Making Training a Habit
In the day to day shuffle it can be really hard to make training our dogs a priority - especially when some days it just feels too damn hard! But the thing about learning a new skill is that it takes practice and consistency over the long term to get good at it. It’s not something we can throw ourselves into for a month and call it good.
And the best way to get that practice in regularly? Make it a habit.
To build a habit of training we want to:
🚨Make it obvious so you can’t forget.
Set a reminder on your phone, or leave a note or your training tools somewhere you’ll see it.
❤️ Make it attractive. Temptation bundling is an idea way of doing this - pairing training with something you need to do. Eg I want a coffee, so while the jug is boiling I’ll use that time to get a few reps in of a behaviour. At the end of the session I get that much needed coffee, and we’re another practice session closer to success!
😎 Make it easy, reduce the friction.
You can use the dogs dinner for a few reps (you’ve already got it out, may as well put it to good use), and have treats chopped up and stashed in convenient locations around the house so they’re on hand to reinforce day to day stuff you like.
🎉 Make it satisfying.
If you’re stuck drilling the same lame sits you’re going to get bored pretty quick and struggle to see progress. At the other end, if you’re totally overwhelmed and out of your depth you’ll lose motivation pretty quick. Set a goal you’d like to work towards, break that into small achievable pieces and keep pushing forward. One example could be preparing for an overnight hike with your dog - break it down to the skills you’ll find helpful for that (eg a follow, recall, settling on a mat in the tent), and think about how cool that weekend away is going to be. Then make it happen with those awesome new skills you’ve trained!
🥰 Seek community for accountability and support. We’re the average of the people we hang around with, so surround yourself with people who are also motivated to do cool shit with their dogs. This could be a friend with a dog, joining a training group (in person or a well chosen facebook group), or getting a trainer involved to keep you accountable.
Training doesn’t have to take hours of time a day or be this big stressful thing you have to do. Remember that done is better than perfect! Aim for little and often, slowly chipping away towards your goals.
Lastly, don’t forget to look up at some stage and celebrate your achievements. It’s so easy to forget how far you and your dog have come when you’re in the daily grind, but with little changes each day we can make an enormous impact over the long term!
Content inspired by the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
