I listened to a radio interview with the author of the book One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer the other day and couldn’t help but think of how some of these concepts apply to working with our dogs. I sat through a very technical science lecture at an APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) Conference and what I got out of it was this, animal brains resist big changes all at once but adapt well to small gradual changes. I have told clients over in over in past years, “It pays off to prepare your dog for any life changes in small stages.” An example I often give is I never leave a new dog alone for long periods at first. At first I will leave her for a few minutes a few times, then a bit longer the next week, and longer still a few weeks later so the change has been gradual. I will also leave my dog with a new sitter in stages, at first let them get to know sitter with me there, then leave her for a few hours with a sitter, always one overnight with the sitter before leaving for a few days. This has always gone smoothly for me but if I abruptly left my dog with a stranger for a week, I could come back to a traumatized dog that would then have anxiety around me leaving her for any amount of time. So it bears repeating, “It pays off big time to prepare your dog for big changes or new things in small steps.”
This also applies to dog training both for you as trainer and for your dog. Start with real easy gradual steps when learning something new and each day make it just a bit harder. For example, I teach all dogs to sit and wait for permission to go out doors to the outside for the dog’s safety and my sanity. The first twenty times through the door I look for just a real quick instant sit before I release the dog and she happily goes outside with lots of praise. During the following days I will add just a couple more seconds each day and gradually work up to a dog that reliably sits and waits at door even if is wide open and I am not physically in the way. The dog will reliably move through door after my release word. It has been easy and stress free training for the dog and me because we did it gradually over time. No sweat, I was happy with small improvements each day.
This works for you as trainer too. Set out to work on your training your dog with a small change to your daily routine. One small change at time and add a bit more every few days so you are gradually working training into your day. If you try to do too much at once, it will be stressful for you and probably for your dog too. This is what I do with a new dog and honestly the training is fun and no sweat this way. The dog is trained before I know it.
Listen to this interesting interview with Robert Maurer that inspired this blog post it aired on January 1, 2009 on The Kojo Gnamdi on WAMU 88.5 American University Radio http://wamu.org/programs/kn/09/01/01.php and it is free!
Happy New Year!
Jeni Grant
www.trainyourbestfriend.com
