We are all familiar with the old saying, “Rome was not built in a day.” A less familiar addition to that saying is “But they were laying brick every hour.” This idea is meaningful in training in that you should not be as focused on the finished product as you are on the steps and time you take to get there. Whether you like it or not, you are training your dogs all day, every day. So, perhaps we should try using that to our advantage.
By training in little bits throughout the day, like laying those bricks, you will more easily get to where you want to be. The easiest way to do this is to simply ask your dog to do what you are training to, like a sit or a down, for some of the things she wants. Take those everyday moments and turn them into training moments. Before you place her food bowl on the ground (or, preferably, her food puzzle toy!), ask for that sit or down, and then she gets her meal as the reward. Even letting your dog outside can be a training moment. Before opening the door, ask for what you are training to then use opening the door as the reward. Even tossing a toy can be a training moment; just use what your dog wants to get what you want.
Sometimes we get frustrated by the moments we focus our intent on training and things do not work out quite as well as we hoped. Training should be fun and not frustrating. If it is frustrating, you are doing it wrong. Laying a few bricks of training all the time, you will find you have built the Rome of your training in less time than you thought it would take. Not in a day, but more quickly nonetheless.
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