🚧 Module 4: Common Mistakes
“It’s Not Failure, It’s Feedback: Learning to Adjust Without the Guilt ”
🐾 Why Mistakes Matter
If you’ve ever felt like training was two steps forward, one step back — welcome to the club. Progress with dogs (and honestly, with people too) is rarely a straight line. Mistakes aren’t signs you’re failing — they’re clues.
Learning how to spot and adjust early can save you and your dog a lot of frustration down the road.
❌ Mistakes to Avoid
1️⃣ Inconsistency.
Dogs thrive on predictability. If the rules change day-to-day, your dog gets confused.
Attention is a powerful reinforcer. Even negative attention can accidentally reward behaviors we don’t want.
It’s easy to get excited and try to level up too fast.
Many people accidentally reinforce excitement but ignore calm.
🧠 Mindset Shift: Progress Over Perfection
Training is a dialogue, not a demand.
It’s okay to mess up.
It’s okay if your dog has an off day.
It’s okay if you have an off day.
Success in training (and life) is about staying adaptable and keeping the relationship grounded first. If you lead with curiosity instead of criticism, you and your dog will get farther — and enjoy the ride a whole lot more.
🧠 Reflection Prompt
📌 Key Takeaway
Mistakes aren’t failure — they’re part of learning. The best trainers (and the best dogs) are the ones who stay flexible, humble, and focused on progress, not perfection.
📝 Homework
👉 Next module: Keeping the Momentum Alive
“It’s Not Failure, It’s Feedback: Learning to Adjust Without the Guilt ”
🐾 Why Mistakes Matter
If you’ve ever felt like training was two steps forward, one step back — welcome to the club. Progress with dogs (and honestly, with people too) is rarely a straight line. Mistakes aren’t signs you’re failing — they’re clues.
Learning how to spot and adjust early can save you and your dog a lot of frustration down the road.
❌ Mistakes to Avoid
1️⃣ Inconsistency.
Dogs thrive on predictability. If the rules change day-to-day, your dog gets confused.
- Example: Sometimes jumping gets attention (laughter, petting), other times it gets ignored or scolded.
- Fix: Pick a response and stick with it. Consistency builds clarity.
Attention is a powerful reinforcer. Even negative attention can accidentally reward behaviors we don’t want.
- Example: Yelling when your dog barks may still be attention they find reinforcing.
- Fix: Focus on proactivly rewarding behaviors you do want (or if helpful think of the the absence of unwanted behaviors) and consider the environment.
It’s easy to get excited and try to level up too fast.
- Example: Your dog learns “sit” in your kitchen, but struggles at the park.
- Fix: Increase the difficulty more gradually. Practice in another room first, then in your yard or on the sidewalk before moving to the park (this is called proofing).
Many people accidentally reinforce excitement but ignore calm.
- Example: Dog jumps up — gets attention. Dog quietly lies down — gets nothing.
- Fix: Reinforce the calm behaviors you want more of. "Catch" your dog being good.
🧠 Mindset Shift: Progress Over Perfection
Training is a dialogue, not a demand.
It’s okay to mess up.
It’s okay if your dog has an off day.
It’s okay if you have an off day.
Success in training (and life) is about staying adaptable and keeping the relationship grounded first. If you lead with curiosity instead of criticism, you and your dog will get farther — and enjoy the ride a whole lot more.
🧠 Reflection Prompt
- Am I being consistent with my cues and rewards?
- What’s one unwanted behavior I might be accidentally reinforcing?
- How could I make things easier for my dog to learn this week?
📌 Key Takeaway
Mistakes aren’t failure — they’re part of learning. The best trainers (and the best dogs) are the ones who stay flexible, humble, and focused on progress, not perfection.
📝 Homework
- Identify one habit where you could be more consistent (small wins!).
- This week, look for 3 calm moments to mark and reward that you usually overlook.
- Journal a quick “mistake = feedback” moment — what did it teach you?
👉 Next module: Keeping the Momentum Alive