Dog Training Homework

Do you do your dog training homework? 

When I was in 7th grade, I was in band. My parents paid for me to do private lessons. Those were very helpful and gave me the formal groundwork to be a good clarinet player. I did one lesson per week, and then did the homework on the off days. 

No one made me play, I wanted to play. I wanted to play as good as my idols, like Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.

When I got to high school, I wanted to be good. So I practiced. I practiced hours and hours at home. On my off hours in school, I would go to the band room, go in a private room, and work my tail off on the music we did in class plus practice the exercise workbooks, like Klose and such. Most of the band didn't practice much at all. That was OK, too. It was an enjoyable activity, and for some, just the social part of being in band was the reward.

That kind of work mentality helped me as a dog trainer. I have always done my homework with my dogs. Just like music practice, I work and work away at my dog to get to advanced obedience competence. I did it for the dog. I did it for me. There was no ribbon or certificate I wanted. I just wanted to train my dog to be as good as possible. 

If you want a well trained dog, there is more to it than just going through the classes and motions. 

A few years ago, I had two students with the same breed of dog, same age. Student number one was a retired school teacher. The other student was a retired businessman. Guess which dog got trained the best and fastest? The school teacher. Every time I showed up, I could see the results. For the other student, the only work the dog got was during the lessons, but no work was done in between lessons. 

So, the trainer can’t do it all. You live with the dog, so you have the greatest influence on how your dog will obey you when the lessons are over. 

Plan accordingly.