2 DON’T TAKE GOOD BEHAVIOUR FOR GRANTED – this is not about praising but about marking when your dog is doing it “right”.  Sometimes I expected too much, too fast.  It’s a joy to see your dog relax when s/he hears the word YES – like they are saying to themselves “oh good, I’m on the right lines”. 

3  UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THE DIFFERENT EXERCISES/GAMES – I had always focused on the exercise as fairly standard to any sort of dog training without differentiating in my mind if we were dealing with better focus, body awareness, impulse control, desensitisation, proximity, responsiveness.  And I’m sure there are more that I’ve not yet cottoned onto. Knowing what you are doing it for gives it purpose and meaning – and something to use or practise in your everyday situations too.

4   PLAY PURPOSEFUL GAMES AT ANY TIME – In my old mindset it was training or it was fun time.  I hate to think how many times I’ve said “let’s get serious” – and oh how dogs hate getting human serious!  But they love to be canine serious – so interspersing games for a minute or two  here and there throughout the day in different places, at different times has really been a game changer for me. 

5  BE AWARE OF YOUR REPERTOIRE – if I’m not aware of it, nor is my dog.  My dog is just as happy to forget stuff she knew as she is to remember it.  So running through different bits of repertoire are vital – even “sit” which some might think the most basic. But I’d never have thought of sitting in hoops (the dog not me), working on my non-working side. 

6  BE PREPARED TO ADAPT – dogs have preferred sides, ways of turning, reading signs from you, and can interpret what you want of them in different ways.  The light bulb moment on this for me was when I was training her to move from down to sit without standing first.  She was totally confused.  Then I realised that “sit” for her was the act of sitting rather than the end product.  Once I’d got that I changed the command and the hand signal – and her lightbulb went on too. 

7  UPSIDE DOWN THINKING – to me recall was about the dog coming to me when I called so s/he already had to be “away” from me in order to be able to call the dog in.  But  – and here was the new learning for me – if you throw out the treat, the dog gets it and then determines to come back to you because another treat may be thrown out.  Bingo!  The start of recall – the dog’s choice not your requirement.

8  FUTURE PROOFING – I got some clarity on this reading the article from Emma Lee the other day and possibly why people give up on training.  Most of the time we choose to manage with whatever difficulties/problems/issues/training limitations are manifesting rather than thinking forward to when you may need this for real.  And it links very much to your repertoire – the vocabulary, the body language you have at your disposal and the understanding and hence response that your dog has. 

9  IT’S NOT A MARATHON – Little and often pays dividends far more than intensive sessions.  Knowing when your dog’s concentration span has ended – they are not being naughty intentionally – there’s just no more space left to assimilate it until some filing has been done.  Take time out of a class if your dog needs it.  Far more beneficial than keep pushing through.  You have to do that for your dog.

10  ALWAYS WARM UP . . . and cool down.  Getting focus and connection makes all the difference to team performance – ie you and your dog.  So warming up to be ready to learn more is truly important and the dog loves it.  Similarly cool down when finished – don’t plan a long walk – using the brain is tiring.  So paws up time is important too. 

To end I’d like to quote the late Dr Michael Moseley – you can start by changing just one thing.  You’ll be amazed.