Patience, Perseverance, Perspiration

My dog training instructor started training dogs at the age of 19 in Vietnam. He trained his dogs to sniff out enemy tunnels. I figured, if I was going to learn about dog training from someone, it would be that guy. I mean, how fascinating is it to be able to be so young, in a country not your own, and train a dog to sniff out…a tunnel? I learned a lot from my instructor, but one of the main pieces of information that I learned and still carry with me to this day are his three P’s of basic training: Patience, Perseverance, and Perspiration.

Patience

It’s easier said than done. Patience means taking your time and not rushing the process. Humans, however, like to just get things done and move on to the next thing. Dog training is about building a relationship and encouraging a dog to want to learn new things. Relationship building takes time. But when you take the time to build that bond, the training is the easy part.

Perseverance

Oxford Dictionary defines perseverance as “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” Training a dog is difficult. The dog needs to learn to speak human and the human needs to learn to speak dog. You have to open yourself up to the fact that this type of process takes time and there will be ebbs and flows in your success. You also have to open yourself up to learning how to scaffold your dogs skill sets. If you experience delays in the learning process, you can’t give up. Sometimes all you need to do is just take a couple steps backwards, reset, and continue to move forward, this time maybe with smaller steps and modified expectations. Ultimately with your dedication to the process, you will achieve lasting (not just momentary) success!

Perspiration

Let’s face it: training is a workout. And when you workout, you sweat! If you don’t break a sweat, did you really put your all into the activity? Anything you are determined to achieve should be given your all. Your dog gives you their all everyday. When we work hard to teach them how to thrive in our society and be good doggie citizens, now we are giving them everything we’ve got. A little perspiration goes a long way in creating a simpatico relationship!

I am sure my instructor experienced all 3 P’s of basic training when he was working with his dogs during the Vietnam War. Imagine how much patience it took, the perseverance he needed, and the perspiration involved in training the average dog to sniff out a tunnel underground. His training saved lives. Your dog can learn anything that you set your mind to teach them. Just remember those 3 P’s and you will be able to train with ease!