Consistency Matters Always, for Success in Dog Training and in Life

This article is part of an ongoing series of tips, techniques, skills and lessons learned from the world of sled dog racing­­­­­, because sled dog racing is a great learning and proving ground for success in dog training... and for success in life.

Today's Lesson: Consistency. Matters. Always.

I recently saw a post on Facebook from a musher which said in part:

Will and I are very proud of our team. We've been very confident in their abilities and they continue to exceed our expectations. The consistent pace the dogs set on every leg of the race is a measure of Will's ability to conserve them...

That got me to thinking about the critical role consistency plays in success in working with your dogs.

I've also been working with my dog training students to identify and focus on their 2015 goals with their dogs, and immediate next steps to get there. Lack of consistency in their dogs' performance was very much a common theme and an issue everyone wants to address.

Make no mistake... consistency is FUNdamental to the success and enjoyment of anything you do with your dogs. Consistency is also required for success in any endeavor... dogs, business, career, relationships, life.

First I'm going to explore what I mean by consistency. Future posts will look at applying consistency throughout your dog training and life experience.

Definitions...

From Dictionary.com:

Steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.; agreement, harmony or compatibility, especially correspondence or uniformity among the parts of a complex thing.

From Websters:

agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole : correspondence; specifically : ability to be asserted together without contradiction; firmness of constitution or character : persistency; harmony of conduct or practice with profession

In reading these definitions, it's easy to see why consistency is such a desirable factor in dog training and performance. When we are teaching our dogs a skill, giving them an experience, or asking of them a task or activity, consistency matters very much to our dogs.

Dogs don't generalize well, that is not a skill their brains have evolved as much as human brains. Since they live in the present moment, they relate that to their experience in a very narrow way. If it is not the same... if it is not consistent... with their previous experience, they default to it being new (and depending on the dog, scary).

Imagine you are some place you've never been before, say at a snow play sledding hill. You are given a new set of clothes and boots to wear because you need them to stay dry and comfortable.

You've put on clothing all your life... but you grew up in Hawaii, and you've never seen snow clothes before.

If someone gives you a bag of snow clothes, and walks away... as an experienced clothes-wearer, you still have questions about what to put on first, how to arrange the layers, what is too much or not enough, how to secure your clothing so you don't get snow inside, and on and on.

Often that is what I see people do with their dogs... train them on a skill in a very narrow set of circumstances, and then drop them into a completely different situation and wonder why they can't perform. The consistency of the dog's experience breaks down when presented with something new - a new place, new team mates, new musher, new gear - and both musher and dog get really frustrated by the lack of consistency (in approach, experience and performance).

Thus, consistency matters across the spectrum of experiences you have with your dog. It's the only way to set your dog - and yourself - up for success for any goal you desire to accomplish together.