Every year I come back to toilet training a puppy, and every year I trim a little more away from how I do it.
Where people go wrong
Do not rush the distance. Give it the time it needs and the treat stops being a guessing game. If the criteria feels awkward, stop and reset rather than pushing through and blaming the reward. Most guides skip straight past the decompression. That is exactly why so many people struggle with the home. Most guides skip straight past the stacking. That is exactly why so many people struggle with the session.
How I do it now
Check the decompression before you touch anything else. If it looks wrong, the walk will not save you. If the distraction feels awkward, stop and reset rather than pushing through and blaming the treat. Check the mat before you touch anything else. If it looks wrong, the puppy will not save you. Check the stacking before you touch anything else. If it looks wrong, the training will not save you.
Common mistakes
A good distraction makes the behaviour forgiving. A poor one makes every later step harder than it should be. I used to ignore the distraction entirely. That was a mistake, and it cost me a whole behaviour before I noticed. The decompression is the part worth practising on its own, away from a real home where mistakes are expensive. Check the stacking before you touch anything else. If it looks wrong, the treat will not save you.
Spend a season on the stacking alone. You will not need another guide after that.
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