Why Training is So Much More Than Obedience

Training, noun: the action of teaching a person or animal a particular skill or type of behaviour.

Training is a key part of looking after your dog. It’s a way to add enrichment into our dog’s lives, it can help them grow to be good canine members of society, as well as learning how to navigate a human world safely. It can also save hours of frustration - frustration that can ruin your relationship with your dog - and it allows you to connect on a deeper level as you learn to better understand each other.

Dog Training is so much more than having a well-behaved dog

Whether you consider yourself a coach or teacher for your dog, a pet parent, guardian, or owner - the process of training comes into all sorts of areas of our human:dog relationships. We train pet dogs, dogs who take part in sports, assistance dogs, and working dogs. 

Just like playing with your dog, training allows our dogs the opportunity to develop social skills which can improve their relationships with the humans they live with, but also those outside of their family. Teaching our dogs new cued behaviours can help them to learn and grow various skill sets from basic focus, to impulse control, to physical strengthening exercises. 

Training allows you to learn to understand your dog better. What works to motivate them, their likes and dislikes, their personality traits, and the subtle body language cues they display. When we walk our dogs, cuddle them, feed them, or generally hang out with them, the distractions of life - phones, other conversations, tomorrow’s to-do lists - often restrict our direct focus on our dogs. But when we work with our dogs, to learn new tasks together, we are much more likely to give them our full focus. 

Behavioural challenges is one of the most common reasons cited for dogs being rehomed or placed into a rescue centre. If training was implemented consistently from an early age, then those dogs might be deemed better members of the family and be more likely to remain in their current home. In fact, training is often at the heart of any behavioural work we do with our dogs. When I see families to help them work through behavioural challenges with their dog/s, there will always be some key aspect of their behavioural plan that is focused around training exercises. 

However, especially when it comes to working with an already emotionally challenged dog, it is important that the right methods are used to ensure we’re not adding any undue stress. A recent study, from the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular in Portugal, looks at how dogs respond to different methods of training - both positive (using food and toy rewards) and aversive (using punishment such as shouting and lead corrections). What was interesting was that this study not only found that the dogs trained with aversive methods “spent more time in tense and low behavioral states and more time panting during the training sessions” and “showed higher elevations in cortisol levels [the stress hormone] after training” but that they were also presented as more ‘pessimistic’ in a cognitive bias task. As the study states, “these findings indicate that the use of aversive-based methods compromises the welfare of companion dogs in both the short- and the long-term.” So training - or in particular, the way we train - can actually impact our dogs’ outlook on life, their view of the world. How amazing is that?

Training using a reward the dog loves can actually impact the way a puppy bonds with its new family - or how a rescue dog learns to trust the people working at a rescue centre or in its new home. When we feed our dog tasty food, they start to see us as something positive in their life. We become a predictor of good things, a provider of reward. When we work positively with our dog they will look forward to us being around them - and seek out interactions with us. 

We don’t have to commit to hours of training to achieve the benefits a session provides. Particularly for younger dogs, regular 3-5 minute sessions can be really beneficial - as well as being achievable for the human end of the lead. It’s all about habit forming. Forming a training habit can be pretty easy if you give yourself a visual cue as a reminder in the early days. I always recommend leaving a pot of treats by your kettle or tv remote (something you use a few times a day) and every time you boil the kettle, or the advert break comes on the TV, you call your dog and start to train! You’ll soon find the reward YOU gain from giving that extra bit of time to your dog is reinforcing enough to keep up this new training habit. 

A dog that has had a period of mental stimulation in their day - alongside some physical workout - will much more likely to be calm and happy than a dog that has only had physical activity. While we can add mental stimulation in quite simply by giving easy food games - such as food scatters in the garden, rolling treats up in a towel that the dog must unravel, or hiding food around your home - training and the one:one focus it gives you and your dog, will always be a winner for me. It improves your connection in a way other activities can’t. 

Excuses need to be left at the door when it comes to getting into a regular training routine. I hear many people who say their dog is too stubborn, too lazy, or are deemed an ‘untrainable breed’. Don’t ever underestimate your dog based on breed. All dogs have the ability to learn when put in the right environment with the right motivation. When we welcomed our, now 10-year-old, Basset Hound Ezri into our lives we were met with lots of comments such as ‘you’re brave’ and ‘they’re the most stubborn breed’. Suffice to say they were wrong. She has, at last count, 60+ exercises she knows cues for - and has tried many dog sports from Rally, to Treibball, to Search & Rescue. And of course, she has an exceptional nose! 

If training sessions aren’t going well. Stop, review, and consider why you might not be connecting mentally with your dog. Are your training goals clear? Is your dog ready and physically able to do what you are asking of them? Are you mixing up verbal and visual cues? Is your dog over-tired? And probably, most commonly, is there the right motivation available to reward your dog with? 

Reward is really key when it comes to learning. Just as we want to be paid appropriately for our work - so does our dog. Does the bit of dried food you’re offering them fail to motivate them to learn? Would some cooked turkey or a piece of cheese work better? Or would your play-loving dog, prefer you reward them with a game of tug?

You can play with your dog during training - and playing is another way to truly strengthen your bond. Studies have shown, across a range of species, that parents who play with their children have a stronger bond. Fun, friendly, and encouraging relationships are the key to relaxed children - and dogs!

Speaking of children, for dogs raised in homes with younger children, the interaction that training exercises can give them will not only help to keep each part of the relationship more safe, but they can also improve the child’s motor skills and the bond they have with their family dog. 

The opportunities to continue to train your dog throughout their whole life are endless. I have people who have been training with me for years with their dogs in our Canine Connection Club and they still have just as much enthusiasm! Whether it be improving the precision or speed your dog completes a task with, entering a new world of canine sport, or just developing the environments you work within, training doesn’t have to stop once you get out of that troublesome puppy or teenage phase. Training is not about creating a show pony, a dog that can display an array of interesting moves. It’s about opening up a dialogue between you and your dog, and building on your connection. What are you going to train today?