Part of the reason H.A.T.S. uses positive training methods is because it takes some of the pressure off the person as well as the animal. If people make mistakes while training an animal using positive training methods, those mistakes can usually be fixed and often fixed quite easily. Training with your pets should be fun and stress-free. Here are some tips for making your training sessions go a little smoother.
Sometimes mistakes are made because the animal gets distracted or does not know when the training session is starting or ending. To help things go smoother, start by making the beginning and end of training sessions very clear for both you and your pet(s). To do this, make sure you have planned your training sessions. Start by picking how many days you are available to work with your pet(s). Then, find a time frame that will work for those days. Next, set aside very short periods of time to train. You can do sessions that are as short as three minutes if need be, no more than five minutes helps keep you and the animal from getting burned out. No worries if you can’t do the same time frame each night; this shouldn’t cause any problems and it might even help (the dog will not be able to anticipate when you will be training so it is kind of a guessing game for them and they might be more engaging throughout the day). It is, however, very important that you make it perfectly clear when you are starting the session and ending the session. It helps to have a kind of ritual that you go through to mark the beginning and end. This “cue” can be anything from putting the dog’s collar on (or taking it off) to more unusual things such as closing all the curtains (if they are usually open). It is best for these rituals to be things that you don’t do very often so you don’t accidentally tell the dog you are training when that is not the case. If you are worried about miscommunication, you can use the simple act of putting on your training treat pouch when you start and taking it off when you are done. These steps should help things go smoother and be clearer for you and your dog.
Picking one behavior to work on during each training session can also be very helpful for both the teacher and learner. Working on only one behavior at a time helps everyone know what to focus on. If at any point during the training sessions you or the animal gets stressed, take a break. No harm done. There might even be less harm done if you stop and give the dog a small pile of treats or a game of tug than if you keep going and both you and the animal get frustrated. Sit down and take a break. Then go over what you did and find what you can break into smaller, easier steps to help both you and the animal succeed. Remember to have fun and give the animal, and yourself, a special reward at the end of the sessions. Enjoy!