How I Finally Understood the Importance of Patience in Dog Training
I used to say things like ‘I’m going to teach Laika how to roll herself up in a blanket in 3 days,’ but lately I’ve adapted more of a ‘just keep improving’ attitude. Because when it comes to dog training I’ve come to believe that there isn’t a perfect time frame everything, we deal with what we’ve got. I feel like I’ve finally come to understand the the importance of patience in dog training. Some things are taught quickly, and others take awhile.
Now don’t get me wrong- having goals is good, and it helps tremendously to get things done. But when it comes to dog training? I don’t like setting strict time frames, they tend to backfire. They usually end up with me just repeating nonsense over & over to my dog, hoping for a miracle. But that sort of repetition is pointless without comprehension. And do you know how I learned that lesson? From a French teacher I had in college.
Keep Repeating It, Maybe It’ll Just Make Sense
I had a French teacher in college that I’d classify as having very little patience. It was beginner’s French, and from day one she had a ‘no English allowed’ in class rule. I was confused by 99% of the things that came out of her mouth, but I decided to give it a shot. I was thrilled as we began learning numbers & the alphabet, something I could easily follow along with, but when it came to putting together phrases? Shit I was lost.
My teacher came up to me and said ‘quel est votre passe-temps favori?’ which sounded like complete gibberish to me. I knew she was asking me a question, but hell if I knew what it was. So I said ‘I’m sorry I don’t understand.’ Well that broke the no English in class rule, so I just froze because I hadn’t the slightest clue as to how to apologize in french.
So what did she do? Did she move onto a student who might know the answer? No. She kept getting closer & closer to me, repeating ‘quel est votre passe-temps favori?’ over & over, each time a little bit louder. As if I had a hearing problem, rather than a complete lack of comprehension.
I think about that class often, and how horrible of a feeling it is to have zero understanding of what it is that someone is asking of you. I really did feel hopeless, and the laughter from everyone else in class didn’t help. It’s not that she was a bad teacher, it’s just that she had very little patience for students (me) that didn’t catch on immediately. And rather than stick with a class I wasn’t comfortable with I ended up transferring to Spanish, and I’m happy to say things went much smoother there.
I later learned that ‘quel est votre passe-temps favori?’ is asking you what your favorite hobby is, and if I were smarter I would have smugly replied ‘learning Spanish.’
This is Laika when she has no clue what I’m saying. She’s such a good sport 🙂
Repetition is Pointless Without Comprehension
So what does all this have to do with dog training? Well, it taught me to be way more patient with Laika when learning new stuff. And that words are pointless when they don’t have meaning – no matter how many times you repeat them. If she doesn’t get something the first time I look back and try to figure out what she’s having a problem with rather than just repeating it over & over, louder & louder, hoping for a miracle.
When we work on a new command I take it slow, and I try to ensure that she understands exactly what I want. Just repeating ‘go get your glow ball & bring it to me’ over & over is pretty pointless when we’re still struggling with what ‘bring it to me’ really means. (no Laika, it does not mean bring it close to me and run away)
There’s a lot of parts to the language we use, and that’s especially true when training commands that have more than one part. I imagine we sound an awful lot like adults to do Charlie Brown when we’re trying to teach our dogs new stuff. Wah, wah, wah. New words don’t make any sense without the proper context, whether you’re a dog or a human. So rather than just repeating nonsense to Laika over & over I try to make sure each word has some meaning. And if doesn’t? Well we go back until it does.
Some commands can be taught quickly, and others take awhile. And since I don’t want my dog to be like the awkward kid in class who has no clue what’s going on I keep that memory of French class in mind. (I have doubts that repeating yourself to your own dog makes them feel as awkward as I did in French class, but the point of repeating gibberish over & over being rather pointless still stands.)
I don’t want my dog to feel discouraged, I want her to enjoy learning new things. The last thing I want is for her or I to get frustrated with one another while training. So I don’t speak loudly at her or repeat myself in frustration when she just doesn’t ‘get it.’ I go back and figure out how I can help her understand and put meaning to my requests. Repeating stuff over & over is only good when someone knows what in the hell you’re saying to begin with.
The Positive Pet Training blog hop is hosted by Tenacious Little Terrier, Wag n’ Woof Pets and Travels with Barley. Please join us in this hop by posting your positive pet training stories, it is open through Sunday. This month’s theme is “Training Tools” but you may share any positive pet training story! Please enjoy the posts below as well.
That French teacher story is the perfect metaphor for dog training! Ian Dunbar uses something similar in his seminars. How can we blame our dogs for being confused when they don’t know what we’re asking? Of course, I think Leo does know what I’m asking when he gives me a blank stare, but I’ve come to accept that.
Laika’s head tilt is so cute.
What a great story to put training into perspective! Thank you for sharing this. I keep having to remind myself that my new dog hasn’t had as much time to work on things as Barley has and she might not be able to hold a stay as long as Barley can and we need to work up to those things.
That is a great example of how not to teach (your French “teacher”). It sounds like no one ever talked to her about “splitting” – i.e., splitting every point down into its parts and then only putting them together after the student (or dog) understands each part very well!
Thanks for that, though I have to say it seemed like I was one of the only ones struggling with that method. I guess I don’t have a really good memory when it comes to verbal stuff. I was really amazed at how well my fellow students did with her method though. They were taking back in complete sentences to her, while I was just proud that I knew how to say banana. I guess we all learn differently, and yes I would have done much better if the different parts had been defined a little better before being expected to understand them together.
I love this. What a great way to spin an unhappy childhood experience into something positive! Luke has a lot of trouble with words, and I have a lot of trouble remembering not to repeat them incessantly!
He does understand hand gestures and sometimes he just knows what I want due to whatever circumstances we’re in. He often lies down when I stay sit; but I let it slide because all I really need is for him to stay in the same place anyway. So in a sense I think he does understand what I want, and why get caught up in the details?
Thanks for joining the hop!
Patience! I swear that my three dogs are in my life to teach me patience every. day. I get frustrated when Walter gets up out of a down on his mat. But I know I need to spend more time teaching the behavior. Not to mention it’s a new trick — so a good reminder for me. I never want my guys to feel discouraged. Thanks for this awesome post.
I love that example with the French teacher. Mr. N is pretty good at cues once he learns them but I’m prone to lumping when I shape and it’s something that I’ve been trying to work on. Thanks for joining the hop!
This is a great way to show we must be patient in teaching our pets! Thanks for sharing your story in french class as it really shows that we just have to understand that they just don’t comprehend what we want them to do.