Tuesday Training Byte: The three "D's" of training

The three "D's" stand for duration, distance, and distraction. While this is most applicable when teaching the stay and recall, keeping these in mind for other training will help set your dog up for success.

Duration. When we ask our young pup to sit, we immediately mark the correct behavior and then give the reward/treat. If the pup moves prior to the treat, do not give him the treat. Repeat the command and make sure he gets the treat only while he is sitting. If he remains sitting for a few seconds with no other command to do so, give him another treat. This will build the duration. Do not make the mistake of asking him to hold the position too long. Another mistake is to not giving followup rewards when he chooses to hold the sit. Have him old a position while you count to 5 silently and then a reward. Try again for a 6 count, then end the session with something more fun so your pup doesn't get bored or resistant to training.

Distance. This may seem obvious, but if your pup is off leash and across the room from you, do not give him a command that you can't enforce. Distance and off-leash obedience work comes from lots of incremental baby steps over time and practice. Once a pup is reliable to obey the command when standing right next to you, try again while stepping 3 to 4 feet away, while he is still on the leash. If you are not successful, step back to him and try again up close. Be sure to really praise his success after his his "faux paus" or mistake. Then try it again stepping only 2 feet away. If he succeeds, end the session on this good note. We do not want our dog to get the idea that if you are not right beside them, they are free to make their own choices. So take it slow in adding distance.

Distraction. You can pretty much count on most young pups acting like they have ADHD. At first we may to train in an almost distraction-free place like the living room or garage. Slowly add new areas to train such as the back yard, patio, or driveway. Training at a dog park or big box store will put your pup way above his threshold of being able to focus and respond to you at the early stages of training. Train on different surfaces as well. Outdoors in the grass will provide the distractions of lots of interesting smells and noises, so take your time in adding more distraction. If he regresses, go back to training in your living room for a bit.

Happy training!

Training in the living room with minimal distractions.