Perfection NOT Required

by Bailey Coldwell

I am writing this to help those who panic when something doesn’t go quite as planned while training their dog. Online, you will see videos of us with our dogs, and it might look perfect, but our dogs are far from perfect. I plan to share stories about times when my dogs have been less than perfect but are still good dogs. The key is how we handle it going forward when our dog starts doing unwanted behavior. It is also worth mentioning that we trainers have been doing this “dog training thing” for years. It is supposed to flow and look a bit easier when we are doing it. Just like how my hairdresser is going to color, cut, and style my hair in a more appealing way than if I tried to do it myself! When you are learning to become a dog trainer and handler, it is supposed to look more “clumsy” than for those of us who have been professionals for a while. I felt nervous and self-conscious about my dog training skills at first, too. 

Here are some real-life examples of instances in my life where I felt upset at myself and/or my dog: 

• I was training a service dog in the past who had a bad habit of eating dog poop. 

• I brought my lab hiking in the Maine winter when she was only 6 months old, let her off leash, and she got turned around. She followed another family, and it took several minutes for my family and me to find her. 

• My dog barked at someone on a trail, and I got angry and raised my voice at her. 

• My lab started counter surfing at five years old, when my oldest daughter was a toddler, and we had more snacks around. 

• I have a rescue mini poodle who is nervous. He snuck under the fence and ran into traffic.

• My new rescue pup growled when my four-year-old daughter went to lie beside her. 

• My goat headbutted my 1.5-year-old daughter and knocked her down. Yeah, I know. Not a dog thing, but it made me feel like all the scenarios above. 

In all these moments, I remember feeling ashamed of myself and my dog-training abilities. Embarrassing, frustrating, and simply annoying dog behaviors are going to happen. Looking back, each time I worked on a plan to prevent the behavior going forward while also teaching a better behavior.

Here is a brief explanation of my approach for all of those problem behaviors: 

• Poop eater: A leash (prevention) and a new high-value reward paired with the presence of dog poop. 

• The lost lab: More time to mature before off-leash work. An emergency recall (whistle) so she hears it and knows she ALWAYS gets a reward when coming back. 

• Reactive dog and me getting upset: Field trips with more space and more fun-focused. 

• Counter-surfing food thief: Dog was crated more, and food was put away. More rewarding near the counter for not jumping up. 

• Mini poodle the escape artist: Environment management; stakes ordered to prevent him from getting under the fence. More recall work. Check on him more often when he's in the fenced-in yard.  

• Growly, nervous, startled rescued dog: More talks with my four-year-old daughter; more environment management. Less (no) forced snuggles. More rewards for seeing my four-year-old and offering good behaviors. 

• Spicy goats: No unsupervised time for the 1.5-year-old daughter around the goats. 

All of us trainers have been faced with problem behaviors. Sometimes I need to apply the advice I give you all to myself. My dogs sometimes offer behaviors that drive me crazy. I hope that this helps you feel more “normal” on your dog training journey. I am not perfect; my dogs are not perfect; you are not perfect; your dog is not perfect. But these imperfections can surely push us to want to try harder to problem-solve going forward.