10 Common Dog Training Mistakes

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Training your dog isn’t easy, but understanding just a few common dog training mistakes can make your life 100x easier as you work towards a well-behaved pup.

Here are 10 common dog training mistakes: 

1. Not training enough
2. Thinking one approach is right for every dog
3. Inconsistency
4. Impatience with your dog’s progression (getting ahead of yourself) 
5. Harsh discipline
6. Using your dog’s name in a negative context (yelling at your dog) 
7. Bribing instead of training with rewards
8. Not being aware of fear and anxiety signals (tail tucking, ears pinned, etc.)
9. Being overly emotional 
10. Being reactive, not proactive

1. NOT TRAINING ENOUGH

Most obedience classes out there only gather to formally ‘train’ once a week, and that’s often the only time people train their dog, unfortunately. Some people think a lengthy session once a week will do the trick.

Fix It:  Dogs should be trained every single day. Like any habit or behavior, repetition is one of the keys to success.

Make a goal to train your dog for at least five to 10 minutes every single day. You might be thinking, five minutes is barely any time, nothing will get accomplished. While it’s true that a longer daily session would be better, we realize that time is precious and most people don’t have the luxury of giving their dog five to ten minutes every single day.  A good 5 minutes is better than a bad 15 minutes.  

Repetition and consistency are two of the most important factors for puppy training. 

2. THINKING ONE APPROACH IS RIGHT FOR EVERY DOG

Assuming that one certain type of training that has worked for another dog will work exactly the same way for your dog.

Fix It:  As with most things in life, different dogs (and people) respond differently to varying requests, situations, people, dogs, and life in general. 

One dog may not find as much satisfaction from treats as they do from verbal praise, fetch and petting. On the other hand, another dog will do almost anything for a treat. 

Simply put, a video, tip, or technique that might work perfectly for one dog may not work as well for your own dog. So, be sure to try out different techniques and find out what your dog responds to best.

3. INCONSISTENCY

Treating bad or good behaviors with different responses each time they happen. 

Sometimes your dog barks and it doesn’t seem to bother you at all so you ignore it, and your pup stops. At other times (maybe you had a tough day at work) your dog barks and you raise your voice at her trying to get her to stop. When we are inconsistent with our dogs like this, it confuses them as to what we expect from them.

Fix It: Strive to be 100% consistent with your responses to your dog. Make it a habit that, for example, every time you come home your four-legged friend doesn’t get any attention until they sit. Instead of sometimes requesting this but other times letting them jump on you, attempt to be very firm in the behavior you desire from your pup.

This can be pretty difficult when you have multiple humans in your household (especially children). Setting ground rules with the humans in the house for how behaviors should be addressed is just as important as setting ground rules for the pup. You can even decide together on these “house rules” for training and put them on your fridge so everyone can be held accountable.

4. IMPATIENCE WITH YOUR DOG’S PROGRESSION

Expecting your dog to learn behaviors quickly, perfectly and instantaneously, then becoming frustrated when they don’t.

Fix It: When you learned to ride a bike, did you make it elegantly down the street after one attempt? Odds are you fell over and got frustrated, vowing you would never ride a bike again. After some help and correction you slowly learned how to ride your bike.

Your dog is NOT going to learn how to walk perfectly on a leash after one training session. Brand new, and difficult, behaviors will often take months of consistent practice to hone in and master.

Practicing patience with your pup will pay huge dividends in the long run. If you get angry with your dog as you train them you’ll see the effectiveness of dog training sessions decline. So, stay patient and remember your pup is just like a little kid learning to ride a bike.

5. HARSH DISCIPLINE 

Using forceful, bullying or dominance-style discipline methods to get your dog to behave. There is much debate in the dog training world about this subject.  The Association of Professional Dog Trainers and other organizations have noted the negative effects of dominance in training dogs.  Such effects include increased fear and aggressive behaviors and injury to people interacting with the dog.  
MadKat believes that positive reinforcement dog training is the most effective, long-term solution for training your puppy.  Yes, it may take more time, patience and practice but it’s worth it in the long run and has proven to be effective in almost all situations.  

6. USING YOUR DOG’S NAME IN NEGATIVE CONTEXT

Yelling, screaming, or scolding your pup with their name. Also, using their name as a punishment. This might be the most common dog training mistake!

Fix It: Simply put, NEVER use your dog’s name as a part of a punishment. Your dog should associate their name with only positivity. Instead of saying your dog’s name when they are doing something wrong, say “Eh-Eh” or “No” 

One way to create a positive association is to practice skills like “look at me” and “come” while using your dog’s name in a positive manner.  “Fido, come here!” 

Once she gets to you, give her a treat and plenty of praise. With repetition, your pup will associate their name with positivity and be much more likely to respond and be attentive to their name.

7. BRIBING INSTEAD OF TRAINING

Using treats or praise as a bribe instead of a reward.

Fix It: This mistake is both common and difficult to recognize. The key to success in avoiding a dog that only reacts to bribes is to keep your dog guessing about treats. 

As you progress with training your dog, you will want to gradually decrease the frequency of rewards given. Work to keep your dog guessing whether they will get a treat for a successful behavior or not.

You should always use treats throughout your dog’s life, just less frequently in some cases. Would you like your boss to stop paying you for your work just because you’re good at it?

8. NOT BEING AWARE OF FEAR AND ANXIETY SIGNALS

Not recognizing when your dog shows signs of fear or anxiety during training sessions. These signs often include things like tucking their tail between their legs, pinning their ears back, and cowering away from you.

Fix It: Practicing a positive-reinforcement based method of dog training is one of the best ways to ensure your dog doesn’t come to fear training sessions. For example, use gentle methods of leash training vs choke collars.

Often times (even with positive reinforcement training) your dog might show signs of anxiety when learning new behaviors, especially in a new environment. It’s important to remember that each dog learns at a different pace and if signs of anxiety are being shown it may be a sign to step back and give your dog a small break – play a game with them, fetch or tug if you see them getting anxious

9. BEING OVERLY EMOTIONAL

Letting human feelings – frustration or anger – spill over into your training sessions.

Fix It: Dogs are very keen at sensing our emotions and feelings. It’s important to maintain a calm demeanor as you train your pup. This doesn’t mean you can’t get excited when a request is successfully performed or act somewhat disappointed when your pup clearly disobeys you. In fact, these types of emotions can help your dog understand what you desire from them.

The problem is that when you become angry or frustrated with your dog, your communication line with your pup will almost instantly be broken. So, keep a level head (take a break if you need one) and use emotions to help communicate your desires to your pup!

10. BEING REACTIVE, NOT PROACTIVE

Only reacting to “negative” behaviors instead of being proactive about ensuring they don’t happen.

Fix It: The responsibility to help your dog know what is right and wrong falls squarely on your shoulders as the pup parent. 

For example, if your dog has chewed up your sandals more than once, don’t you think you could be more proactive by either cleaning up your shoes or controlling where your pup is allowed to go? Being proactive with dog training is sensing when a bad behavior might occur and getting rid of the trigger to a bad behavior before it can happen. This takes time, practice, and of course, your attention and energy.

If you see your dog being good around company, sitting and relaxing in their bed, or looking to you while walking on leash, be proactive and give them a “good job” pat on the head, a treat or belly rub.  You didn’t ask for it, but they did it anyway and deserve praise.  

RECAP:  Creating a stronger and healthier relationship with your pup is what training is all about. Celebrate the victories when training and love your pup the entire way!

Be consistent, direct and clear with your training sessions. There are so many new skills and behaviors your dog is trying to learn, so remember to be patient and do everything in your power to help your pup be successful with training.

Schedule your session today!

Happy Training!

Kat XO

Written with the assistance of Pupford Academy, October 2021