Dog training is one of the most important aspects of raising a dog. And as dog owners, we simply have a lot of dog-training-related questions on our minds.
We've asked Matt Folsom, a Certified Master Dog Trainer, what his top common dog training questions ever asked are.
He has attracted millions of followers on TikTok and thousands of followers on Instagram with his expertly applied science-based, positive reinforcement training methodology.
Folsom launched his training company, Modern Malinois, after his friend experienced a brutal home invasion. Folsom was eager to help and it was through that experience that his love for dog training began.
Folsom’s training strategies include positive reinforcement to increase high-level obedience, on-command response, socialization techniques and more to help increase security and mitigate threats to personal safety.
So here are the 8 common questions that often get brought up.
Top 8 Common Training Questions
By Matt Folsom of Modern Malinois
How young should I start training my puppy?
Our puppies are always picking up on habits, learning our routines and testing their boundaries. So in a sense training is always happening.
From taking a puppy out as soon as it wakes from a nap so it learns to use the bathroom outside, to giving it chew toys in the house to prevent the rehearsal of destructive behaviour, training is always taking place.
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Formal obedience, however, has a simple criterion for when to start. When the process seems like fun. As soon as a young puppy is interested in taking food from my hand and following it, training can commence.
We focus on high rates of rewards and building a love of training and interacting with humans in the beginning.
How long should training sessions be?
The most important thing to think about when structuring training sessions is quality over quantity. A short session where the dog remains engaged and is excited to interact will almost always be preferable to longer sessions where the dog becomes flat or disinterested.
The younger the dog the shorter the session. A great session with an eight-week-old puppy may only be 60 seconds of basic luring with food. Always make sure to end the session when the dog is still eager.
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Leaving them wanting more will help carry over success to the next session. Other factors such as new environments, competing motivators that are present, or how rested they are can play a major role.
As variables which make training harder become more of a factor, make sure to shorten the time to prevent burnout in the session.
Is it too late to train my dog?
Never. The thing to remember is that the older you start the less potential they will have. Just like a 35-year-old person trying to learn a new language will have a much harder time than a five-year-old older dog will not pick up on concepts as easily as young puppies.
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That doesn’t mean that your adult dog can’t learn to love the training process and explore their training potential.
Older dogs are also more set in their way. It’s much harder to undo habits than to create new ones. Giving the dog extra understanding and patience will be crucial.
What are the best command words?
There are three principles to keep in mind when choosing command words. The first is that you can remember them. The best list of command words isn’t helpful if they can’t be remembered when the time comes.
The next thing is they shouldn’t be words or phrases your dog hears in everyday life. If you do use words that are regularly spoken outside of training, make sure to change the pitch or the way you say them.
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Otherwise, the association that certain sounds predict a reinforcement after certain behaviours will become watered down. Lastly, make sure all your commands are phonetically distinct.
Dogs do not naturally use spoken language, so we want to make our commands easy for them to discern. Choosing flop for one command and bop for another will lead to confusion.
Also remember whatever commands you do choose the pitch, speed and inflexion need to always remain the same.
Can my dog do bite work?
Most likely no. Dogs who are right for bite work have been bred to have specific traits. Chief among these traits is good nerve, meaning they don’t perceive threats easily.
While most dogs would be stressed to the point of trauma in normal bite work scenarios, the dogs who are right for it experience no trauma. They thrive in these scenarios. They think it’s the best part of their life.
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Every dog can have fun training and work toward their own potential, but that potential is largely determined by genetics. So whether bite work, herding, or another speciality, a dog's likelihood of success is greatly influenced by their lineage.
This genetic propensity is similar to how most people will never be NBA players even if they dedicated their life from childhood to it. Those without special abilities can still enjoy basketball even without the hope of being a pro.
Similarly, most dogs can enjoy playing with toys and games like tug-of-war without trying to take it to the level of biting someone in a suit.
Do you ever get rid of rewards?
No. No one wants to go to a job, put in lots of work and not get paid. The same is true for working dogs and is even more true for pets. What is incorporated is random reward schedules and rewards located away from where the dog is working.
So the dog always thinks that they could get the jackpot for doing the next command. Even though in reality they may not be rewarded for many commands to come, we can harness the dog's excitement.
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Building their willingness to work with each command instead of diminishing it, working dogs can go up to an hour of high-level work without a reward.
What treats should I use?
Giving a dog purpose helps keep them happy, fulfilled and well-behaved. Using their kibble to train is a great way to achieve this.
While many meals can be given for solely enrichment purposes through using snuffle mats, slow feeders, etc, having them work for their kibble frequently provides an outlet for purpose.
Working with the dog while they acquire their food also builds the relationship.
Another positive to using kibble as the main source of food reward is when you actually need to use higher-value food rewards for more excitement or to combat distraction, their perceived value will be much higher.
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When choosing treats the most important is finding what your dog loves and can have enough to last training without too many calories. The guiding principles are that the pieces are soft enough and small enough to be swallowed easily.
Treats that take a long time to eat and swallow will distract from the training process.
How long till they are fully trained?
Dogs are never fully trained. No dog cares about having a great recall under distraction, coming into a perfectly aligned finished heel position, or dropping dangerous objects they’ve put in their mouth when told.
Both obedience and management commands are constantly degrading. Even adult working dogs need to be taken through basics on a regular basis to maintain their high level of training.
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This includes puppy training like direct lures and recall games. Even top athletes like professional golfers are constantly working week to week to keep their skills sharp and they want to be good at what they are doing.
So, for a dog who just wants to get his reward, it is especially important to continue to reinforce the skills they have learned.
About the Author
Matt Folsom
Certified Master Dog Trainer
Owner of Modern Malinois B-Roll and TikTok Video Content
