Yesterday I hinted at a light bulb moment I had during our Tuesday night training class.
If there was an incident or comment that caused it to happen, I can’t put my finger on it. All I know is I was struck by an epiphany.
I don’t work with my dogs enough.
Granted since we started taking this class, I’ve gotten better with practicing, but I still haven’t set time aside each day to work with the dogs.
I can’t expect Delilah to know what I want her to do, when I’m not consistent with my requests.
It’s not like I don’t attempt to train my dogs, it’s just that once I teach them a command, I expect they know it and then I sort of don’t reinforce it as frequently as I should.
Which brings me to our recall.
How in the world do I expect Delilah to return to me, if I only ask her for it right when she’s found a really enticing smell?
It’s not like Sara hasn’t drilled this into my head. How many times have I heard her say, I call my dogs back about 75 times a walk?
So how is it, that it never sunk in before?
I’m reminded of learning my multiplication tables, I said it so many times over and over again that it is ingrained in my memory.
Seven times seven is forty-nine.
Which is exactly what I need to do with the dogs, I have to work it over and over again until it is second nature.
I want to work it so much that my dogs come back to me every couple of minutes all on their own.
Is that even possible?
Do you have a training schedule set aside for your dog? How frequently do you reinforce your commands?
The bigger question is, where do you find the time?
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