How many lessons does it take to train a dog?
I understand why this question comes up: budget, setting expectations, maybe shopping around for answers and programs, who can do it fastest, etc.
Here’s my viewpoint.
How long does it take to create a dog that does real work? IAADP Minimum Training Standards for a guide dog is quoted as follows:” Eligibility for Certification from a provider who supports IAADP’s Minimum Training Standards for Public Access may require you turn in a weekly training log to document your dog received a minimum of 120 hours of schooling over a period of six months or more”. That is 20 lessons a month for 6 months. And that doesn’t include any work completed during the first 6 months of life. And that minimum doesn’t guarantee the dog is ready, meaning meeting these as the minimum might not be enough to pass the qualification test at the end.
You can’t have a skilled dog and handler team for any real purpose with less than this amount of work: Therapy Dogs, Service Dogs, Competition Dogs, Hunting Dogs, Search And Rescue Dogs, Police Dogs, Military Dogs, Hearing Ear Dogs, Bed Bug Dogs, Herding Dogs… or Companion Dogs. Thus, if it seems to be taking a long time to train your dog, that is NORMAL.
Thus, that 2- or 3-week board and train program isn’t going to be enough time or work to develop a well-trained dog. Regardless of the marketing materials. The focus of these programs is to shut a dog down, and the primary way is to force a dog to lay on a dog bed and not pull on a leash. That is not skill building, that is creating learned helplessness. If dogs could be trained this quickly, then these organizational standards, like the IAADP, or others, would say the same. They don’t.
Years ago, I joined a Schutzhund club with my Doberman, Dillon. We would meet weekly at the designated club training grounds. Members would often start their puppies in the club at 8 weeks of age, but none were ready to compete until at least 2 years of age. The same was true when I attended, with my first dog, group obedience classes for competition. The minimum age standards for protection type sports are Schutzhund: 14 months; IPO: 18 months; IGP: 15 months; KNPV: 15 months. Formal search and rescue dogs are often not even started in scenario work until 12 months of age (State Search and Rescue Alliance: 18 months minimum; NASAR: 12 months minimum), and preliminary training has already been going on for most of its life. In other words, all these organizations don’t want people forcing young dogs along too fast. The standards for a real-world dog, even a companion dog, need to be even higher. A dog in a competition ring is in a highly controlled, static environment. The real-world dog also must learn to deal with traffic, loud noises, crowds, vehicles, day and night, strangers and strange dogs, and countless contexts and environments. Thus, there is even more work to create a real world, skilled dog. If anyone wants to argue this, then let them convince these organizations that their secret training program can override over a century of experience.
All dogs, to do proper skilled tasks, need to clearly understand and enjoy the work. You can’t force a skill with enjoyment out of any dog. You are either an animal lover, or you shouldn’t have a dog. In other words, no dog is skilled in 2 or 3 weeks.
Here is why.
You don’t know your dog yet, and your dog doesn’t know you yet. Time to get acquainted.
Skills take practice. Skills need to be built, from the ground up. Let’s take a simple example of Sit. Just because you dog can Sit when you show a treat doesn’t mean you have a trained Sit, no matter how many times you have done that. There are a lot more steps and levels to Sit than just that. Advanced Sit? Your dog is running after a rabbit, your dog is 50 yards away, has crossed a busy public street, cars whizzing by, people standing and walking around, music playing at the park, a ballgame nearby, you say Sit, your dog stops immediately, and remains there until you are able to cross the street and gather your dog by putting on a leash. That is an example of a real trained Sit. You want an Advanced Sit? Then that won’t happen in 3 easy lessons. Even if I gave you a fully trained dog, you’d blow it, too.
Anyone who wants to just “fix” a dog quickly isn’t being fair to the dog. That kind of goal seems to always come with an all-force effort crush the dog into a helpless carpet. Yes, it will stay on a dog bed and won’t pull on a leash. Yes, you can turn your puppy into a prisoner who marches along in chains. But that is not the kind of dog I’d want to create.
This is why I don’t do dog training “packages” … X number of lessons for this price. Years ago, I wanted to solve this. I had to find a way to get students out of this quick fix mindset, so I stopped the packages for a price. This is partly why I do weekly lessons and assign homework.
There are some things we could call “quick fixes” that I do. For example, a house-training lesson is one lesson and free follow up. No, they won’t be clean in a day, but the program doesn’t require multiple paid sessions. There are a lot of lessons I can do of this sort. Give you a program, you do the homework, free follow up, all in one lesson. But the dog isn’t “fixed” in an hour. That I don’t promise and shouldn’t promise.
Skill training, however, can’t be done quickly, regardless of the marketing that you’ve been consuming. I’m referring to obedience training, or fear or aggression, lessons. Thus, the angry dog owner won’t tolerate step-by-step programs, and they aren’t the type of students I want. You don’t bully a dog into submission and get a well-trained dog. My students also don’t want someone who will jerk their dog into submission in 3 easy lessons: we don’t do that kind of training ever.
Along the way, I counsel students on the proper attitude… if you have a sour attitude, getting frustrated or angry, then take a break… end the homework that day, regroup, ask for some help, do some deep breathing, and start the next session with a fresh attitude. Your dog can’t handle poor communication and your bad attitude, or the frustration, lack of clarity, or anger of some quick fix dog trainer.
My approach: the work is finished when the work is finished. We set a goal, and we work towards it. We are not on a deadline, we are here to collaborate with your dog, using our talents and the talents of your dog to get a great result. Both of you should be enjoying the work since that will motivate you to do the homework consistently over time and make things go as fast as possible.
Your dog doesn’t need to be fully trained by Tuesday, next week, at 3 pm. Nor should you try.
Plan accordingly.