Goals and Training Plans for My Dogs

I came home stuffed to the brim with new information and all sorts of training techniques that I want to try. In fact there is so much information dancing around in my head that I need to first slow myself down and make a plan before I start assaulting my poor dogs with a barrage of training that ends up overwhelming them.

I'm a fairly linear thinker so my tendency when I have a goal is to map out the steps needed to get there and then rigidly follow that path, always with my eye on the prize. This is not a good way to train, especially if you are working with fearful and anxious dogs.

Not that a plan isn't good to have, but so much rigidity is only going to slow things down and make a trainer push a dog perhaps faster than they are able to stay a happy, engaged learner. So for my dogs what I want to do is make a list for each dog. 

First will be a list of their strengths. I want to sit and ponder what each of my personal and foster dogs bring to the training table - not what tricks or behaviors that they already know but some of their natural talents.  For my pack of terriers, all four of them (foster and personal dogs) are pretty drivey which can really be a strength in a dog. They love to work! But it can also be a road block when a calm demeanor is needed. Frodo is pretty good at focusing and all four dogs are very intelligent and very motivated by food. Chima, Tilly and Salinas all have very good communication skills with other dogs and clear body language. 

Then I want to lay out some goals for each of my dogs of things we need to work on. For Chima my goals are continuing to desensitize and counter-condition her to touch from humans. Other goals for her are increasing her trust and connection to me and then working on making vet visits and nail trims less scary. Salinas needs to work on entering her crate and entering the house which can both be scary for her. You get the picture. 

The final step is to lay out a few different training ideas for each dog that will help us get closer to that goal. Since I'm not an expert clicker trainer and don't want to frustrate or overwhelm the dogs or myself, we are choosing some beginning training games - one for each dog - and starting simple. Frodo's overall goal is to help him be less anxious so we are starting out with some mat practice to work towards learning to settle. Chima is working on eye contact and Salinas and I are playing some crate games. Tilly and I are playing some games to help her with impulse control - a much needed skill for our resident senior citizen. No dog is too old to learn and the enrichment of clicker training games in my mind is even more important for seniors than other dogs. They need to keep their brains active and engaged. 

Chima showing some good eye contact and checking in with me.

Even if you have several different areas you want to work, unless you are an expert clicker trainer then start with just one thing and work on that until the dog feels super strong and confident with the skill before adding to the training plan. 

Frodo on his first step to letting go of some of his anxiety: working on "settle"

And don't focus on that end result of where you want your dog to be. Instead each day just observe where your dog is at and focus on that. Before you know it, you'll have reached that training goal but by focusing on the tiny steps and successes along the way I promise you that you'll reach your goals much quicker and everyone will enjoy the process more.