One of the most common mistakes I see owners make is inconsistency in training, which confuses the dog and leads to inconsistent results. This can manifest in a few different ways:
1 – Changing the commands used. For example, “down” and “lay down” are not the same to a dog.
2 – Being inconsistent with rules. For example, one family member lets the dog on the furniture, but another family member tells the dog off for being on the furniture.
3 – Holding the dog accountable to different standards in different environments. For example, the dog is expected to sit when asked while waiting for food to be put down but is allowed to ignore the sit command when out on a walk.
All of these hander errors make for a confused dog that doesn’t follow the rules simply because they don’t understand the rules.
If you find yourself guilty of any of the above, it’s ok – they are common, human errors that we all make from time to time. However, if you want your dog’s reliability in obedience to improve, it is important to look at your own behaviour first and take note of the mistakes you are making that cause your dog confusion and lead to unreliable results. If you fix your communication and expectations to be consistent and completely predictable for your dog, you will naturally build better results.
