Shut Up and Train
As I creep closer to my next Big Birthday, I’ve come to realize that just cutting a few calories and walking the dog isn’t going to do what I need (which is to reduce the jiggly bits). I reluctantly, recalcitrantly, grudgingly, and unenthusiastically started running. I’ve been running a little over two years. I started out hating it. HATING IT.
Ew, it was awful. I ran just to get it over with. I ran so I could have the rest of the day without the threat of the run hanging over me. Run days were awful. I was grumpy. I started slow (with hate in my heart) with Couch to 5K. It wasn’t as awful as having my wisdom teeth pulled, but it was definitely worse than my annual physical exam.
Anyway, I now love running. LOVE IT. I’m one of those people that used to mystify me: love running? Get real. No one, and I mean no one loves running. Ah, but now I do. And because I fly my nerd flag proudly, I research the hell out of anything and everything – and running is not exempt.
Which is how I found Beth Ridson’s blog Shut Up and Run (SUAR). I’m a blogger (obvi) and I love to read other people’s blogs, especially when they’re not related to dog training. So I found Ms. Ridson’s blog (who has no idea I’m writing about her or that she inspired this post) and was immediately hooked on her no-nonsense mantra and wicked sense of humor. Plus: running!
So for this month’s newsletter, I’m borrowing her sentiment and I’m coming on strong with Shut Up and Train (Your Dog). I’m busting your “I can’t train my dog because…” excuses right here, right now. More myth busting here.
Excuse #1: No Time.
That’s baloney. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. No one gets more, no one gets less. How you spend them, now that’s up to you. Short on time? Train your dog when you’re brewing your coffee or tea. Toasting a bagel? Train your dog! Waiting for the kids to get their soccer clothes on and get in the car? Train your dog!
How: Keep some shelf-stable treats around the house so you can do some on-the-run training. You don’t need a 15 minute block of time! You need about 30 seconds. If you don’t have 30 seconds, you’re in trouble, Jack.
Excuse #2: Stubborn Dog.
Another claim I’m going to call BS on. There are no stubborn dogs. There are dogs that have been (1) taught to listen only if you have food, (2) don’t completely understand what you’re asking, (3) are too distracted, or (4) haven’t been taught what to do. Shut up and train and watch your stubborn dog disappear.
Excuse #3: Never Prepared.
This is an easy one to fix. If you’re willing to train your dog, but just find yourself unorganized and unprepared, I have your fix. Make a list of when and where you’d like to train your dog. Maybe you’d like to teach your dog how to greet guests politely. Great. Keep your dog’s leash near the door. Put some treats in a closed container there, too, while you’re at it. Now, whenever someone comes to the door, you’re ready to train!
Excuse #4: Don’t Know What to Train
I get this one. I know I need to do running things, but not sure what things I should be doing, so I don’t do anything. I hear mention of speed drills, tempo runs, and all kinds of things I don’t know anything about. Doing nothing is bad. Very bad. For runners and for dog owners. For dogs, basic manners build a good foundation for all kinds of advanced and fancy tricks later on. Here are some things you can teach your dog that fall under the “good manners” category:
Excuse #5: Don’t Want to Train.
Yeah, I get this one, too. There are some days I don’t want to run. I’m tired, I’m lazy, whatever. Here’s one of Ms. Ridson’s SUARs posts that pretty much demolishes any runner’s excuses.
Back to dog training. Like running, getting started is the hardest part. I promise you: just get through one training session – one session – and then quit for the day if you want. This is how I get myself outside on my lazy days. I promise myself that I don’t have to go far, I just have to GO. Once I’m out there, it’s the rare day that I go ¼ mile and then head for home. I’m out there and feeling good if I can just get past the getting started part.
The takeaway?
There aren’t any excuses on your part. Either your train your dog or you don’t. And just like running (or anything, for that matter), you’ll see the results of your inactivity way before you see the results of your activity – and you won’t like what you see if you don’t do something about it. Now shut up and train!
This is the kick in the butt that I needed. Procrastination is my worst enemy when it comes to training the dogs. “I’ll do it after I _____” goes through my head dozens of times a day. I forget that 30 seconds is all I really need. And I can pummel my other bad habit of “I need space to train one dog individually” by using those 30 seconds to train all 4 dogs to stay and be still when I say so!
It’s true! I find the same challenges, I really do. But when I read the running blog, it kind of hit me over the head with a brick. In the time it takes me to make my excuses, I could’ve trained all my dogs! LOL.
O, my Word!! There ARE stubborn dogs. The need more patience to train, the need more regular training and it can be hard work to motivate tem enough to get much out of them. It is cruel to dismiss people with ‘stubborn” (willful?) dogs with the throwaway phrase “There are no stubborn dogs.” These people are struggling — help them.
Hi JennyH, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. What most people consider stubborn is actually an untrained dog. My blog (and website, really) is devoted to helping people teach their dogs what they need them to know. In all my years as a professional dog trainer, I’ve not yet run across a stubborn dog. A confused dog? Yes. An untrained dog? Absolutely. But stubborn? Not yet in more than two decades.
I couldn’t agree with this sentiment more Laurie! It makes me cringe when I hear someone say “she does it on purpose, because she’s stubborn” or something to that effect.
🙂
And PS. I USED to love to run —
The Song of the Ungirt Runners
Related Poem Content Details
By Charles Hamilton Sorley
We swing ungirded hips,
And lightened are our eyes,
The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
We know not whom we trust
Nor whitherward we fare,
But we run because we must
Through the great wide air.
The waters of the seas
Are troubled as by storm.
The tempest strips the trees
And does not leave them warm.
Does the tearing tempest pause?
Do the tree-tops ask it why?
So we run without a cause
‘Neath the big bare sky.
The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
But the storm the water whips
And the wave howls to the skies.
The winds arise and strike it
And scatter it like sand,
And we run because we like it
Through the broad bright land.
Arthritis and back problems have put a end to that! 🙁
2 hard and fast rules I’ve learned while training my first dog:
1. No “gold star for just showing up”… i.e. make your dog work at least a little for everything it wants to do. Want to go outside and play? Sit! Down! Stand!… ok, go play. Want dinner? Sit. Wait. Yes, good dog… go ahead, here’s your dinner. This way, you are pretty much forcing yourself to be always working with your dog… and those little exercises take no time at all.
2. “Your dog’s highest standard is your lowest.” in other words: your dog will only behave as good (or as bad) as you allow them to. For example: if you say “heel” and you’re allowing your dog to walk 4 feet ahead of you all the time, your dog’s best “heel” position will be 4 ft ahead of you.
I know. I hear you again in my head that Sunny is not stubborn but I’ve done all the training, reinforce it during the week, and still when it comes to walking on a leash and heeling, he pulls. I stop when he starts to pull and wait for him to turnaround and come back to heel only to repeat the pattern over and over. And yet when he’s off leash he heels beautifully. Periodically I check back in and review the videos and try again. With Fall here, I’ll try again.