How To Write An Organized and Effective Dog Training Plan
Written by Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA
Photo Copyright (C) Lauren Tsao - Photo shows West Highland Terrier Sitting
Just like any other professional, dog trainers need to have a solid plan in place in order to be successful. This means having a clear understanding of your goals, what you and your student need to do to achieve them, and how you will measure progress along the way. While every trainer's approach will be slightly different, there are some essential elements that should be included in every dog training plan. In this blog post, I'll share some tips on how to write an organized and successful training plan that your students can stick to. By following these guidelines, you can set yourself up for success and ensure that you're providing the best possible experience for your students and their dogs.
Define realistic goals for the student’s situation.
When designing a training plan for your students, it is important to define clear and realistic goals for their situation. These should be specific and measurable, such as teaching their pup how to sit indoors within a week using luring or increasing the heel behavior on neighborhood walks by 50% within two weeks using positive reinforcement. It's also helpful to have a timeline of when these goals should be achieved. This allows your student to give you feedback on whether or not their schedule will realistically allow that amount of practice in that timeframe. It is important to define what behavior will be practiced exactly, where it should be practiced, what the end goal behavior is by a specific time period, and how they teach the behavior to their dog.
When setting goals, try dividing the overall plan into manageable portions so that you can check in with your student and celebrate small successes regularly. I contact most of my students weekly or every other week to check in on how practice at home is going. If it isn’t going well, I’m prepared to modify my plan. Most importantly, remember that each individual student’s situation is unique, so what works for one may not necessarily work for another. Use these check-ins as an opportunity to adjust your strategy and make the most out of your training program. Don’t be afraid to abandon a plan if it isn’t working.
Oftentimes, we don’t have enough time with our human students to additionally modify their behavior, as well as their dogs. Though I constantly see dog trainers asking for advice on modifying human students’ behavior to make them follow through. If they don’t practice at home, switching to a management plan, rather than trying to convince them to practice, might be the most realistic option for that student. This generally occurs when more is going on in the student’s personal life than we are aware of, which is outside the scope of our practice anyway. So, we have to focus on meeting that student where they are at and doing what they will allow us to do for them.
The environment should be working for you, not against you.
Creating a supportive environment for dog training is essential for success. Start by choosing a quiet and secluded spot with minimal distractions, such as inside the home or in the empty training facility when designing your plans. If the student is expected to practice in a similar environment at home, make sure you tell them that. Many students will think any practice is better than no practice. For example, if their schedule only allows them to practice when their children are running through the house after school, that is when they will practice. For many dogs, this environment could reinforce undesirable behaviors, making it counterintuitive to the plan for the student to practice in an environment that they simply aren’t ready for yet.
Once you have pinpointed the perfect area for that student and their dog, instruct the student to arrange it to create a comfortable atmosphere of limited interruptions while also keeping supplies on hand like treats and toys. This increases the likelihood that our students will practice at home because everything they need is already at their fingertips.
Be careful about suggesting students set up these areas themselves on top of their regular training homework though. The more effort we ask for from our students, the more likely our students will become overwhelmed and get nothing done. Sometimes as trainers, we need to do the small stuff for our students. If they need to approach their vet about having training sessions in the lobby, but never seem to contact the vet about this - do it for them! Get them unstuck so, the real work can begin. If they never seem to set up their pet gates, ask them if they need help with installation and find someone qualified to help them with their permission. These are simple barriers that trainers can easily remove that might seem “too big” for students at first, but trainers should be able to see a fast, effective solution, thanks to their professional experience.
“Students can get stuck on management plans easily because it requires skill to install pet gates, put up kennels/exercise pens, and additionally, it costs them time and money.”
Students can get “stuck” on management plans easily because it requires skill to install pet gates, put up kennels/exercise pens, and additionally, it costs them time and money - all while they are concerned about whether or not this idea will even work in the first place for their dog. Many students might not have the knowledge, physical ability, or even the tools to do these extra things we ask of them. If you have the ability to help them set up their environment if you provide in-home sessions, do so during your first session. This can avoid the frustration we feel as trainers when students don’t do any management of undesirable behaviors. This way their homework becomes simply buying the items they like and think they will use. This suggestion is a lot less taxing on students than, “Buy the items, set them up with no knowledge of how to do so, and then use them with your dog properly.”
In cases where money is tight and this is a barrier to the student moving forward, I ask my previous students if they have anything they are willing to donate to the new student. Many of my previous students just bring me these items so, I can give them to others now. We now have a training facility-wide understanding that their trash is probably someone else’s treasure. This helps so much with getting students “unstuck” when it comes to management purchases. Some students might not tell us they cannot afford these items because they feel embarrassed. I find that as I build trust with my students and solve other problems for them that they never thought a dog trainer would or could help them with, they eventually open up about these difficulties and allow me to help them in their own time.
Additionally, make sure to identify which reinforcers are indeed reinforcing for their dog and that this is said out loud to the student. Sometimes I tell students exactly what reinforcers they should use for certain training skills. This decreases how much they have to think about setting up for practice. Many times we assume the student knows what a high-value reinforcer is and what those look like for their individual dog, but they really have no idea. This can fly under our radar as trainers if their dog happens to be very food motivated or minimally distracted at our facility. Therefore, make sure they know what reinforcers are ideal for them to use at home and why. As trainers, we need to set up the environment not only for our dogs but for our human students too. With some forethought and planning, you can easily configure an environment that fosters a productive training experience focused on success!
Photo Copyright (C) Lauren Tsao - Photo shows Corgi/Jack Russell Mix Running Through Field of Yellow Flowers
Set a realistic training schedule and be consistent.
It is important to create a consistent schedule for dog training - but this not only applies to when our students practice at home but to when they meet us for training sessions. I try to meet with my students on the same day of the week at the same time weekly or every other week for busier students or students who own dogs with more complex goals. This creates a routine for everyone and makes it more difficult for students (or myself!) to forget to prepare for sessions. Whenever I can, I schedule all of our sessions up front on the same day of the week and time right after our initial consultation to make sure we are starting immediately and that students are attending sessions in a way that will be helpful to our overall success together. The trainer should be creating the session schedule, not the student.
Establishing a homework routine for students will allow time for short, frequent practice sessions throughout the week will help shape desired behavior more effectively than marathon-style sessions once a week. It's important to stress to students that they will not be reprimanded for being too busy to practice and that we will practice together at their sessions if they need someone to hold them accountable. Generally, students will cancel sessions repeatedly if they fear that they will be reprimanded for not practicing. I would rather my students come to the sessions without practicing than receive no professional training advice at all.
Furthermore, students often don’t understand that short sessions are preferred, so their pup doesn't become burnt out or disinterested in the activity. So, helping them understand that they don’t need hours of practice a day can help decrease their stress and overwhelm when you assign homework. When presenting homework, be sure you follow the same guidelines that I gave above for their main training plan. The homework should be achievable with small goals you can celebrate at your next session together. I try not to exceed more than three recommended skills a week for student at-home practice and I generally give these skills in order of priority to my students so, they understand what is most important to focus on first in case they cannot practice all three skills that week.
The student needs clear instructions on what the end goal behavior is, how to teach it exactly, and where to teach it (and sometimes even tell them what reinforcers to teach it with too!) This should be emailed or texted to them so, they have a written copy of what they should be working on at home that week. The less they have to think and plan before a practice session at home, the more they will practice.
For trailblazer students who practice almost too much (there is such a thing!), you may need to tell them exactly when they should be giving themselves and their dog breaks. Otherwise, these students risk burning out themselves or their dogs on training. Setting up consistent daily training practice recommendations that are achievable for your student’s schedule can be incredibly beneficial to both you and your student.
Start small - begin with basic dog training skills and gradually increase the difficulty level.
Photo Copyright (C) Lauren Tsao - Photo shows Rhodesian Ridgeback in a dog training class.
Starting with basic training skills is essential for a dog’s success. This is probably well-understood by more experienced dog trainers. However, we need to also follow these guidelines for our human students too. Breaking up large tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces allows you to be intentional with each training session and helps you guide your student through the training process without overwhelming them. Starting small will give you and your student a sense of accomplishment and keep the excitement high as new skills become easier with practice.
Moving gradually from one skill level to the next helps ensure foundational principles are established which prepares the dog and student for the more challenging skills ahead. It also ensures that any minor setbacks stay just that - minor - since each shared success keeps motivation strong and patience steady.
Be patient - don't get frustrated if it takes a little longer than expected.
Patience is often the key to a successful dog training program. Dogs learn at their own speed and so do our human students. It is important to be aware of this when embarking on your training journey with students. Some dog and human students may need more time than others to learn certain tasks, so perseverance and resilience are essential. Take it day by day, and rejoice in each small success with your student!
Make sure you are not just giving students more and more homework without any praise for the practice they have already put in. It is easy to forget that our students don’t know what “heading in the right direction” looks like. You might need to point it out and praise them for the work they have put in, so they understand they are on the right track. Overall, with patience and understanding, you'll find that teaching human students can be as enjoyable of an experience as training dogs!
Make sure everyone in the household understands your dog training plan.
When embarking on a dog training journey, it is important that everyone in the household is on board with your plan. Establish expectations and explain the objectives of this process to other members of the household. If your student is spending more time arguing with their partner about what you did or didn’t want them to practice that week, you will again, run into students not practicing and becoming more concerned about who was right and who was wrong. It will be easier for them to understand your methodology when they are informed about the training goals and can support what you are trying to achieve.
Additionally, communication is key: let everyone know how their individual actions with the dog foster success in training. Sometimes this needs to be included in the homework emails or write-ups for students, so they understand how to improve a dog’s behavior around certain household members. Together, everyone can ensure each step of the training plan is followed so that the dog can be trained efficiently and effectively.
“It is essential for any successful dog training plan to begin with well-defined goals.”
It is essential for any successful dog training plan to begin with well-defined goals. Once these goals have been established, it is important to organize the environment and ensure that it is working for you in achieving them. Set a schedule that works for your student realistically and be consistent with your scheduled sessions rather than allowing the student to select random dates and times when they want. Start small and increase the difficulty level gradually as your student and their dog master each initial step. Don’t get frustrated when results don’t come as quickly as expected - everyone learns at their own pace, so patience is key. Lastly, make sure everyone in the household understands the plan and can help move things along.
Doing all of this will give you many positive results with human and canine students! This is just a small snippet of what I do to help my students follow my training plans. If you would like more information on writing better training plans for your students, join me for my March 2023 webinar “Spring Cleaning For Your Training: Setting Training Goals & Achieving Them Through Organization and Management” to take a deeper dive into this topic! Sign up and start getting more organized this year! I look forward to seeing you there!