When I talk about consistency in dog training, most people assume I’m talking about how often they train their dogs, but no, that’s not what I’m talking about.
When I talk about consistency in dog training, I’m talking about being consistent in who you are and how you behave around your dog.

People usually come to me with specific behaviors they want their dogs to learn or problems they want to resolve. Many of these people want me to train their dogs without making any changes themselves.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, as your behavior directly influences your dog’s behavior. If you want your dog’s behavior to change, the first thing that needs to change is you.

Let’s take a look at a common problem: jumping on people.

Most people, especially people with big dogs, tell me that they don’t want their dogs to jump on other people. They often tell me this as their dog is jumping on me. I’ll go over using the leash to prevent the dog from being able to jump on guests as they come in, and we'll start teaching the dog an alternate greeting behavior.

The next time I come over, they tell me how they practiced with the leash when their friend came over, and they’ll exclaim how well it went… as their dog is jumping on me. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Another common issue is dogs pulling on the leash. There are many reasons why dogs pull when they’re on a leash, but one of the things I see repeatedly is the dog pulling to something; the person yanks them back, then lets them out again, then yanks them back, then lets them out again. This inconsistent yo-yo effect only confuses the dog and provides no information about what the person holding the leash wants or doesn’t want them to do.

Your dog will not learn to keep all four feet on the floor at the front door if you allow them to jump on some guests but not others. They’re also not going to learn to walk on a loose leash if sometimes you’re yanking them back and sometimes you’re following them as they pull you around.

Learning is difficult when the rules are constantly changing. When you choose to do something a certain way, you must do it the same way every time so your dog can learn what to expect in that context.