slow down

“However slow you are going, if you want to do the job right you need to go even slower.” Believe it or not, this mainstay philosophy of working with dogs was actually shared to me by the guy that shampooed our carpets many years ago.  I had asked why he was so slow in his movements and that was his response.  Apparently if you go too fast you won’t draw the stains from the padding and they will come back.
 
When working with dogs this is means going slow, in small steps, will assure true change.  It gives the dog a chance to create a ‘habit’ of one step before adding the next step, thus creating a solid foundation upon which to build. 

If you throw too much, too fast, your dog may pick up bits and pieces, but confusion will likely reign supreme and when he actually needs to use the skills he won’t know how to draw on them and because they aren’t generalized.
 
What does generalized mean?  Generalized is when a learned behavior can be used in multiple environments with different distractions. Yes, my dog can sit in my quiet living room on request.  But can he also sit and wait upon request in the yard, on a walk, visiting a friend’s home, in the pet store, at the vet’s office where not only has the location has changed but also the distractions?  This is what is known as “generalizing a behavior”.

Taking your training slowly is important to be able to generalize those behaviors.  Teach the behavior.  Then add distractions at a distance.  When Fido is comfortable with that step, move the distractions closer.  In your living room this might be doors opening and closing, the TV on, kids walking thru, dropping toys. When your dog is comfortable in this environment, with these distractions, it is a good time to change locations, preferably to one he’s familiar with, but with minimal distractions. Places such as your yard, driveway, the park when it’s early and quiet, parking lot before or after hours.  Slowly add in more distractions, but always at a distance first.

​Taking it slow is how we make sure we build that foundation.  We don’t want a house of cards that will crumble with the wind blows. If you do accidentally move too fast (it happens) and you realize your dog is not doing as well as they should then back up a step (or two) and slow down.  If you try to force that progress it will cost your dog that feeling of safety that is necessary to keep building confidence in new things.  
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​No matter how slow you are going, you are probably going too fast. It’s a motto that I live by in training.