Where is the Best Place to Train My Dog?
Learn the 3 placement phases of successful dog training: In the home, in the driveway, and at the park.
Successful dog training will take place in three primary settings: In the home, in the driveway, and finally, at your local park. The key to training your dog will be the focus, “trigger” reduction, and general obedience control. These disciplines can all be achieved once your dog has the training basics mastered.
- In the home.The best environment to begin training your dog is in the home.With this 1st dog training phase, treats are recommended to condition your dog to general dog training commands. Inside the house will limit any major distractions to your dog and give you the best initial training results. Try training in a quiet room with little external noise or distractions. As your dog progresses with focus and eye contact, change to a room with a little more noise to increase his attention span. Once your dog can proficiently obey your vocal and visual basic dog training commands, you now know it’s time to take him to the next level!
Training commands to concentrate on in the home will be: sit, leave it/take, leave it/good, leave it, off, and stay.
- In the driveway. The next step to advance your dog’s focus and training intensity will be in your driveway or outside your home. This environment will now provide increased noise, distractions, smells, and motion to distract and create “triggers” for your dog. You will now want to begin decreasing the food treats as a training reward and begin with more vocal affirmation and physical touch for praise conditioning. For more on dog training and reward methods, read THIS. Practice your normal inside-the-home dog training commands to begin getting more focus and concentration from your dog. You will also now begin using the “watch me” command. Put a treat next to your eye and command, “watch me.” You will use this command for added focus from your dog if a potential distraction occurs in the field.
- At the park.Finally, dog training at your local park. This outdoor park environment will be the most distracting for your dog. You can expect to encounter playgrounds with children, bikes, skateboards, and other walking dogs. All of this “motion” in the park will create prey triggers with your dog where now all your hard dog training command work in the home and in the driveway will pay off! At this stage, you will begin using NO more training treats unless necessary. The goal is for your dog to listen to you with the expectation of only vocal affirmation or physical touch as a rewarding method. All your dog training command work can now be done on the walk giving your dog a more mental and physical challenge in the field.
By following these three dog training placement settings, you can expect your dog to have the best dog training results! If you notice your dog is digressing in a certain setting, just return to the previous stage for a few days of review work. In no time at all, you will be walking anywhere you want in public with the best-trained dog on the block!