May 15, 2023

Training dogs is simple, but not easy. Being aware and paying attention to these three simple factors can go a long way toward making it a little easier.

Teaching your dog to sit, down, come, or complete any command is not terribly difficult. A quick YouTube search for “Teach my dog to [insert command]” will easily spit out videos from numerous trainers demonstrating their techniques. You did your research on dog training, read a few articles, watched a couple videos, followed the instructions, and taught your dog to come, sit, and down. You practice it every day and now she knows them all! Then you take your pup to the park, and suddenly she acts as if she doesn’t understand anything you just spent all this time working on. What went wrong?

I’m not writing to claim which training technique is best, because there are various training styles that work better for certain dogs and trainers. What’s important is that you use a method that works for you and your dog. However, if you truly want your companion to master these commands, there are a three key factors that are crucial to your training.

We call them the 3 D’s of Dog Training:

• Distance

• Duration

• Distraction

Once your dog understands a command, it’s time to start implementing these elements. Let’s break down each one.

Distance

Distance can have two meanings, but I’m going to focus first on the most pertinent one, which is the distance between you and your dog. When you initially teach your dog a command, you’re going to be very close to them, physically influencing their movement, luring them, or reward them. Once the dog has a good understanding of what we are asking of her, we want to start increasing the distance between us and them — BUT GRADUALLY. Sometimes this means taking a fraction of a step back, or sliding back on the leash an inch at a time. With each training session, you want to try and increase the distance at which your dog will reliably perform. Again, it is absolutely crucial to increase your distance at a gradual pace. I assure you that your dog knows the difference between you standing one foot away and three feet away.

(Hold tight, we’ll talk about the second meaning of Distance in a moment.)

Duration

Duration is the time which we are asking the dog to maintain a behavior. For most pet dog owners, this is most relevant for stationary commands like sit, down, and place. Duration also applies to any command where we want the dog to perform it for more than an immediate moment, such as heeling. Begin to increase the duration which you ask them to hold that behavior almost immediately. This may only be seconds initially, especially if you are working with a puppy. Ask for a behavior and have the dog hold it for one second, then two seconds, then five seconds, and so forth. When you work your way up slowly, the dog will develop patience and an understanding that they must continue a behavior until you say otherwise.

Take ‘down’ for example. In my training, I do not use a ‘stay’ command because I train it to be implied with any stationary command. What is the point in telling a dog to ‘down’ if they immediately get back up? It can also be confusing for the dog if they need to be constantly reminded to ‘stay’. Instead, I teach them to ‘down’ and hold that position until I release them. They quickly and easily learn that when told to ‘down’, it means to stay there until you receive another command or are released.

Distraction

Finally, Distraction. This may be the biggest obstacle in training that most people encounter. A distraction can be almost anything for a dog. Distractions are everywhere, and many aren’t even perceptible to us mere humans — another dog, a bird, a squirrel, a smell on the ground, the wind blowing, or a noise we can’t even hear. A distraction is anything which might take your dog’s attention away from you and the task at hand. In my experience, I’ve found it’s best to work on Duration and Distance before introducing challenging Distractions, but it is extremely important that you practice around distractions.

Distance from Distraction

Remember when I mentioned that there are two meanings for Distance? The second meaning comes into play when you start introducing Distractions. Just as your dog knows the difference between you being two feet and 20 feet away from her, she also knows the difference between a distraction being close or far. When your dog is learning to deal with distractions and she is failing to perform a command with you right next to her, it likely means you are too close to the distraction. Put some Distance between your dog and the Distraction. Every dog is different; you may only need to back away a few feet or you may need to move a couple hundred yards away. You have to gauge it and set your dog up for success. Then just as we increase Distance and Duration earlier, we increase the Distraction by slowly decreasing the Distance between your dog and the Distraction.

Trust the process and be patient.

Inevitably, you will experience setbacks. If you increase one of the 3 Ds and your dog doesn’t perform the command, be patient. Instead, take a couple steps back and repeat.

If you’ve been achieving a reliable ‘down’ from five feet away but fail at six feet away, take a few steps closer, and then begin again to slowly increase the distance between you and the dog.

If your dog has been holding her ‘down’ for 30 seconds but gets back up without being released, put her back down and have her stay for a shorter duration. Go back to having her hold it for 20 seconds, and begin to increase it slowly again. It’s important to take into consideration how long your training session is; if the training session is too long, your dog will lose motivation. It is not too much to expect a dog to hold most behaviors for several minutes, and if done properly, a dog can learn to hold a ‘down’ for hours, basically until they fall asleep.

As for distractions, your dog will fail to perform once various distractions get introduced. If you haven’t already, go read my article titled “My dog listens so well... Sometimes”. When you start to introduce distractions, keep in mind that you will likely need to decrease the Duration and Distance between you and the dog. If your dog can perform a down with you 20 feet away at home, you may need to go back to standing right beside her in the presence of another dog, and work back out from there.

Training can be an incredibly rewarding and bonding experience between you and your dog, but it also takes a lot of patience. The process of training a dog is not linear; you’ll encounter times of success and times of failure. Remember to take it slow and increase the 3 Ds gradually, giving your dog the best chance at success. If you follow these simple tips and stay mindful of your dog’s perspective, you’ll quickly increase the skill and confidence of both you and your companion!

Originally published October 2018.

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