Dog Training Today with Will Bangura for Pet Parents, Kids & Family, Pets and Animals, and Dog Training Professionals. This is a Education & How To Dog Training Podcast.

10 Critical Mistakes That Sabotage Your Dog Training (And How to Fix Them)

• Will Bangura, M.S., CAB-ICB, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP is a World Renowned Dog Behaviorist, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer, and a Fear Free Certified Professional with over 36 years of experience with the most difficult • Season 6 • Episode 175

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Speaker 1:

Have you ever wondered why your dog listens sometimes but not always, or why they behave perfectly at home but act out in public? These issues often come from simple but common mistakes in training. Today, I'll be breaking down the 10 biggest mistakes pet parents make, explaining why they happen, how they affect your dog's learning and, most importantly, how to fix them. Don't go anywhere. All that and more, in 60 seconds.

Speaker 2:

Raised by wolves with canine DNA in his blood. Having trained more than 24,000 pets, helping you and your fur babies thrive, live in studio with Will Bangura answering your pet behavior and training questions. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host and favorite pet behavior expert, will Mangura.

Speaker 1:

Would you like to go on. You're all ready for this. Good day, dog lovers. Hey, welcome back to another episode of Dog Training Today, your go-to podcast for science-based, force-free and evidence-backed dog training advice. I'm your host, will Bangora, canine behaviorist and certified dog behavior consultant.

Speaker 1:

Today we're diving deep into the 10 biggest mistakes that pet parents make when training their dog and, most importantly, how to fix them. But before we get started, I've got a quick favor to ask If you've been enjoying this podcast. Do me a huge favor Hit that subscribe button and leave a five-star review. It helps us reach more pet parents who need and really are looking for good, science-based, evidence-based help. I'd really appreciate that. All right, let's get into today's podcast.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, I'm going to be talking about the 10 biggest training mistakes that pet parents make, and the first mistake that I want to cover is inconsistency in training. One of the biggest training mistakes that I see pet parents make is inconsistency. One day they allow their dog on the couch and then say the next day they scold them for it. Or sometimes, when their dog jumps up on guests, they laugh and give them attention. Or even when they jump on themselves, and other times they push them off and say no. Well, that inconsistency confuses your dog because they don't know what's expected of them. Dogs thrive. They thrive on structure and predictability. If a rule exists, it has to be the rule 100% of the time. The rule 100% of the time. When pet parents change the rules, the dog learns that sometimes the behavior is okay, which is going to make your training ineffective and, in addition to that, it also can really cause a lot of anxiety and stress in your dogs. All right, so let's talk about how to fix it. The biggest thing that needs to happen is you've got to set clear and consistent house rules. If the rule is no jumping on people, then every single family member and every single guest should enforce that rule. Use the same words for cues. If one person says down and another says off for getting off the couch, the dog won't understand what's expected. So make sure that you're using the same cue words, the same command words. Again, consistency. Reinforce consistency by setting up a simple training plan that everyone in the household follows.

Speaker 1:

Now, the second biggest mistake that pet parents make in training their dogs are using punishment-based methods. This is a big one. Many pet parents still believe in outdated training techniques that rely on punishment like yelling or leash corrections or even shock collars or prong collars. They assume that punishing bad behavior will make the dog stop, but research shows that punishment-based training actually increases anxiety, stress and even aggression. You can find that study by ZIV Z-I-V. That was a 2017 study.

Speaker 1:

Imagine if you were learning a new language and every time you mispronounced a word, someone yelled at you or gave you a shock. Would that help you learn, or would you become nervous and hesitant to even try speaking? Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement, not fear. So how do you fix that? Well, instead of punishing mistakes, reward the behavior you want to see more of. You want to see more of. If your dog jumps on guests, don't yell. Teach them that sitting politely gets them the attention they crave. If they pull on the leash, don't jerk them back. Stop walking and only move forward when they loosen the leash. The goal is to teach your dog what to do instead of just stopping what you don't want them to do Now.

Speaker 1:

The third biggest mistake that pet parents make in training their dogs is expecting immediate results. Training is a process, not an event. Too many pet parents expect their dog to be fully trained in a week or two, and when they don't see immediate results, they assume the dog isn't capable of learning. But here's the reality. Just like humans take time to learn new skills, dogs do too. Some behaviors take weeks or even months of reinforcement to become solid habits, and, depending on your dog's breed, its temperament and past experiences, learning speeds can vary and they can vary greatly. All right, how do we fix that, though? Well, the first thing is be patient. Be patient, set small, achievable goals and celebrate the progress. If your dog holds a sit for two seconds today, aim for three seconds tomorrow. Remember progress is key. Expecting overnight success will only lead to frustration.

Speaker 1:

Now, the fourth biggest mistake that pet parents make in training their dogs is reinforcing the wrong behaviors. Did you know that you might be accidentally reinforcing the behaviors that you want to stop? Here's an example If your dog jumps up on you and you push them off while saying no, stop that, well, you've just rewarded the jumping. Why? Because, to your dog, any attention, even negative attention, is still attention. Dogs repeat behaviors that work for them. If barking at the window makes the mailman go away, they'll keep barking. If jumping up earns a reaction, they'll keep jumping up. So how do you fix this Well, ignore unwanted behavior and reward only the behaviors you like.

Speaker 1:

If your dog jumps, turn your back and wait until they sit, then reward them with attention. Timing is crucial. Then reward them with attention. Timing is crucial. Make sure that you reinforce the right behavior at the right time. And if you want to even take this another step further, you begin teaching them a very solid, reliable sit and every time they come towards you, or every time your dog comes towards a guest, you give the sit cue or command and reward that. And over time again, we talked about earlier being patient, right, not expecting immediate results. Over time, your dog is going to come and sit, because that's what gets attention, that's what gets a reward. And if they jump, you turn around and you ignore them. Soon they're going to be sitting rather than jumping, all right.

Speaker 1:

Mistake number five. Mistake number five is all about not using high value food rewards. Would you work hard at your job if you were only paid in pennies? Probably not. Well, the same logic applies to your dog when it comes to training rewards. Not all treats are created equal, and some pet parents make the mistake of using low value rewards when trying to teach their dogs very difficult behaviors. Think of it like this If you were in a room full of distractions like your favorite TV show, a plate of your favorite food, a friend calling your name what would make you leave all of that behind to pay attention to someone giving you a task to do? The reward needs to be worth your while.

Speaker 1:

If your dog is outside, where there are exciting smells, moving squirrels and other dogs, then dry biscuits or kibble simply isn't enough to grab their attention. So how do you fix this? Well, use high-value rewards like cooked chicken, small pieces of cheese, freeze-dried liver or peanut butter for difficult training sessions, particularly when distractions are really high. Understand the reward hierarchy. A boring piece of kibble might work in a quiet living room, but outside at the park you're going to need something more exciting, like beef jerky or their absolute favorite toy. The other thing don't phase out treats too soon. Many pet parents stop rewarding way too early, which can lead to a decline in the behavior that you're trying to teach and the reliability of that behavior. Slowly, very slowly, reduce treat frequency only after the behavior is truly solid, in lots of different environments, in lots of different locations and situations. Then you can incorporate life rewards too, if your dog loves going outside, make them sit calmly before opening the door. If they love playing fetch, use the ball as a reward for a good sit or a good stay, all right.

Speaker 1:

Mistake number six poor timing of rewards. Poor timing of rewards. Timing is everything. Let me say that again. Timing is everything in dog training. Let me say that again Timing is everything in dog training and that's why I believe it's important to using markers in training. Well, do a search, find out what marker training is. Conditioning a marker. You can go to my website at dogbehavioristcom and go to the articles and look for my article on clicker training, which will also discuss that.

Speaker 1:

But the fact of the matter is dogs live in the moment and they associate consequences, whether rewards or corrections, with what they're doing at that exact moment. This means that if you reward even a few seconds too late, your dog is not going to connect the dots. Your dog will not connect the consequences with the behavior that you intended. For example, if your dog finally sits after you've said sit five times, and you reward them three seconds later when they're already standing up again, you've just reinforced standing up, not sitting. Or let's say that your dog comes when called, but by the time they reach you, you scold them for taking too long. Now they associate coming to you with something negative.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, this is one of the biggest reasons why some pet parents struggle with training. Their dog isn't stubborn. I hear that all the time. My dog is stubborn. No, your dog isn't stubborn, they're just confused by your poor timing. So how do you fix that? Reward immediately, within one to two seconds of the desired behavior happening? I already talked about using a marker, a marker word like yes, or a clicker to bridge the gap between the behavior and the reward. This tells your dog exactly what they did right at the exact moment that it happens.

Speaker 1:

All right Now, be mindful of accidental reinforcement. If your dog barks and you give them attention, even to tell them no, you might be reinforcing the barking. If your dog does something that you don't like, redirect that behavior immediately. For example, if they chew on furniture and you redirect them 10 seconds later, they're not going to understand what they did wrong and they're not going to start connecting the new behavior that you're rewarding as a replacement behavior. Until you have good timing, all right. Another this is so big mistake.

Speaker 1:

Number seven skipping socialization. Or hear me, hear me hear me doing it incorrectly. Look, socialization is more than just exposing your dog to new people or dogs and different environments. It's about making sure those experiences are positive and making sure that those experiences are controlled. A common mistake that pet parents make is either skipping socialization altogether or doing it the wrong way, which can actually actually make fear or aggression worse. Some people think just exposing their puppy to strangers or loud noises or other dogs is enough, but if those experiences are negative or overwhelming, your dog may become fearful instead of confident.

Speaker 1:

Socialization is not just about exposure. It's about teaching your dog that new experiences are safe and that new experiences are enjoyable and that they're positive. So how do you fix that? Well, start socialization early, ideally before 16 weeks of age. You know that critical socialization window is actually when the puppy is between three weeks and 13 weeks of age. If you're waiting to socialize, if you're waiting to expose your puppy until they received all of their vaccinations, until after, say, their 16 weeks, you've missed that window and chances are that puppy is going to be fearful of a lot of things because you've missed that window. Now You've missed that window. Now the veterinary behaviorists have a position statement on socialization and what they'll tell you is that it's wrong to wait until your dog is completely vaccinated.

Speaker 1:

If your dog has one or two sets of shots and listen, if they were nursing on mom, all right. If they were nursing on mom, they already have some antibodies Now. We don't want your puppy to get sick. We certainly don't want them to get parvo and distemper, but there's a lot of regular vets scaring the heck out of you. Listen. You get your dog out everywhere, but stay away from heavily soiled areas. Don't take your puppy to places other dogs are peeing or where other dogs are pooping. And when you bring your dog around other dogs, make sure that they're vaccinated. Also, make sure that they're calm, all right. But you got to start it early Now.

Speaker 1:

When you're doing socialization, when you're doing exposure, you've got to do it at your dog's pace. If your puppy is scared of something, don't force them. Let them explore that at their own comfort level, while rewarding calm behavior. It's so important. Use treats and positive reinforcement when exposing your dog to new things. For example, if they see a skateboard for the first time, reward them for looking at it calmly. Reward them for looking at it calmly. This will start to build a positive association instead of fear. Now you've got to be careful. You need to avoid flooding. If your dog is nervous around other dogs, don't throw them into a dog park thinking they'll get used to it. This can backfire and this can cause more fear or reactivity in your dog. Socialization isn't just about other dogs also, it includes things like new sounds, textures, people with hats, people in wheelchairs, even different surfaces like tile and grass. Get your dog socialized, get them exposed to everything. Pair those new experiences with high value food rewards. Make it a positive experience. Watch your puppy's reaction in these new situations. If your puppy is scared, nervous or anxious or stressed, hey, back away. Dial it back. Reward them at a distance where they're calm. But you've got to do that, all right.

Speaker 1:

Mistake number eight only training at home, not in different environments. That is a huge problem. There's a lot of pet parents that are only training at home. You're not training in lots of different environments. That is a huge problem. There's a lot of pet parents that are only training at home. You're not training in lots of different environments. Listen, your dog may know how to sit perfectly in your quiet living room, but what happens when you ask them to sit at the park with squirrels running around, all right. Many pet parents assume their dog knows a behavior, but in reality dogs don't generalize well, meaning they struggle to apply training in different environments.

Speaker 1:

If you only practice your cues or commands at home, your dog won't be reliable in real world situations. Training in various places is crucial to ensuring that your dog listens, no matter where you are. So how do you fix that? Well, once your dog has mastered a cue or command, once your dog has mastered a behavior at home, practice it in new locations your backyard, a quiet park, a busy sidewalk. Gradually, gradually and systematically increase distractions. Start in a quiet place but then add slight distractions, then more challenging ones. But you got to go at the dog's pace. If your dog can't do it, dial back those distractions. Spend more time at lower level distractions before you move up to higher level distractions All right. Use a leash to maintain control while reinforcing your cues and commands in new environments. Remember, just because your dog knows a cue at home doesn't mean that they'll automatically understand it somewhere else. Practice, practice, practice. You know that old saying practice makes perfect. No, that's not accurate. What practice practice? Practice means? Practice means that it brings about more permanence and more reliability. So the more you practice, the more permanence, the more reliability you're going to have with those behaviors. All right.

Speaker 1:

Mistake number nine Over-reliance on verbal cues and commands. Listen, dogs? They don't speak English. Many pet parents make the mistake of saying commands over and over and over again without first teaching the dog what the word actually means. If you say sit, sit, sit, sit, but your dog hasn't been taught the meaning of sit, then they're just hearing the noise. And what does that mean To the dog? It means it's optional, right? Dogs respond better to body language than words. That's why some dogs will sit when you motion with your hand, but not when you say sit, because they understand the physical cue better. So how do you fix that? Well, teach the behavior first. Don't assume that you can just speak a word and your dog's going to do it. Teach the behavior first then, add the verbal cue later.

Speaker 1:

Use hand signals in combination with words to help your dog learn more effectively. Say the command once, then guide them into the position if needed. Don't repeat it over and over and over. All right, mistake number 10. Ignoring your dog's emotional state. Ignoring your dog's emotional state Listen. A dog who is stressed, fearful or overly excited is not in the right mindset to learn. If your dog's trembling at the vet's office or lunging at another dog, they're too emotionally overwhelmed to process any kind of training. So how do you fix this? Well, work on relaxation techniques before training sessions. A calm dog learns a lot better. If your dog, if you've got a dog that has a lot of anxiety, if you've got a dog that experiences a lot of stress, if you've got a dog that's reactive or fearful or aggressive, you might want to try a natural calming aid to support their emotional well-being.

Speaker 1:

Calm dogs I want to take a quick second to talk to you about calm dogs. Calm dogs is a natural calming aid that I spent five years researching and developing. That's right. Calm dogs is my creation. I developed calm dogs for dogs with anxiety, fears, phobias, reactivity and even aggression. I created calm dogs to help dogs that have noise sensitivities, like a fear of thunderstorms or fireworks. Calm Dogs also works great for dogs with separation anxiety, a fear of car rides and travel. Calm Dogs even helps those dogs with a fear of vet visits or grooming. In fact, I'm so confident that Calm Dogs will help your dog that I make it absolutely risk-free. Calm Dogs comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. My promise to you is very simple Calm Dogs works for your dog or it's free. Take the 45-Day Calm Dog Challenge. Go to calmdogscom or doganxietycom to learn more about Calm Dogs and how it can help your dog today, risk-free, at calmdogscom or DogAnxietycom.

Speaker 1:

All right, we were talking about ignoring your dog's emotional state. We're talking about a dog who is stressed or fearful or overly excited. Hey, they're not in the right mindset to learn. To learn, you have got to gradually and systematically learn little by little, in tiny little slices. Get them used to the things that cause them to be anxious, nervous, fearful, stressed. Did you know that reactivity most all reactivity, most all aggression is based in anxiety, based in fear, based in stress or based in frustration? You need to use counter conditioning. You need to pair stressful situations with positive reinforcement to change their emotional response. But again, if they're too overwhelmed, they're not going to learn anything. You need to expose them to these new, scary things. But, for example, if they have anxiety or fear of people or dogs, you start at a distance where they're calm. You start at a distance where they're relaxed and you pair that with positive reinforcement, gradually, slowly, systematically, only at the dog's pace. Only as fast as your dog can learn and handle things do you move closer, and you always use the feedback of how your dog is responding emotionally to let you know if you're working too quickly.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so anyway, those are the top 10 mistakes in training dogs that pet parents make. All right, perfect, so I want to do. I've got some listener questions. I want to go through a few of those before we wrap up. So the first question is from Stacy and Stacy's in Iowa, is from Stacy and Stacy's in Iowa, and Stacy says why does my dog listen to my spouse but not me? Wow, you know that is super common. Dogs respond best to the person who's the most consistent. We talked about consistency as one of the mistakes that are made, but again, dogs are going to respond best to the person who's most consistent with their structure, with their cues, their commands, their rewards, with their boundaries, the rules, the structure. If your spouse always reinforces commands the same way and you're more lenient or inconsistent, your dog will naturally listen to them more. So let's talk about how you fix that. Both of you should be on the same page, with the same training cues and the same rules. You need to practice simple obedience exercises together so your dog learns to listen to both of you. Make sure that you're both using the same tone, the same words, the same body language when giving those cues. That also is very, very important. But usually why this happens? One person in the house holds the heavy, the other person is more lenient, and so you've got to get on the same page. When you do that, you're going to see that change. All right.

Speaker 1:

The next question is for Josh. Josh is in Delaware. Josh says how do I stop my dog from pulling on the leash? Well, here's the thing Pulling happens because it works. When your dog pulls, they move forward. Yeah, they want to move forward. So to stop it, you need to teach them that pulling stops the walk. So try this the moment your dog pulls, stop walking. Don't yank them back, don't correct them, don't cause them to experience discomfort, just freeze. Wait until they loosen the leash even slightly. The moment they do say yes, or give a click, give a reward. Then move forward.

Speaker 1:

Make sure that you're using high value treats to reward them when they're walking on a loose leash. Over time, they're going to learn that pulling equals no movement, while loose leash walking equals rewards and your problem will be resolved. But you got to be patient. You can't expect immediate results and if you're in too high of a distracting environment too soon and you haven't done that gradually from no distractions, low distractions, moderate distractions, then high distractions, and if you're not working at your dog's pace, yeah, you're going to be struggling with this. We also talked earlier about mistakes. Using the right kind of food rewards, your food rewards, and you need to be more interesting than whatever's going on in the dog's environment. Okay, all right.

Speaker 1:

The next question is from Diana. Diana is from Hawaii. She says my dog barks constantly at the window. How do I stop it? Well, your dog barks because in your dog's mind they believe that they're chasing away threats. So, instead of scolding, teach the quiet cue. All right, when your dog starts barking, wait for a brief pause in their barking. When they offer that brief pause, say quiet and reward them with a high value treat. Gradually increase the duration that your dog has to be quiet before rewarding. If your dog continues barking, try blocking their view or redirecting them with a different activity.

Speaker 1:

You're going to need to set up controlled situations so you could have a friend, another well, usually a family member is not going to work a stranger, a friend, somebody that your dog's not used to come walking up to the front of the house. There you can go ahead and take down the visual barrier. But here's the problem. If, let's say, your dog can see people walking by the house, again in your dog's mind they're looking oh, there's a scary person. Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff. They're barking like crazy. That person leaves. Now you and I know they're not. That person's not going to be sticking around. But in your dog's mind it's like oh, there's a scary person, I bark. That scary person leaves. Mission accomplished, my barking works. They're not going to want to give that up.

Speaker 1:

It's a natural, reinforced behavior. So if you're gone running errands for a long time, if you're gone at work for several hours and your dog is practicing and rehearsing that behavior over and over and over again. It's just constantly being reinforced. So it's at those times, while you're doing the work, while you're doing the training not forever you need to block your dog's view. You need to block your dog's view because it's no longer a teaching moment, because you're not there. You're not there to wait for that quiet, to then be able to label that absence of barking with quiet and rewarding that. But it'll go a lot faster if every day, you have somebody come and act as the stranger and you practice that with your dog. Okay, practice, practice, practice makes perfect. Now remember what I said earlier it's not about perfection, it's about the more you practice, the more permanence, the more reliability you're going to have.

Speaker 1:

Well, folks, that music means we are out of time again. If you haven't subscribed, make sure that you hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode of Dog Training Today. And if you love what we do, please give us a five-star review Again. That just helps more pet parents get great training information and have more well-behaved dogs. Thanks for listening. Make sure to check back for another episode of Dog Training today. Train, train, train, practice, practice, practice. I promise you it'll bring about permanence and reliability. Be patient with your dog. Use high value food rewards and give your doggies a hug and a kiss from me. Have a great day, everybody. Have a great week. I'm out of here Bye.

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Will Bangura M.S.,CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP

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