2 Dog training traits – Patience and a Sense of Humor
There is a whole list of things we tell our students to bring to the first dog training class session. The two most important? Patience and a sense of humor. These are the two dog training traits you must have for success.
Both are crucial, whether your aim is to keep your dog from jumping on guests to competing at the highest level of dog sports. No matter what you’re trying to teach, your dog is learning the same way.
Getting the message
Let’s say your dog always pulls on leash, so you’ve started the 3-Step Pattern Walking game. Your dog did great with it in class – their head was already whipping around when you said your third word.
So the next time you play the game, you skip the first step and try to put it in motion. You just say your three-word phrase and your dog ignores you entirely. So you start repeating your third word, louder and louder. Until your dog finally turns around and looks at you. As if they’re asking “Are you talking to me?”
You have to possess your soul in patience. If you took a foreign language in school, you weren’t conversational the first week. You had to learn the vocabulary and proper word order to communicate. Look at dog training the same way. Last week we talked about patience being required when training “Off!” You actually need patience whenever you train your dog!
Laugh it up, fuzzball
Dogs trained with positive reinforcement are quick to try new stuff. When they don’t understand something, they try to fit it in a file they already know. A recent example here was Hope teaching Torque to pull open a drawer. She attached a string to the drawer pull, then a familiar object (a plastic spatula) at the other end to “Pull.”
Torque immediately grabbed the spatula and trotted over to the drawer to put it inside. It wasn’t what Hope wanted, but it was clever and adorable. And he was so very happy with himself. You could almost hear him laughing “I got this!”
He didn’t. But that’s okay. It was cute, and funny. His actions told Hope what game Torque thought they were playing and let her know some adjustments were necessary.
Always cute
Whenever you play training games with your dog, make sure your patience and sense of humor are along for the ride. Meet your dog where they are. Give them as long as it takes to understand what you’re teaching. And all the while you’re growing the 2 dog training traits you must have.
Some dogs are whizzes at some games. Those same dogs may take a while to catch on to other games. All dogs can learn whatever training games you want to teach. Enjoy the journey and the fun.
