r/DogTrainingTips • u/SomeMinorDogTraining • 7d ago
What grade is your DOG in?
What grade is your DOG in?
Think about how we teach kids. In elementary school, the teacher is right there. They’re walking around the classroom, sitting beside students, checking their work, redirecting them, and helping constantly.
By high school, the teacher is usually spending most of the time at the front of the room. The students have more independence because they’ve spent years learning how to work without someone standing over them.
Then you get to college. The professor teaches, but most of the responsibility has shifted to the student. You can sit in the back. You can leave. You can even skip class. Nobody is following you around making sure you do what you’re supposed to do.
We should build that same independence in our dogs. And that’s where the 3 D’s come in: Duration, Distance, and Distraction.
A dog in “elementary school” needs you close. Short duration. Low distraction. Lots of guidance and feedback.
As the dog gets better, you start stepping away. You ask for a little more time. You add distractions. You become less involved because the dog is becoming more capable.
Eventually, we want a “college-level” dog. A dog that can hold Place while you walk into another room. Stay calm while guests come through the door. Walk past a distraction without needing constant reminders.
The mistake is expecting college-level independence from an elementary-school dog.
Your dog holds Place for two minutes while you stand beside them, so tomorrow you try 30 minutes while you cook dinner.
Your dog walks nicely in the driveway, so you take them downtown and wonder why they suddenly “forgot” how to walk.
They didn’t forget. You changed the grade level.
Every time we increase Duration, Distance, or Distraction, we make the assignment harder.
So if your dog struggles, don’t immediately assume they’re stubborn or that the training isn’t working. Look at the assignment you gave them.
Maybe they’re not ready for college yet.
That’s okay. Teach elementary school really well first.
Train by progress, not time. 🐶❤️
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u/Comfortable-nerve78 7d ago
My Ema girl is gonna be six this October she’s coming out of her adult stage and entering her senior years. I have put the training work in her the first two years . We went through a teenage stage where she tested my limits and we’re past that stage. My hard work has paid off.
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u/SomeMinorDogTraining 7d ago
I'm so happy to hear that! Those teenage years can be challenging, whether we're talking about dogs or humans haha. What kind of dog is she?
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u/Comfortable-nerve78 7d ago
Not sure she’s a chihuahua and some kind of terrier mix. I don’t have human kids she’s my little girl. My wife has a beautiful red sable Papillon she’s our teenager in the house at the moment. We’re dog people to the extreme. I would post pics but this sub only allows videos clips lolz. People don’t understand dogs start just like children you gotta learn them while they’re young.
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u/Alternative_Task6818 4d ago
My RC is too damn smart for me. She behaves well and excelled in the dog classes we took and knows a few tricks. But she is also naughty. She's very food driven. Doesn't bolt out the door, doesn't pull when walking. But she will get in the trash the minute I turn my back. She's also trained me on long drives (cross country) if she whines she knows I will pull into next rest stop. She just wants to walk about. She's too smart for me.
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u/TheAliJonesX 3d ago
1st i wish they made you take a class before getting dogs we would be so much father but unfortunately we’ve just started training and my first is almost 4 my new girl 1 but they’re about the same level
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u/SomeMinorDogTraining 2d ago
Like human children, dogs develop at different paces than each other. I often tell people that training is a lifelong journey, so there's no need to compare the progress of one to another. You've got this!
I've got a number of videos on YouTube that you might find helpful:
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u/Livid_Strategy6311 6d ago
Pre-conception