I’ve attended several group classes over the years where people clearly aren’t doing their dog training homework. I’m sure it’s frustrating for the trainer, and it’s definitely a waste of your money.
Consistency is Key
In my experience, the best way to achieve lasting success in training your dog is consistency. My dogs do better when I have short sessions (5-10 minutes) frequently throughout the week (2-3 times a day).
I mentioned a few weeks ago that when proofing a command we shoot for practicing 1,000 times in 100 different places. Sometimes we load up in the car, go the park, and just spend 15 minutes getting in and out of the car.
Just like us, our dogs get better the more they do things. If we’re only working on our sit, down, and stay once a week in the same location as our training class, our dog just isn’t getting it.
Why Dog Training Homework Works
Trainers design their classes and their private sessions with the intention (and hope!) that we’ll go home and do our homework. If they only have an hour with us and our dogs, their focus has to be on conveying information.
They just can’t train our dogs for us, unless they’re doing in board training. Even then, they count on us to follow through and do the work to keep up their training.
I realize that trainers get paid for their time, but would you want to go to work and teach people that aren’t learning? They don’t either.
The real learning happens when we go home, do what they’ve asked of us, and come to our next class with questions. Our trainers want us to succeed, but to do that, we need to do our part.
What are you and your dog learning? Drop me a comment and let’s chat!
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