One afternoon he lies back down after hearing footsteps in the hallway. There was no spectacular demonstration and nobody filming. However, if before that sound interrupted his rest for a long while, perhaps something happened that is worth recording.
Everyday progress needs a measure that makes sense for you. The number of tricks learned can say little about the difficulty you really wanted to solve.
Choose a concrete question
“Are we doing better?” is a big question. You can bring it closer to a scene: what happens when the building door opens, what the start of the walk is like, or whether he manages to rest during a certain activity at home.
Keep a brief record of the context. In reactivity problems, for example, observing patterns of place, time and stimuli can provide information to the professional accompanying you. [12] Do not provoke a difficult situation to obtain comparable data.
A note might say: “He heard footsteps, looked toward the door and lay back down; there was no visit.” Another, “A person arrived and he stayed restless.” They are different experiences. Comparing them without considering that change can make real progress seem nonexistent or make you overestimate what was learned.
Use a record that does not become another burden
Choose one behavior and note only the relevant episodes. You can include what happened, what you did and what you observed afterwards. You don't need to grade your dog or give him a daily mark.
If you work with a professional, agree on which indicators are worth following. A tolerable distance, the duration of a response or the time to resume an activity can be useful in certain plans. Not all those measures work for all cases.
Also record the adjustments at home. Maybe coexistence improved because now you set up a barrier before receiving deliveries. That improvement in organization counts, even if the dog still needs to learn another skill.
Distinguish calm from a change that worries
A dog doing fewer things does not always mean he is better. Pain can modify his behavior, mobility and willingness for contact. A marked difference from his usual behavior deserves a veterinary consultation. [17]
That is why it helps to look at well-being together with the behavior you wanted to change. Avoid celebrating as “obedience” a stillness that appeared suddenly and that you don't understand.
When reviewing your notes, look for which conditions favor coexistence and what support is still needed. A difficult day does not erase everything before it; nor is it necessary to minimize it if the pattern is getting worse.
At Huella we care about a shared life that can be sustained. Recognizing small advances lets you care for what is working and honestly adjust what still needs work.
Keep reading: Teaching Starts Before You Give a Cue · How to Choose Who Will Train Your Dog