Teddy’s Top Training Tip: Make sure to train your dog in different locations.
Train your dog in different locations
Training your dog at a training class or 1-2- 1 training is very helpful. However, dogs are not good at generalising the training. How many times have you taken your dog to class and he or she has been great at responding to each training exercise, then when class has finished it seems to go all out of the kennel door and the well-behaved dog becomes a hooligan outside.
Think about transferring your training to different environments:
- The park
- The beach
- The countryside walk
- The river walk
The list is endless, but transferring the training or completing your training as some trainers call it can help dogs understand that they need to respond to the owner in any given situation and/or location.
The training can either be carried out with just the owner and dog or there may be a group in your area that you can join that will help with this type of training and you be encouraged to go along.
If you are carrying out the training on your own, then here are a few tips that will get you started:
- When you visit the area – choose one part to start off your training.
- Start with something simple – like the sit.
- Start off with short training sessions of a few minutes.
- Start off with low distractions, for example no dogs in the area or in the distance.
- Have high value treats with you.
- Have your treat ready to reward your dog – look at the blog “Have your rewards handy so that you can mark and reward the right behaviours/training exercises”.
- Make it fun for you and your dog – so lots of games in-between training.
Transferring your training to different locations means that you will have a well-mannered dog that is a pleasure to own and a joy to take out and about.