Guide
How to get clients to do their dog training homework
Much of a dog’s progress happens between sessions, so homework matters. When clients don’t practice, the cause is usually the homework itself: too much, too vague or too easy to forget. Here is how to set homework that fits into a busy week.
Updated
Set fewer exercises
Two or three exercises a week is plenty for most clients. A long list feels like a chore, and it is easy to skip all of it. Pick the exercises that matter most for the client’s goal, and save the rest for later sessions.
Make each one specific
“Practice loose-leash walking” is hard to start. A good instruction says where, how long and what success looks like:
- Where: “In the hallway, before your walk.”
- How much: “Five repetitions, once a day.”
- What good looks like: “Reward every time the leash stays loose for three steps.”
- When to stop: “If your dog pulls twice in a row, end the session and try again later.”
Tie practice to routines
Clients remember homework that is attached to something they already do: a sit before meals, a recall before letting the dog in from the yard, a settle while the coffee brews. Ask the client which daily moments would work for them, and write those into the instructions.
Make checking in easy
If reporting back takes effort, clients stop doing it. A tick-box practice log, or a quick reply to a message, is enough. What you want to know is simple: did they practice, and how did it go?
Follow up without judging
Start the next session by asking what went well and what was hard. If a client didn’t practice, find out why rather than scolding: the exercise may have been too hard, or the week may have been chaotic. Adjust the homework so it fits, and say what you noticed improve.
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