Building More Enthusiasm and Confidence in Your Dog for Canine Conditioning!!

Do you have a dog who struggles to get through their conditioning session? 

Do you have a dog that is unsure about some of the equipment in canine conditioning (e.g. wobble boards)? 

Do you find your dog lacks motivation?  

Does your dog easily “shut-down” when they make mistakes?  

You are not alone! 

In my last blog, we took a look at high drive dogs and discussed strategies to get them more focused during their canine conditioning sessions. But what if you own a dog who is the exact opposite and you're trying to find ways to bring them up and improve their confidence?  The truth is, not every dog will approach conditioning with a “go get em” attitude and managing low energy can be a huge and discouraging challenge for many owners.   

Many dogs struggle with a lack of confidence and it’s important that we, as their training partners, protect our dog’s confidence when we’re training. This means, paying attention to both the subtle and not so subtle cues our dogs are giving us and making adjustments in our sessions as needed (e.g changing equipment to something easier, shortening the training session).  I often see handlers rushing their dogs onto equipment by either physically placing them on it or using equipment that their dog isn't quite ready for.  I want you to take a moment and think about a situation where maybe you weren’t so comfortable?? A couple years ago, I started a weight lifting program and when I first started, I was not comfortable!! It was so new to me and I was unsure about my mechanics or how to approach my work out! I was so thankful for GREAT coaches who guided and helped me overcome my fears and slowly built up my confidence which led to a more enjoyable and stress-free work out sessions.  The same will ring true for the approach you take with your dog who might be showing lower confidence and enthusiasm in the canine conditioning gym.    
​
In this week’s blog, I take a look at how to help build your dog's enthusiasm and confidence for canine conditioning and how some simple changes and games can make a world of difference!  ​

Why Does My Dog Lack Confidence?  ​

Low confidence in dogs is multi-factorial; meaning, there can be MANY reasons for it including:

• Dog’s genetics and breed

• Life and socialization experiences
• Illness or pain (acute or chronic)
• Fear
• History of negative experiences
• Environment

• Stress
• Training experiences and interactions with people
• Individual personalities
• Pack mentality – some dogs will become stressed around other dogs

Regardless of the ‘why’ behind our dog’s low confidence, we have to recognize this aspect in our dog and make sure we do everything that we can to build up their confidence. Chances are, if your dog shows low confidence in the conditioning gym they're likely to show it in other areas of their life as well. As trainers, we'll have to adapt what we do in a given situation to help our dog find their confidence.

What Does Low Confidence Look Like?  ​

There are a number of signs that we can keep an eye out for that indicates when our dogs are feeling a lack of confidence. Our dogs may show only one or several of the following indicators: ​

What Are the Challenges of Low Confidence in Canine Conditioning?  ​

If your dog lacks enthusiasm you may find getting a full workout completed in conditioning difficult. Low confidence dogs often show low enthusiasm for work and may shut down easily if we ask them to repeat a behaviour. In conditioning, we often have to reset our dog to find our desired position which can lead our dog to worry and begin to shut down. As a trainer, it can become tiring to be a constant “cheerleader” for our dog.
​
Here are some other challenges you may experience with a low confident dog:

• Your dog may easily be put off or lose their enthusiasm to “try” new exercises or equipment.
• Your dog may not be able to handle longer training sessions.
• Your dog may walk or trot during the exercise when we were looking for increased energy and speed.
• You may find your dog is easily distracted and it difficult to get them to focus on the task at hand.

• They might start to sniff, lie down, or walk away during your conditioning session.
• Your dog may show confusion or frustration when asked to do multiple reps or become unsure and offer different behaviours. ​

Doers vs. Thinkers

Mindset plays an important role not just in the way you train but also in how your dog approaches training. In past blogs, I’ve discussed the importance of mindset for the trainer but did you know our dogs also have their own mindsets that can affect a training session?

We can generally split our dogs into two different types of thinking – some dogs are “doers” and show a gung-ho nature, willing to jump into any task. These dogs tend to be quite active, always on the go, and are very enthusiastic. I’ve been fairly lucky and all my dogs tend to be “doers” which is great for sport training and for their conditioning activities. However, another type of dog is the “over thinker” or “worrier” dog. As the name implies this type of dog is more pessimistic and thinks too much on a task making it more difficult.
​
Our dog’s mindset can drastically alter how they approach new challenges, training environments, and corrections. For example, a “doer” dog is ready for whatever you throw at them and are not worried about making mistakes. New environments, new challenges, or new exercises are something that is inherently fun and exciting. For the low confidence or “thinker” dog this is more likely to be met with pessimism. Your dog may be unsure of the “game” they’re playing, may worry about making mistakes, or overthink the behaviors you are asking of them. Generally speaking, a pessimistic dog is also likely to have lower arousal level as well which will then feed into their low confidence. Additionally, if our dogs are “thinkers” or “worriers” they’ll often have a harder time dealing with correction. In conditioning, if you have to continually reset your dog’s position or ask them to repeat a behavior they may begin to worry and shut down. When “doer” dogs make a mistake they’re often quite willing to just try again but a “worrier” will begin to over think and may give up if asked to continually adjust. ​

Strategies for Managing Low Confidence  ​

Now that we understand what low confidence looks like, its challenges, and how a dog’s mindset plays a role we can begin to figure out ways to help build up their enthusiasm.  The good news is there are a number of things we can do! 
​
One of my favourite ways to help improve my dog’s confidence is to follow Susan Garrett’s 5 C Formula for Success. By considering each of these 5 steps you are increasing your odds of a successful training session that will build up your dog’s confidence and reduce the chances of your dog shutting down.  ​

Susan Garret and Say Yes Dog Training (https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2018/10/protect-your-dogs-confidence/)

• Awaken Consciousness –When you start any activity you want to be  aware of what it is you’re training and what you want your dog to do. Ask yourself, does my dog have the skills they need to complete the exercise I’m doing? Have I prepared them adequately for the upcoming task? Are they familiar with the equipment and behaviours I’ll be using and asking of them?  
  • Conditioning Example: When first presented with a new exercise or circuit you want to attempt with your dog you should first ask yourself, “does my dog have the skills to be successful?” You would not want to undertake a circuit work out if your dog didn't have the individual skills needed to complete that circuit. This is great way to set your dog up to fail!  Providing challenges that are beyond the ability/capability of your dog can be a real confidence buster!  
• Create Clarity – Be CLEAR with what you want from your dog. This means you may need to layer their skills and break things down into smaller steps to help them understand.  
  • Conditioning Example: We have talked about the valuable training advice from Bob Bailey – don’t be a lumper be a splitter!! By using this method of breaking down behaviours into smaller parts we not only gain a quicker learning response but also improved confidence in our dogs. Remember, your dog’s confidence can vary from session to session so BE PRESENT and adaptable to altering the session based on what your dog needs BOTH from a learning and confidence stand point. By being clear and taking small steps towards the end goal or behaviour, we drastically increase our dog’s confidence.   
• Build Confidence – When we break things down and provide more clarity to our dog we're able to increase the chances that our dog will find success. When our dog's figure out a game, behaviour, or exercise they get positive reinforcement and their confidence begins to grow. As confidence increases so too does our dog's enthusiasm!
  • ​Conditioning Example: For dogs new to canine conditioning or learning a new skill, we have to protect their confidence to increase our odds of success. Think of a new puppy – do we just throw them onto the equipment? No! Instead, we set our puppy up to accomplish the task easily, this allows our dog to have a higher rate of reinforcement and success which in turn builds confidence. Remember, if you continually failed at something how long would it take for you to just give up? The same is true for our dogs!  
• Introduce Challenge – As your dog grows in confidence you can start to introduce low level challenges. Whenever your dog overcomes a new challenge, we've created more clarity, and therefore more confidence for our dog to make good choices in performing the task.  
  • Conditioning Example: There are a number of ways to add a challenge to an exercise (i.e. increase reps/sets, vary equipment choices between stable and unstable) but we want to make sure we only change and add one new challenge at a time. If we change too much at once, it can be quite overwhelming for our dogs which can cause them to lose confidence and start to shut down.   
• Grow Capability – Grow your dog’s capability by strategically planning your challenges and layering your dog’s learning. This will build enthusiasm at each step!  
  • Conditioning Example: Slow and steady is our goal here! Remember, canine conditioning isn’t a race or a fleeting moment in time, rather, it’s a lifelong journey! We want to always set our dogs up for success – by taking things slow we ensure our dog’s confidence is protected.  ​

In canine conditioning, there are a number of ways to help our low confident dogs find success in the canine gym. The following strategies can be applied to help grow and nourish your dog's confidence and enthusiasm.

1. Set your session up for success: If your dog isn’t showing good signs of confidence (e.g. bright eyed, tail up, happy, good energy) we aren’t going to get the best out of them for conditioning. Attempting to work your dog when they’re already worried will only end in frustration from you and stress from your dog. I want you to find times in the day where your dog has natural excitement (such as when you return home or perhaps at meal times). By pairing these naturally exciting moments of the day with your training session, you can create a dog who is more enthusiastic and in a more positive mindset! Do not forget that YOUR  mindset matters too! If you're approaching your training session in a bad mood or are already frustrated your dog will pick up on that energy. Make sure that before you begin ANY training session that both you and your dog are in the right head space to work! ​​
2. Remember to warm-up: Our warm-up extends beyond the physical benefits of priming our dogs for exercise but also helps to create improved connection and focus. Some sessions might just be games and fun to build up our dogs' confidence versus rushing them onto the equipment and asking for specific behaviours. It can be helpful to start your training session with a trick or behaviour that your dog knows very well and cannot get wrong. Easy wins are great for boosting your dog’s confidence.
3. Keep sessions short: If your dog has low confidence, we want to avoid longer training sessions. I often see students fall victim to “just one more rep” mentality. What often happens is that “one more rep” can push our low confident dog beyond their limit and further degrades their enthusiasm. In your training journal, keep a record of the time spent training and the way the session ended so you can set a timer for yourself to keep you from doing too much. Shorter and more frequent training sessions will always yield more success – it is amazing what you can accomplish in 2-3 minutes!! Longer is not better!!
4. Avoid too many different exercises: Avoid overwhelming your dog with too many different exercises in a single training session. For low confident dogs, I suggest you chose 1 to 2 conditioning exercises to work on in a session versus attempting 4 or 5 exercises. Too much variety in the exercises can lower your dog’s confidence and subsequently lead them to shut down or walk off. Conditioning exercises take a lot of mental work (in addition to physical work) so by reducing the number of exercises you complete you minimize brain overload and potential frustrations!
5. Respect your dog’s limits: Don’t push your dog into challenges they’re not ready for! Instead layer up and start easy so they get lots of positive feedback and reinforcement. This grows their confidence with easy attainable steps – no different than smart goals for humans!!!
6. Make canine conditioning a routine: Dogs with low confidence can benefit from structure and routine. Working on training, engaging with equipment, and learning how to use their body will do wonders to their confidence. Staying consistent to weekly training will help your dog to continually improve. Remember that anticipation builds excitement! If your dog begins to recognize weekly training times, they will begin to get excited and come to training with a more positive mindset.
7. Avoid external pressure: Don’t invite unnecessary pressure onto yourself or your training session. There is no set timeline for when your dog should learn a desired behaviour or be comfortable on the equipment. Work with the dog you have in front of you and don’t worry about external normative values. The truth is every dog and training endeavour is different so there really is no correct answer to “how long should it take my dog to learn X?”
8. Consider your rewards – Using higher value treats can help get your dog more enthusiastic with their session. Ask yourself, “what does my dog like?” and begin incorporating their favourite treats and toys into your sessions. By doing this, your dog will start to associate good things when you head to the canine conditioning room/area. If you’re using your dog’s kibble as training treats odds are they’re not going to find that particularly exciting. For some dogs, this is ok!! Many of my dogs would eat ‘anything’ for their training sessions. However, we have to have special considerations for the lower confidence dog.
9. Consider your training environment – Are you training in a busy training hall or in the privacy of your own home? Is your training space in a high traffic area of your home or somewhere quiet? Where you choose to train can also have an impact on your dog’s mindset and the success of your training session. An environmentally shy dog will struggle more in a new training location, a highly distracted dog may struggle in a high-traffic area. Pick your location wisely! Another consideration to make about your environment is the surface – if you’re training in an area with slippery floors (hardwood, linoleum, stone etc) your dog could become worried about slipping and falling – remember, a worried dog is not only distracted but also losing confidence!
10. Safe introduction to equipment: In conditioning, we don’t just want to throw our dog onto new equipment but rather slowly introduce them to new pieces – this is the best way to gain your dog’s trust and confidence. Now some dogs, especially the “doers” will confidently walk up to new pieces of equipment and engage with it right away. But this is not the case for all dogs, especially if the object wobbles or moves (e.g. unstable equipment). The following is the approach I like to take when introducing my dog (or puppy) to a new piece of equipment.
    
    

To begin the equipment introduction, I start with my dog in a crate or cot while I set up the piece of equipment. I usually place the object about 4- 6 feet back from my dog and position myself close to the equipment. Release your dog from their crate or cot and monitor what they do. Do they look at the object? Do they move closer to it? You are looking for ANY interaction with the equipment you are trying to familiarize your dog to (subtle and not so subtle interactions). The instant you see engagement, mark with a “yes” and toss food AWAY!! Rewarding away from the equipment gives your dog the option to come back and engage with the equipment again. It is their choice whether they want to come back and engage with the equipment. We never want to force them onto the equipment with a leash or place them on it as this is a great way to break your dog’s confidence and trust in you! Continue this process of tossing treats away until you are able to move closer and closer to the object.

If they are unsure and quite hesitant to engage with the equipment, start further back and create more space between you and the piece of equipment. Make sure you reward for any engagement – some dogs might just look at the equipment at first – reward that!! Use high value treats as well!!
​
Once your dog is at the point of touching the equipment you can reward for your dog touching and placing their feet on it and then toss another cookie away to “reset” them. Repeat this process. Never ask your dog for any static behaviours on new equipment until you see that they are comfortable working around and on it. – e.g. targeting with front feet, hind feet, walking across it. As you go through this process, be sure to monitor for signs of decreased confidence or uncertainty. Once you know your dog is comfortable on the piece of equipment you introduced them to, you can start to ask for various behaviours and positions on it.

Strategies to Help the Low Confident Dog – Games!!  ​

Who doesn't love diving for treats!? (Photo submitted by K Grant)

I am a firm believer in using game-based training with my dogs as it builds confidence, communication, and trust between myself and my dog. I use these games every day with my dogs before we do any exercise or training. Before you start any game, check in with your dog – are they happy, ears up, eyes bright and engaged and eager to play the game with you? Remember, these are games and it doesn’t really matter if they do it perfectly or not just to get them in the mood to PLAY!! 

Here are three of my favourite games to build confidence in dogs. 

Treat Diving 

This fun and easy game from Susan Garrett’s Home School Program builds up your relationship with your dog and improves their confidence. In Treat Diving, our goal is to have our dogs enthusiastically “dive” for treats.

When getting ready to play this game, prep 5 food containers that will hold 5 various types of treats. This is a great opportunity to see what your dog really gets amped up for!! 

You should play this game in an environment that is anti-slip - it is pretty hard to build confidence if your dog is worried about slipping around!! Pull out those yoga mats!! For lower confident dogs, you should start by playing this game  for 30-45 seconds and then break off into a play session!! Be sure to set a timer as it is VERY easy to fall trap to a longer session. Short sessions for the win and slowly work up to 2 minutes. 
 
There are three stages to this game: 

Stage 1 – Take 3 cookies of EACH treat!! Start with reward/food # 1 – toss food (don’t say anything). Dog should retrieve food. Handler can stay stationary at first and then add a bit of motion. Watch your dog's response – did they dive onto the food to get it?  Were they enthusiastic to dive to the next treat??  Then toss again. Repeat for 3 reps with the same type of treat. Then, place your dog back in a crate or on a bed why you prep reward/food #2. Repeat the same process with the next food! Work your way through all five treats!! You may NOT get through all 5 treats in the same session - that is ok! Once your dog is consistently diving onto the treats and showing enthusiasm for the game, it is time to move onto Stage 2. 

Stage 2 – The steps during this stage are the SAME as Stage 1 except we are now adding a verbal command to the game.  Use any verbal command (e.g. search) and be sure it doesn't have any other meaning to your dog. Say the word ‘search’ and then toss the cookie! Remember to make sure you say your verbal command first, and then toss the cookie. In this stage you verbal command is giving your dog permission to look for food on the ground. Repeat this process with all five of your treats. 

Stage 3 – During this stage you can start to introduce a bed/mat. Grab a mixture of treats (from the original 5!). Use your verbal command you used in Stage 2 (e.g. search) and toss food directly on the bed/mat you are using. Repeat this several times. Then drop a treat off and outside of the bed/mat. Notice how after your dog retrieves the cookie (off the bed) they start to gravitate back to it!!  Your dog will start to build value for the bed/mat in realizing that this is where lots of treats go to!! 

That’s it!! Practice this multiple times a day!!  YOUR DOGS WILL LOVE THIS GAME!!!!! 

Cone Game 
This game is a fantastic way to build confidence, optimism, and is fun! To play this game, all you need is plastic cone or cup that your dog can fit their muzzle in. Start with your dog on a cot or mat so you can get your cone and cookies organized! Release your dog and reward any kind of interaction with the cone and then progressively become more specific about placing their nose IN the cone. Check out the video below to see how the game is played! ​

---

(Photo submitted by K Grant)

Natural Play  

Another way to build confidence is to learn how your dog likes to play on their own! Not all dogs will play the same and a good way to help build up confidence is to figure out what gets your dog excited and what their “rules” of the game are! Observe your dog in their natural setting and note how they interact with dogs and other stimuli. Does your dog like to chase after things, do they like to stalk, do they like physical play? Once you figure out “how” they like to play you can then figure out what not to do! For example, a dog that likes to chase may not like to be touched. If you were to play a game of chase with a tug toy your dog would likely become quite excited. If, while tugging, you were to tap or push your dog they may end up spitting out the tug toy and disengaging – this is because you just broke the rules!  
​
Once you understand the rules of your dog’s game you can then set up you play session to be highly rewarding and fun. Play that follows your dog’s rules helps to get your dog into a positive mindset making them more trusting with you and more willing to try new things. 

---

In conclusion...

Just because your dog is lower on the confidence scale does not mean they have to stay there. Building up confidence in tasks and behaviours is the best way to allow the dog to build more drive for the work. The approach might be different but the end result can be the same as the high drive dogs. Canine conditioning is a fantastic activity for ALL dogs that not only comes with a wealth of physical benefits but also helps to improve your dog's confidence levels as they navigate various pieces of equipment and learn new behaviours. ​

Understanding your dog's emotional needs can be the key in either building up confidence in canine conditioning or pushing the dog to the point that they no longer will participate in the tasks. These kinds of dogs require a more creative approach and more patience in training. However, speak to any owner of a dog with low confidence and they will tell you how GREAT it feels when their dog succeeds. There are some amazing competition dogs out there that you would be surprised to learn who has struggled with low confidence! At the end of the day remember, that your dog is always trying their best for you and if your not getting the focus or drive you want then it may be time to reassess what you're asking, the environment your in, and ways to make the task easier for your dog.

Sources

Absolute Dogs “Sexier than a Squirrel” https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1496560528/sexier-than-a-squirrel-dog-training-that-gets-real-life-results/is-your-dog-a-thinker-or-a-doer 

Garrett, Susan. "Protect your dog's confidence." Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog (2018)  https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2018/10/protect-your-dogs-confidence/