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People go on a diet because they realize something needs to change. Usually it is for health reasons. The desire to improve one’s appearance or perhaps to make fitness activities more fun and easier. People too, start dog training because they realize something needs to change. Usually there is a new puppy or behavior issues with an older dog or maybe they just want to make life with their dog, more fun and easier. Both endeavors usually start with great enthusiasm. With a little concerted effort, progress can be seen right off the bat. You might drop 5 pounds in the first week or two. That’s exciting! This diet thing is working! With your dog, they are learning some basics like sit, down and come. That's exciting! This training thing is working!
Then some time passes. The diet is getting a little harder to stick to. Some of the old habits start creeping back into your life. The weight loss slows or maybe even reverses. This diet stuff is hard!
With your dog it is much the same. He "knows" how to sit, lay down and come when called, well, sometimes. You've slacked off on the training or maybe quit all together. Now it looks like he obeys just when he wants to, stubborn little guy. This training stuff is hard!
Things in life that require a lot of practice also require a lot of persistence and dedication. Giving up too soon just doesn't cut it. Learning how to create, develop and maintain good habits is one of the most important life skills we can accomplish. Once those habits are solid, they serve us! We no longer have to think about it. It's what we do. It's who we are. We can largely run on autopilot. A diet is no longer a phase. It's not what we do for a few weeks. It's a lifestyle change with ongoing rewards.
Training your dog is no longer a phase. It's a lifestyle you share with your dog. It's how you communicate with this wonderful creature from a different species. It makes life better for you and the dog.
And when you fall off of the wagon, you can always get right back on. Your body is ready, willing and able to respond to your healthy lifestyle plan. And your dog is ready, willing and able to respond and partner with you in Reward-able Opportunities, sometimes called dog training.

Most dog training is more easily done by following a specific sequence of steps, done in a specific way. What you are looking for is the best way for your dog to learn. One that is easy for them. We want to communicate clearly; in ways they can understand. We also want to respond to how the dog is catching on to what we are doing and change course when they are not catching on. This requires us to watch the dog carefully for signs as to how they are “understanding” what we are asking of them.

It might be helpful to think about how a 1 or 2-year-old relates to words and how we might teach children of that age. I’m reminded of Denzel Washington in the movie Philadelphia saying to Tom Hanks “Explain this to me like I’m a two-year-old, because there’s an element to this that I can’t get through my thick head”

If we were trying to teach a toddler the word “ball” for example. We would probably first get eye contact. Then say “BALL” in a clear perhaps, exaggerated, friendly tone of voice while showing her the ball in our hand. Then we might hand her the ball and say “this is a BALL”, do you want to play with the “BALL”? And we would patiently do this over and over again. After many repetitions you might ask “where is your BALL “? And the little girl might look around in search of her ball indicating that she had made the association between the object and the word.

If she wasn’t catching on you wouldn’t say BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL, FIND YOUR BALL.
You would probably start over, showing the ball, saying the word ball and and patiently doing that many times. Then go back and see if she now had made the association.

Well guess what? Dogs learn words in very much the same way by association, through repetition.
My suggestion is to teach your dog like they were a toddler. They might just learn much faster.

Canine Enrichment for the Real World
Published 2019

Out of my 100 plus dog books this one is going to rank at the top of the list. It's not a step-by-step training book Per-Se. It is very comprehensive at explaining what dogs need in total and how we can better accomplish that. And there is a good focus on the human element, us. Sometimes it's overwhelming. And the more you know the more overwhelming it can seem. The authors understand us as well as our dogs and have some instructive and comforting advice for us. With the goal of encouraging you to get and study this book, here are some of the questions this book answers.

•  What are the elements of physical and mental health we should think about?
• How do natural instinctual needs play into this?
• What emotional needs to dogs have?
• What are the physical needs we should consider?
• How does allowing the dog to make choices play into this?
• What are some of the common exercise mistakes we make?
• What are the safety and security needs that are often overlooked?
• How can we help them meet their sensory needs?
• How can we give them good social interactions with other dogs and people?
• How and why should we provide mental stimulation?
• What training methods are enriching?
• What is calming enrichment and how do we provide that?
•  Can independence be taught, how and why?
• How can we help them to be comfortable when left alone? What is meant by providing the right environment?
•  How can we work smarter not harder for busy people?
• How do we help dogs with special needs?

You can find this in paperback or Kindle on Amazon
Let me know if you get it and what you think of the book.
I love it!

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At Starbucks the other day I ordered a vente, non-fat, decaf late, and the barista said "Oh you want what we call a why bother"
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I thought how… appropriate. It also started me thinking about what I do, dog training. What would say if someone ask me "Hey why bother"? Don't we all know how to have a dog in our lives? Isn't it really pretty simple? For some people that may in fact be true. So I started making a list of possible reasons to go ahead and Bother. Possible benefits of some formal dog training.

• We don't naturally know how to communicate with dogs, they are another species
• Some dogs really need some guidance, like high drive dogs....you know who I am  talking about
• We expect our dogs to adapt to our lives....but they don't automatically know how
• They seem to like some things we don't like
  • Digging
  • Barking
  • Peeing, anywhere, anytime
  • Chewing, everything
  • Pulling on the leash
  • You get the idea
• Might be good to know how to
  • Meet and greet other people and dogs
  • Not jump on us
  • Not dash out the door or in for that matter
  • Calm down a little
  • Be OK with being home alone...yuck
• Might be good for us to 
  • Be able to read their body language to understand what they are feeling
  • Know how to properly meet dogs
  • Know how to introduce our dog to others
  • Know how to "ask" for what we want....."commands" to an illiterate species doesn't work well
  • Be aware of what our body language is saying to the dog
  • Know how to humanely and successfully correct problems
  • Know how to recognize and help with issues like fear and separation anxiety
  • Learn how to be a little more patient with this critter we  invited into our lives
  • Give our companion dog a real Companion, one who knows what they are doing
• A good trainer will also give you
  • Give you a plan, based on science not TV reality folks
  • A ton of resources and answers to the multitude of issues that invariably come up
  • A valuable new skill to learn and put to use
  • Solutions
  • A patient friend for you and your dog

So there you go, based on what my clients tell me, it’s worth the bother.
 
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Resources I recommend : 4 books , 1 online magazine and 2 newsletters.

Book #1
The power of positive dog training by Pat Miller.A renowned dog trainer gives you the positive training tools you need to share a lifetime of fun, companionship, and respect with your dog. Plus, you'll get: information on the importance of observing, understanding, and reacting appropriately to your dog's body language; instructions on how to phase out the use of a clicker and treats to introduce more advanced training concepts; a diary to track progress; suggestions for treats your dog will respond to; and a glossary of training terms.
Updated with the latest tools and techniques—including the clicker method
Renowned dog trainer Pat Miller gives you the positive training tools you need to ensure that you and your dog share a lifetime of fun, companionship, and respect. Following her step-by-step, six-week basic training program, you'll learn how to develop a relationship with your dog based on friendship and positive reinforcement, not fear and punishment. Plus, you'll get:

• Information on the importance of observing, understanding, and reacting appropriately to your dog's body language
• Instructions on how to phase out the use of a clicker and treats to introduce more advanced training concepts
• A helpful diary to track progress, suggestions for delicious treats your dog will respond to, and a glossary of training terms

Two Other Books
For the Love of a Dog and The Other End of the Leash both by Patricia McConnell

Patricia is a certified animal behavior asst and the highly recommend everything she has done. Click here to subscribe to her newsletter which is very informative.

https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/join-the-pack

Book # 4
The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
A revolutionary new way of understanding the relationship between humans and domestic dogs

Online magazine:
thewholedogjournal.com
$20 yr.
Access to past issues.
Excellent search function.
In depth articles.
Outstanding contributing authors like Pat miller.

Also good web site 
 Companion animal psychology


https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/?m=1


 

If you've decided to get some training for your dog, what goals might you have in mind? Most people think in terms of gaining control and getting an obedient dog. I would like to suggest that you think about what you would like your dog to "be"as opposed to what your would like your dog to "do".

While these things go together, one causes the other to happen. When we look at what a dog can "do", it puts the focus on the dog and his behavior. When we look at what a dog can "be", it puts the focus on what we humans need to do to set things up for success. This puts our overall goals in a very positive manner. The more we look at our behavior and how to make it easy and fun for our dogs to succeed, the better results we will get.

Let's look at a possible list of under each category, "doing and being".

What are some things we would like our dogs to "do and not do"?

• After making a request ( old school would say 'command' ) the dog would 
  • Sit
  • Stay 
  • Come
  • Lay Down
  • Get Off

Some possible Don'ts

• Jump up on people
• Bark, at the wrong time
• Pee, in the wrong places
• Growl, at the wrong times
• Bite anybody, except maybe the badguy
• Get up on the furniture
• Chew, the things I don't want you to chew

You get the idea

So then what are some of the things we would like our dog to "be"?

• Attentive to us
• Calm, most of the time
• Unafraid of
  • People
  • Noises
  • Other dogs
  • New experiences
  • Etc.
• Interested in and able to learn about
  • Training
  • How to live with us
  • To be OK with being home alone, sometimes
  • How to play appropriately
  • How to meet and greet people, children and other dogs
  • Human words and what they mean to him
• Healthy
• Fulfilled
  • An interesting and happy life from the dog's viewpoint
    • Exploring
    • Sniffing
    • Meeting other dogs, maybe
    • Making independent choices, autonomy
    • Deciding who to interact with and how to go about that
    • Able to move about unrestrained
• Feel and be Safe
  • Able to move away from frightening things
  • Not forced to do things when fearful or uncomfortable
• Have human companionship
  • Not left alone for hours on end
  • Be engaged with my human companions, do stuff with me

So what might be the impact of an approach like this?

• Our expectations of ourselves and out dogs would change
• We would have increased patience as getting the behavior becomes more about our role in making it clear and worth the effort for the dog
• It prompts us to create opportunities for enrichment not just training
• It will sharpen your observation skills as you value "reading" your dog
• It will prompt you to learn more about dog behavior
• The more educated you are the better
• The benefits to your dog are enormous 
  • No fear / No pain training approach
  • The dog gets to choose to engage
  • They enjoy learning
  • Their "doggie" needs are met
  • They are more confident and secure as they navigate our "human world"

I would suggest that we start with what we want our dogs to be, confident, secure and ready to engage in a life with you. I think this sets us up for success. If your dog feels good he will be a natural learner. This will also sharpen your observational skills as you progress through your training.