Creating a Dog Training Plan: Guide and Practical Tips

According to the American Kennel Club, nearly three-fourths of dog owners implement a training plan. Some hire a professional dog trainer, while others hold at-home training sessions.

No matter which approach people take, consistency is the key to a successful dog training plan. This will leave a dog owner with a more well-behaved and confident pup while setting the stage for a more enjoyable pet-owner relationship.

Your veterinary practice can assist dog owners with establishing the right training process. You can also cater to their other needs by investing in veterinary practice management tools.

Learn how a structured training plan can help dog owners systematically set and achieve training goals for their pups.

Setting Clear Training Goals

Studies have shown that fewer than 10% of people achieve their life goals. They’ve concluded that this is largely because most people don’t write down their goals.

Setting training goals and writing them down is the first step dog owners should take when creating a plan. Defining specific goals maintains consistency and provides a training roadmap.

Dog owners should also come up with different goals for their dogs’ various needs. Examples include:

• Obedience training goals: Teaching a dog how to “sit,” “stay,” etc.
• Behavioral training goals: Teaching a dog not to jump on people, pull on their leash, etc.
• Fun training goals: Teaching a dog to “fetch” or do tricks like roll over, stand on its hind legs, etc.

How To Prioritize Training Goals

A 2021 survey found that about one-fourth of dog owners say they didn’t realize how much work training a dog would be before beginning the process. Almost 20% of dog owners also said training a puppy is more difficult than raising a baby.

It’s easy for dog owners and pups to get overwhelmed when starting a training regimen. They should start slowly and focus on achieving just two or three goals at a time.

A dog owner’s initial training program should include teaching basic obedience commands before moving on to more advanced skills later.

Building a Step-by-Step Dog Training Plan

A good training dog plan will include a series of smaller steps. It should follow a daily and weekly structure so that owners can track pups’ progress.

Dog owners should only hold short training sessions each day for five to ten minutes. By keeping training sessions short, dog owners can grab the attention of their pups for long enough to teach them new skills on a consistent schedule.

Dog owners should also conduct weekly progress checks to assess their dogs’ progress. These check-ins will show which skills dogs have mastered and which ones they still need to work on.

Additionally, dog owners should divide up their sessions based on skill level from a young age. They should plan to teach:

• Basic commands
• Intermediate commands
• Advanced commands

Few things will negatively impact a dog’s behavior more than trying to speed through the training process. Breaking up sessions by skill can prevent this.

Creating a Training Schedule Template

One of the biggest mistakes dog owners make when training their pups is not keeping written records of their progress. Your veterinary practice should provide a downloadable or printable template for dog owners to track progress and monitor how a dog responds to each training class.

Let’s say, for example, that a dog owner wants to teach their pup to sit. Their dog training plan template might look something like this:

• Week 1:
  • Goal: Teach dog to sit and release
  • Action: Tell dog to “sit” about 30 times per day
• Week 2:
  • Goal: Teach dog to heel and sit
  • Action: Tell dog to heel and sit while on walks about once every minute
• Week 3:
  • Goal: Teach dog to sit for longer stretches
  • Action: Tell dog to heel and sit while on walks before examining them
• Week 4:
  • Goal: Teach dog to sit and stay
  • Action: Tell dog to heel and sit while on walks and slowly move away while telling them to stay

Avoid making a dog training plan template too rigid. Dog owners might want to adjust to this template based on their pups’ progress.

Core Dog Training Tips for Success

It’s impossible to predict exactly how long it will take for people to complete the dog training process. With proper training, some dogs will begin responding to basic and even intermediate commands within just weeks. Crate training also shouldn’t take more than a month or so for most pups.

However, it will take some dogs longer than others to master certain tasks, and some might also not respond to the housebreaking process as quickly as others. Here are a few ways people can set their dogs up for success:

• Utilize positive reinforcement training techniques, like rewarding dogs with praise and treats (no one is more food-motivated than a puppy!).
• Start practicing training from a young age to familiarize a puppy with the process.
• Make sure a dog isn’t surrounded by toys and more distractions while training them.

Above all else, dog owners should remember that consistency and patience are key to the success of a training routine. This will be especially true for people with dogs demonstrating behaviors that require longer reinforcement times. Your vet clinic should remind them of this by pointing them toward proven dog training tricks.

Avoiding Common Obedience Training Pitfalls

The best dog trainers often tell people: “Don’t start to train your dog when it’s too late! Train your dog from the second you first bring them home.” The longer a dog owner waits to start using positive reinforcement and other techniques to train their pups, the more challenging it will be.

This is just one common dog training pitfall. Others include:

• Forcing a dog to spend too long training without a break
• Failing to reward a dog for responding to commands
• Neglecting to include socialization in a dog’s training routine

Your vet practice should encourage puppy owners to start training them immediately. You should also talk to them about breaking up more complex commands into smaller steps and emphasize the importance of keeping training sessions short.

Advise them to establish consistent verbal cues and hand signals while avoiding using interchangeable terms for different commands.

Tools and Resources for Effective Training Sessions

A dog training plan template is one of many tools dog owners should use when training puppies. They should also invest in other essential training tools, including:

• Leashes
• Clickers
• Pouches for treats

Dog owners should consider participating in individual and group training classes held by a professional dog trainer, especially if their puppies exhibit problematic behaviors. They can also consider joining online dog training groups to access expert advice and community interaction.

Tracking and Reviewing Progress

Well-trained dogs will start to show signs of progress within days, making big strides when it comes to showing off more advanced skills within weeks.

Dog owners trying to train their pups must track and review progress. They can do this by:

• Evaluating the goals they’ve set for dogs weekly
• Deciding which goals they’ve met and which still need work
• Adjusting dog training schedules as necessary

Dog owners will know their pups are getting the hang of things when they respond quickly to commands. They’ll also know the lessons they’re teaching are sticking when they see positive changes in a puppy’s behavior.

Adapting a Plan for Long-Term Success

It might take puppies a few months to pick up on basic and intermediate commands, but as long as dog owners stick with their training plans, they should eventually start to pick them up. When they do, dog owners should shift the focus on their sessions.

Recommend that dog owners who patronize your veterinary practice might very well tinker with the training template you’ve provided. They can create new goals for their pups to achieve even greater progress.

Your Practice Can Help People Make the Most of Every Dog Training Session

Is your veterinary practice and its talented staff doing enough to assist people in putting together the ideal dog training plan? If not, change this by talking to them about the importance of setting dog training goals, maintaining consistency, and using positive reinforcement to achieve success.

Equip them with a helpful dog training plan template as well. This will ensure they don’t forget to monitor their pups’ progress.

Ready to elevate your practice’s engagement? Get a demo of Weave’s solutions today!