Lorrie [00:00:08]:
Your dog training session should end on a high note even if it isn't the one you planned. Welcome to the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. I'm Lorrie Reynolds, owner of Maximum Fun Dog Sports. We help your agility team build your relationship, communication, confidence, and fun in training so that you can joyfully succeed on any course. In this episode, we'll talk about what success means for a dog training session, what to do if things don't go as planned, and how to end a session with success. You'll often hear instructors say, "Always end your training session with a successful repetition". What does that actually mean though? Do you have to keep training until you master the skill you are learning? Should you stress your dog out by continuing on until you get a good repetition of an exercise? Dog training doesn't always go as planned. We've all been there.
Lorrie [00:01:05]:
We are working on a skill with our dogs, and things just aren't going well. Whatever the reason for the roadblock, if you've broken down the skill and you still aren't getting there, it's important to stop before you or your dog gets frustrated or discouraged. Failure in training isn't always a bad thing. We'll talk about when failure is a good thing in episode 35. Sometimes failure on an exercise can provide more clarity about holes in our foundation or our training process. It is often better to stop and reassess instead of pushing on and damaging our relationship. If your dog is showing signs of frustration or stress, you may want to move to a different exercise or take a break from your training session. Frustration or stress can manifest as inactive behaviors like leaving to sniff, slowing down significantly, or refusing to move.
Lorrie [00:02:01]:
Dogs can actively show frustration or stress by barking, spinning, jumping, nipping, getting zoomies, or randomly taking obstacles. I've seen dogs grab cones and run away, bite at the equipment, or get caught in an infinite loop of tunnels. These active behaviors can also be a sign of overarousal, so take time to assess your dog to determine if he just needs to ramp down or he is telling you he's had enough. There are a few key causes of training session breakdowns. First, your dog may not understand what you are asking. If your cues aren't clear, or your body language is conflicted, or you haven't broken down the skill into logical pieces, your dog may struggle to figure out what you want. Second, you could be working above your dog's current skill level by too wide of a margin. We always want to increase the dog's skill level, but if you make too big of a jump, it can lead to frustration or stress.
Lorrie [00:03:05]:
A dog who has been working distances of 10 feet can't suddenly jump to 20 feet and be successful. A dog who has only worked on behaviors at home is going to be way out of his depth at a busy park. The repeated failures will tank your training session and overwhelm or frustrate your dog. Third, the reward frequency might not be high enough. If your dog is repeatedly trying to perform and is not being rewarded for the attempts, it can cause frustration. This can stem from not breaking the behavior down into enough pieces that the dog can gradually increase his understanding. It could be due to inattention or poor mechanics, or it can be caused by perfectionism where he is only getting rewarded for perfect repetitions rather than close attempts. Last, handler timing can cause frustration.
Lorrie [00:04:01]:
If your dog understands what to do, but isn't getting information soon enough to perform, he can become frustrated by having to repeat behaviors or sequences multiple times. If you are having to frequently redirect your dog, call him off of an incorrect obstacle, or he is turning back waiting for the next cue, his frustration is likely caused by inadequate direction and timing. If we don't want to keep pushing on a skill until the dog has a successful repetition, we want to keep frustration low for us and the dog, and we don't wanna cause a training session breakdown where we lose our connection, how do we end a training session with success once it has gone off the rails? Once your dog has wandered into overload, frustration, or stress territory, it can be difficult to bring him back. The best thing to do is to take a break from training. I believe it is important to end on success, but not necessarily the successful repetition of what you were trying to train. Ask your dog for a simple behavior or 2, something easy that he already knows well, and reward handsomely for his performance. This will end your training on a good note and give you time to assess what went wrong. It will help maintain your dog's enthusiasm for training by giving him a jackpot before you stop the session.
Lorrie [00:05:28]:
This week, if you aren't already doing so, try ending your training session with success, whether it is what you plan to work on or just a simple behavior your dog knows well. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Maximum Fun Agility podcast. If you wanna build a successful agility team where runs with your partner feel flowing and in sync, join us in The Agility Playground. The Agility Playground is a low cost membership that meets you where you are on your dog agility journey and helps you propel your team to new heights. You can check out The Agility Playground and join our community at www.maximumfundogs.com. See you next time.
