In the world of dog training, while we often gain useful insights from "do this to get that" guides, there's significant value in learning through our own mistakes. Anyone who has trained a dog closely knows that the process doesn't always go as planned, and desired results aren't guaranteed. I've had my fair share of "that didn't work" and "why didn't I see this sooner?" moments, so I want to share five dog training lessons I learned the hard way.
Yelping Isn’t Always Effective for Stopping Puppy Biting
Describing Laika as challenging when it came to teaching bite inhibition would be an understatement—she was a nightmare. My arms and legs were covered in deep scratches, forcing me to wear long sleeves and pants in summer just to avoid questions at work about what happened. I read everything I could find on stopping puppy biting, and one common method was the "yelp method." The idea is that yelping when bitten makes the puppy realize they’re hurting you and stop. But with Laika, yelping only made her bite harder. I kept trying, thinking my yelps weren’t convincing enough, but she just got more excited. It turns out this method doesn’t work for all dogs; some, like Laika, find the noise stimulating. I finally switched to redirection—directing her attention to a toy instead of my arm—and that worked much better.
Training Involves More Than Just Teaching Tricks
I’ve loved dogs for years and grew up reading every dog-related book I could find, many about training. They taught basics like potty training, "come," sit, lie down, and stay, but nothing beyond that. The internet changed everything—I discovered concepts like impulse control, loose leash walking, and the importance of play. As a kid, I thought a dog’s behavior was just part of their personality. If my dog was pushy, I blamed his "overly friendly Lab personality" instead of realizing he needed training to greet people properly. I assumed a neighbor’s barking, growling dog was just mean, not considering he might be frustrated from being chained up all day. Back then, without easy access to information, we focused on reacting to behavior rather than understanding the link between training and behavior.
Not All Dogs Are Highly Motivated by Food
Ten years ago, I would have laughed if someone said there are dogs that spit out meat for something more interesting—but Laika proved me wrong. I noticed this while managing her reactivity on walks. With reactive dogs, there’s a threshold where they get too worked up to focus, even for meat. But what surprised me was that even without distractions, Laika often spit out food on walks. She’d take it, then drop it and keep going. Indoors, she’ll eat treats but isn’t excited unless I hype them up, and she usually follows with a toy. Some dogs prefer play over food! So I started using her love of tug-of-war on walks instead of treats, and it worked—she’d do almost anything for a game of tug.
The Environment Greatly Affects Training Success
It’s embarrassing to admit now, but I once thought, "My dog knows this command, so she’ll do it anywhere." That was naive. Holding a dog’s attention with 17 squirrels around is tough, and doing tricks in front of 15 people is harder than alone in the living room. Recall is a perfect example: after mastering "come" indoors, many dogs ignore it outside. It’s not that they forget; they just prefer chasing squirrels over coming inside. From Laika’s perspective, why choose indoor boredom over outdoor fun? I solved this by making "come" exciting—pairing it with tug games or treat hunts. I rewarded her well when she chose to come, and soon she realized "come" meant fun, not boredom.
"Being a Tree" Isn’t the Only Solution for Leash Pulling
One of my hardest lessons was teaching reliable loose leash walking. I first tried the "be a tree" method: stop every time the dog pulls, supposedly teaching them pulling stops the walk. I lost count after 1,329 tries with Laika, but she just pulled harder, whining and looking at me like I was crazy. Adding treats didn’t help—she still pulled to get where she wanted. After months, she stood still better, but pulled again as soon as we moved. For dogs with long-standing pulling habits, "being a tree" alone often fails. I found success by changing directions instead—when she pulled, I turned and walked the other way, pairing it with treats to keep her attention. This encouraged her to follow me instead of pulling.
What Dog Training Lessons Did You Learn The Hard Way?
These are some of the tough lessons I learned in dog training—what about you? Have you tried methods that just didn’t work for your dog?
