There is one thing that I do intentionally in my dog training that makes all the difference in the world to the joy and success that my dogs and I have together. That one thing is using Balance Breaks. I’m sharing exactly what a Balance Break is, why it’s essential, and the mechanics of how I do it. Let me know when you try it!.
In the episode you'll hear:
- My 5 steps to an amazing dog training experience.
- About the power of D.A.S.H. (Desire, Accuracy, Speed, Habitat).
- Why training your dog is like starting a motorcycle.
- How dog training is better is slices.
- Why to make a joy sandwich for you and your dog.
- All about Balance Breaks and how to use them.
- The importance of your dog’s physiology.
- How to think about your training as being on stage.
- Why breaks for transitions keep your dog training flowing.
- The guidelines for using Balance Breaks successfully.
Resources:
- Blog Post: The Secret Sauce For Enthusiasm … Balance Breaks!
- YouTube Video: Dog Training with Balance Breaks Demonstration
- Podcast Episode 6: The Art of Manipulation
- Blog Post: Planning for a Successful Shaping Session with Your Dog Blog
- Post: Got D.A.S.H. (Desire, Accuracy, Speed and Habitat)?
- Podcast Episode 35: Pro Dog Training Tip to Improve Your Dog’s Focus
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
Download:
Hi Susan,
First and all thank you for being here for us and our dogs. And let me share my story. I have Jack Russel puppy, and we went to obedience training with her. What I noticed during those training they asked us non stop train and feed our dogs and guess what she was bored and all over the place. I took a toy next time with us and were giving her breaks. So I thought she responds better on a toy but as you say she needs this breaks. Thank you one more time and we will start introducing this breaks more often.
My puppy Lilly is so smart and she gets the training so quickly, but I am doing the exact things you say to avoid in this video, so she seems to quit doing it. I wait till she’s lost focus or interest and I have not planned the break toy or activities. In fact, I need practice to read and time things better. This video explains one of the factors involved in why I have started to lose ground.
This was amazing to learn! I have a mini aussie and we got her when she was 10 weeks old. I believe I single handedly ruined her training in the beginning because I needed to be trained first, lol. I am trying to basically start over and retrain quite a few bad habits that I unintentionally taught. I have enrolled in your homeschool the dog program and am starting from scratch as she has become a very reactive dog, especially around my kids friends. i’m hoping this helps spark her love of training again.
This was very informative and I see now that my training sessions have been lacking these balance breaks. The reason is that my puppy does not play. I have tried tug and snaking or hitting a toy on the ground, but all she will do is bite my hand or anything else she can grab onto (doesn’t matter if the toy is three feet long or shorter). As a result, her training TEMP is always relaxed and lackadaisical, Any advise would be appreciated as this is not fun for either of us.
It seems that most of these tips cannot be used in a class because the classes I have attended are not structured this way. If I start running around and throwing toys in MY corner of the class, it would distract the other dogs and students. All of this DOES make sense but I don’t know how to implement it in a structured class.
I’ve been having too long training sessions and not enough intentional breaks. I will work harder on this for sure!!
Hi – we recently got a 1 year old rescue, Tilley (got her just 6 days ago) . She was found on the street in West Texas and knows nothing. We are also fostering her 6 puppies for 4 weeks till they get adopted then we will adopt the mama, Tilley. She really doesn’t seem to know how to do anything. I have taught her to sit, but as of yet, it’s not automatic or quick. But mostly she doesn’t much play with any toys. So I’m not sure how to get her interested in tug or any toy so we can have balance breaks. Will this change after her puppies leave and she has no more maternal worries? Thanks – ANNE
I love this!!! I am going to implement this in my dog training. It sounds like it could be done in any type of training whether dog, human or horse! Thank you
Have been doing the breaks, but was a bit hit and miss. Will be more intentional now.
Definitely an episode I will refer to often! Amazing tips!
Would you ever consider having an episode to talk about the more aversive methods of training? How they are not as effective and humane and not to mention outdated. And what you say to owners/trainers who may feel justified when training this way.
I understand that might be a controversial topic but I definitely think it is an important one.
Fabulous!! I have essentially been doing this ie. including play inside every training session but this gives me SPECIFIC structure to use. I have had that experience on my backyard agility course of dog kind of shutting down, and I knew instinctively “don’t reward that” but try to encourage him to do one more small jump or table so I can reward that. So, MORE balance breaks, for sure, BEFORE he shuts down. Thank you!