Corrections

Author: Denise Partlow

Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

Now let’s get one thing clear first-when I say corrections, I am not talking about punishment. I am talking about correcting the mistakes our dogs make. Letting them know that the decision they made was not a good one and showing them how to do it the right way. This can be done with a verbal correction, spatial pressure or simply guiding the dog back to where he belongs.

When dogs are in the learning phase it is best to set the scenario up where we know our dogs can be successful, rewarding is always going to be the most beneficial way to teach your dog, however they are going to get it wrong once in a while. Providing corrections helps us to teach our dogs the correct sequence of actions. When we don’t correct, we risk the chance of teaching the dog the wrong thing.

Here is an example:

You are teaching your dog a down stay. You ask your dog to down. He downs. You mark and reward. Then your dog pops us. He walks over to you. You ask him to down. He downs. You mark and reward.

But guess what?

He pops back up. And this cycle goes on and on. Why?

Because we never corrected the moment the dog got up. This by no means is the dog‘s fault. We have taught him the sequence of “my owner asks me to down, I get a reward, I pop back up so my owner can ask me to go down again, so I can get another reward.”

However, the moment the dog popped up, if we would have used a simple verbal correction, moved towards the dog’s space and asked him for a down again, our timing would have been precise. The dog would not have made it very far and will most likely avoid getting up again. This gives us a chance to try again so that we can reward the dog for doing the right thing, making the concept for the dog even clearer.

So you see, verbal corrections are an essential part of training. It allows our timing to be precise because a verbal correction can come out of your mouth immediately, and as we know in dog training, timing is everything.