goal.
If you start practicing "Come!" with your dog but you find yourself thinking "I'd really like to have the dog Come and Sit once she gets to me!" Suddenly you have changed the goal and raised the criteria too far. The dog (and you) will get frustrated once she tries what worked in the past then gets no click/treat. Frustration during practice makes you not want to practice anymore!
-Joyless repetition.
Dogs absolutely know when there is emotion and sincerety behind a reinforcer. When you practice, remember how we are tearing down the language barrier between human and animal! How extraordinarily smart your dog is! Just think of all the things your dog could be doing (pooping on your rug, chewing your JimmyChoos, etc.) but instead here he is, going to his bed and laying down each time you put your hand on the doorknob! This is an exciting time! Show that excitement to your best friend! I can assure you that they will be thankful you feel that way.
Practice works...here's some tips to get the most out of your practice sessions
Make a plan before you start:
1. One plan for you
Will you be sitting or standing? Will you be using any props? When will you put the prop down on the ground? Should you be wearing a training pouch or holding treats in your hand? Is this a time to use a toy instead of treats?
2. One plan for your dog
Where will we start? Will we be shaping, targeting, capturing a new behavior? What is our goal behavior? How will be get there? Don't forget to start with some warm-up behaviors "touch" "sit" "name attention"
3. Analyze and be honest
If your dog has been practicing loose leash walking but she's not ready for the big leagues and you know it, be honest with yourself, don't go running outside into the street if she isn't ready. She will likely revert, there will be frustration, & it will be a nightmare! Keep practicing in the backyard then once she's ready, work your way out front!
4. Self-discipline, self-awareness
I like to video myself training with my iPhone and encourage others to do the same. I can then focus on one thing like: where is my left hand? Is it doing something it's not supposed to? How is this affecting our training session? I can then go back and since I am now aware of this left hand moving too early, I can plan out what I will do with it instead, suddenly the dog is responding exactly the way I want, all because I fixed my hand!
Start your engines! The next step is to actually practice! We have our plan in place, let's go!
-Prepare to practice
You may want to put your hair in a ponytail, turn the tv off, send the kids off to color in the other room, etc.
-Bring your whole-self
Feeling not all there? Skip this session!
-Shape your attitude
Is this behavior a calm behavior like "relax on a mat?" it's best to take a few deep breaths, sit down, yawn, make yourself look sleepy. Is the behavior exciting?! "Okay Dougie let's get readyyy! Woo-hoo!" Get a smile on your face and get going!
-Rehearse mentally
OK what are we doing again? Think how do we want this behavior to look, imagine it, see it in your head. If you don't see it, google it.
-Rehearse physically
You might need to step into the other room and practice without the dog really fast!
-Train in bits and batches
If you find yourself training for too long, set a timer. Realize that one single session will not make your dog a professional at sitting. This should be on your plan. Plan one session for sitting in the living room, noting to change your position from sitting, standing, sitting on the ground, even laying down if you're physically able, plan for more sessions to do the same thing in different rooms and finally outside the home.
-Take breaks
It's easy to forget that our dogs are sometimes like children, their attention spans are short, they get sore, they get tired, they might look like they're having fun but they're actually getting bored of doing the exact same thing over and over again. Take frequent breaks even though you want to see the behavior happen just...one...more...time!!!
-Reward Yourself
I like to reward myself for practicing since I do not do it enough. My reward might be food-related (a handful of Ningxia Wolfberries after each session, or a graham cracker), or I'll allow myself to rent a Redbox movie. This is effective for me. Try this and see how it works for you!
