The Curse of the Living Room Dog & How Routines Make Training Easier

SEND US A QUESTION OR TOPIC FOR A FUTURE SHOW...If you enjoy the K.I.S.S. Dog Training Podcast and want to help support what we do, you can become a monthly supporter for as little as $3 a month. K.I.S.S. Dog Training is my full-time job, and producing the podcast, blogs, videos, and other educational content takes time away from that work. Your support helps me continue putting out solid, science-based, positive-reinforcement dog training information.Support the podcast here:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1353841/supporters/newDoes your dog look brilliant in the living room and then act like they have never heard a word you said the minute you walk outside?Welcome to the curse of the living room dog.Dogs do not generalize information nearly as well as people do. A skill learned inside the house does not automatically transfer to the backyard, driveway, neighborhood, park, or pet-friendly store.That means training has to travel.Build Skills One Environment at a TimeMy normal progression looks something like this:House → Backyard → Driveway → Neighborhood → Dog Distractions → Parks/Trails → Retail EnvironmentsEvery new environment adds distraction.So when the dog struggles, do not automatically assume they are stubborn or refusing to listen.Back up.Make the exercise easier.Help the dog find traction again.If your dog only practices in the living room, then you should expect a really good living room dog.Make Training Part of Your RoutineThe second half of this episode is about making dog training feel easier by building it into things you already do every day.Instead of carving out a special hour for “dog training,” create routines around normal life.A few examples:Doorbell rings → Go to the crateMeal time → Hand feeding and training gamesYou sit down → Dog learns to settleDog sees a distraction → Leave It and redirect back to youThese routines turn ordinary moments into training opportunities.Hand FeedingFor the first 30 days of training, I often recommend putting the food bowl away and using meals to teach attention and basic skills.The Hand Feeding playlist includes games for Sit, Down, Watch Me, Turnaround, Leave It, crate work, waiting at doors, and more.Hand Feeding Playlist:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsbJO2JoPmqJv6cbmelVrTFQt_B4za1OLThe Goal Is a Redirectable DogOne of the most important routines you can build is teaching the dog that Leave It means stop focusing on that and come back to me.It might be another dog, a squirrel, goose poop, a person, or anything else that grabs their attention.If your dog can disengage and come back to you, you have a dog you can work with.The big takeaway from both topics is simple:Do not expect behavior you have never practiced in that environment.And do not make training harder than it needs to be.Build small routines into your normal day, practice them in increasingly difficult environments, and let repetition do the heavy lifting.K.I.S.S. Dog TrainingDog Training Ain’t Cheap... Experience Counts.https://kissdogtraining.com/If you found this episode helpful, please take a minute to leave a review. Reviews are one of the best ways to help other dog owners find the podcast. Follow the show so you do not miss future episodes, and share this one with somebody whose dog turns into a completely different animal the minute they walk out the front door.Support the showMike Deathe owns Keep it Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) Dog training. We can be reached through comments here, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kissdogtraining. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedeathe/, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mikedeathekissdogtraining/.  And of course at our website https://kissdogtraining.com/