I remember the first time I read about the concept of training without your dog. My thought was ‘what a silly idea!’. After reading further into it, I decided to try it myself and was pleasantly surprised at the feedback I got by doing nothing with my dog at all, but rather pretending I was training with my dog.

I practiced basic commands; I practiced how I would correct, how I would engage my dog, how I would use my body language, use my tone, read his body language, practice my timing, etc. All the while I imagined he was there and how he would respond- particularly when he did something I did not expect or a behavior we were having trouble working through. This gave me chance to look at some of the mistakes I was making without having to subject my dog to them, and neither of us got frustrated or confused in the process. I learned a lot because of it.

It is a small technique you can take away for yourself to use. Just give yourself 1-2 minutes to work on the things you find yourself struggling with and practice by yourself first to better assess the situation before involving your dog.

Try it!