16 Zář The importance of a proven well-built training system

One of the most important aspects of your obedience training is having a reliable, proven, working system to follow. I understand this isn’t easy. You are looking at around a dozen individual exercises at least, depending on what branch of obedience you are training of course. 

Each exercise should be planned out in small gradual steps. These steps should be increasingly difficult and demanding. They should lead your dog from puppyhood all the way to a trial-proven experienced adult dog who is confident in his abilities.

The complexity of a good training system

Usually, the more steps you have in your system the better, but at the same time that means having to remember and apply even more information. And of course, no system is flawless. Unexpected things will happen; your dog will react in a different way, some techniques won’t work, etc. You will need to explore alternatives if your main method is not working.

I always say, training your dog is simple but it isn’t easy. The standards for obedience are steadily rising. What was considered an outstanding performance ten years ago barely gets a “very good” grade today. 

I think that’s a good thing. It’s a sign that our sport is progressing, getting better, more refined, and most importantly, more considerate towards our dogs. The other side of that coin is that it’s increasingly demanding for handlers. 

Having a good system and being able to tailor and tweak it to suit the needs of each dog is one of the foundations of high-quality training. But man is that difficult, even if you aren’t training your first dog and have gone through this all already.  

Try to remember how many times you have wondered: “How exactly have I taught the retrieve to my older dog? I can’t really remember, it’s been so long… What did I start with? I know I tried this, it didn’t really work, but I am not sure what I used to fix it…” 

It’s not easy to have all the information on all the exercises in your head. You never know what kind of dog you will be dealing with:

• A small puppy who barely knows how many legs he has. 
• A cheeky young dog trying to uphold his own idea of how the exercises should be done. 
• An adult dog too smart for his own good, leading him to overthink everything. 
• A low-drive older dog having problems with getting through the whole routine. 
• An extremely nervous dog who… I think you get the point.

Even if you have already trained one or many dogs before, your new dog will be a totally different animal (pun intended) and will likely require at least a slightly different approach. If you are a beginner, you don’t even have your experience to rely on, which makes it even harder.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it yourself

Having and maintaining a training system is complicated, to say the least. I also think that it’s not necessarily required from someone who has obedience, or even dog sports as a hobby in general, to know it all down to the minute details. 

That’s where a good trainer comes in. I think one of the requirements of a good trainer, which I have outlined here, is definitely a well-thought-through system of training.

You see, when you have a small puppy, you don’t really need to know all the tricks and techniques on how to make sure your dog performs well in his tenth competition. You don’t really need to know how to work out the small imperfections in his heeling position. 

Similarly, having an adult dog competing, or going to trials, you don’t really need to remember how exactly to teach a puppy his first steps of heeling. And it’s ok if you don’t remember certain elements of training when you get a new puppy 6,7,8 or more years after your former dog.

It’s not your job, it’s your hobby. If you remember, great, if you don’t, then don’t beat yourself up. There are people whose job it is to remember these things and guide you through all the steps from puppy to competition – trainers, like me and countless others. 

Knowing where you are and how to progress further

Regardless if you rely on a trainer or on yourself (if you are more advanced), you need to have a system. You need to have some kind of conception of how you will progress in each individual exercise. 

I have seen this situation countless times: A new client comes to me, shows me something (often times it’s heeling) and I ask him: “Ok, not bad, I think your dog is ready for the next step, what did you plan on doing next?” The answer is oftentimes “Uh, uh, well, you know..” or just a shrug. Then I find out they have been stuck on this particular step for a year or more. If I had a dollar every time this happened, my piggy bank would burst.

I am not criticizing someone for not knowing what to do next. As I said earlier, it’s not your job to have everything memorized. But if you are not sure how an exercise will progress or what the final stage should look like, you need someone’s help. If you are tumbling in total darkness, you will very rarely find the light on your own. 

You need to know your dog’s current level and what the next step will be so you can work towards it. Additionally, you should have an idea of how the final stage, that is, what the finished exercise will look like. A good trainer should be able to provide this.

A good system is ever-improving

One of my main ongoing goals as a dog trainer is to work on my system. Refining it, simplifying it where possible, broadening it, honing it, testing it, rethinking it… It’s an ongoing, never-ending process. 

So from time to time, a client will hear this for me: “Ok, this looks good, let’s get on with the next step, which will be… Actually, hold on. I have seen a few dogs like yours struggle with this next step… Hm, maybe we can think of something better. Are you up for trying this alternative?” 

I always say don’t trust a trainer who uses the same methods he used five years ago. Everything evolves and we can’t stay behind. The fundamentals are always the same but the methods should be progressing.

That’s why I appreciate every new dog I can work with. New challenges, new problems requiring new solutions which I feed back into my system, making it better each and every day. 

I can help you

I am working hard on a series of ebooks that will describe my system in great detail, including scores of photos of course. My goal is to provide you with a guideline which will lead you from the small furball of a young puppy, to a confident, joyful, hard-working trial dog. Step by step, day by day on this fun and adventurous journey. 

I’ll be giving you updates on my progress, mainly in my email list (which you can sign up to here.) If you sign up, you will also get a free ebook outlining the fundamentals of my system. 

In the meantime, if you have any problems with your training, try one of my online coaching services. I am sure I will be able to help you.

I hope this article has given you some food for thought and you will consider how you are working with your dog, as well as what your next step will be. You should know that. Think about it. 

Be mindful, please.