Practicing Patience

In an era when instant gratification is a just a button or a mouse click away, we forget about patience until we lose it.  This often occurs when our dogs are behaving in an impulsive and uncontrolled manner such as jumping on us when we return home, bolting through the door, or barking for dinner.  It’s not that our dogs want to try our patience, it’s just that they haven’t been taught how to control their impulses.

Although some dogs have more patience than others, patience, also called “impulse control” can and should be taught.  Dogs that control their frustration can give their handlers a calmer dog and life.  Impulsive behavior usually occurs in high arousal situations, such as feeding time, before going on a walk, or when prey is in sight.  Therefore, training impulse control should not initially happen during those moments.  Like fire drills, practicing appropriate behavior during quieter times yields the best results.

First, decide what behavior you want your dog to perform in high arousal situations.  Then break down the behavior into small simple steps that your dog should be able to perform in two or three tries.  For example, to keep dogs from rushing out the front door, ask your dog to sit and remain calm while rattling the doorknob of a bedroom door.  Be sure to mark (click or say “YES!”) and reward your dog the second he or she relaxes or even hesitates.  Don’t punish the dog for being excited.  He or she hasn’t yet learned your rules and pain or fear creates confusion, arousal and frustration.  Restart at a less exciting level.

Impulse control can also be taught in a reverse order.  For example, ask the dog to sit, and then start adding distractions, smaller ones at first, such as you moving while the dog is sitting.  Gradually build up the distractions so that your dog has a solid “sit” even when a favorite toy or squirrel whizzes past.  Don’t forget to ask for basic commands in different locations as well.  Asking for “random” sits during a walk is creating a stronger “sit” response and new environment in themselves are a distraction. 

Everyday life provides plenty of opportunities for impulse control training as well.  Asking your dog to sit and wait or go to its place when you’re preparing a meal keeps the dog from getting underfoot while working on patience.  Asking for a sit before going outside is also good practice.  Play time is another great opportunity.  To help make the waiting worthwhile, reward your dog a few times for being patient before releasing him or her.  An extra special treat during the wait can give you the upper hand, basically informing the dog that “Sure, there’s good stuff out there, but stick with me, pup, and who knows what great things will come?”