Training at Your Fingertips: Pups and People Thrive With Online Lessons

Online training can offer many benefits to dogs and their people, especially those with busy lives or skittish animals. photo: Althea Karwowski

Moana’s people first sought dog training because they worried about her behavior.  The Corgi was growling and lunging around her food bowl and growling and snarling whenever someone tried to remove her harness after a walk.  

I started Moana and her people on a training program using humane, reward-based methods rooted in science and provided a management plan for safety and enrichment to decrease stress.  Training exercises were introduced to change the way Moana felt about people approaching and touching her and her stuff.  New behaviors were taught and reinforced: sitting when someone approached her food bowl and going onto a platform to have a harness put on and taken off.  

Amazingly, all of this training was achieved online.  I provided  detailed homework instructions, and Moana’s people recorded short videos of her training exercises once or twice a week. I shared audio feedback over their videos and updated their training plans accordingly. An ongoing text, video, and voice memo thread allowed for frequent advice, troubleshooting, and celebrations of progress.  

Before the pandemic, I’d been a strictly in-person trainer. But in 2020, as the coronavirus loomed, I shifted my dog training to a mixed format of Zoom and outdoor sessions. Covid safety was important for me, my clients, and the public health.  

At the same time, I reached out to a fellow trainer, Sara Scott, for mentorship.  Sara specializes in canine aggression with 20+ years of experience, and I had sought her advice, intending to focus on aggression.  But as a mentee of Sara’s, I was also blown away by the strategies and impacts of her online training.  

While many behavioral issues can be treated online, I’ve been particularly excited about working with fearful and reactive dogs in this format. For a dog who may be overwhelmed, reactive, or prone to shutting down in the presence of strangers, giving detailed instructions and feedback to an owner without coming into the dog’s space is a powerful tool.  

What Are Some Benefits of Online Training? 

Online training can offer many benefits to dogs and their people, especially those with busy lives or skittish animals. 

• Working in the dog’s larger home environment provides increased safety for fear, reactivity, and aggression training.

• Flexibility in the training schedule allows people to train at a time that’s best for them and their dog.

• Frequent repetition is ideal for reinforcement, and online training provides the opportunity for many short sessions versus a single weekly meeting with an in-person trainer. 

• Online training provides ongoing feedback through frequent text and voice messages, as opposed to only having access to the trainer once a week.

• Trainer-provided audio commenting on the dog’s homework videos gives detailed feedback that owners may access and review repeatedly if needed. 

What Do Other Trainers Say? 

I recently invited Sara Scott and fellow trainer Kristine Adams to share some of their experiences with online training and to answer a few basic questions. I hope their responses encourage more people to try this innovative approach to learning and training with their dogs.  

Q. Does online training allow for enough attention from a trainer?

Kristine Adams: “The thing I love most about online training is the support dog guardians get.  At any time, they can send me a question/photo/video and, within my business hours, I’ll respond. This platform allows me to be present and support many different clients at their moment of need. Ultimately, I want to help, and working with my clients this way allows me to offer maximum support, be it management, equipment, enrichment, geeking out on the science, training, or just some moral support.”

Q: Does online training really work?

Kristine Adams: “Online training is effective! Clients who do monthly coaching acquire a deep understanding of training techniques and learn to shift their personal mechanics to improve communication with their dog.  My clients progress at a speed that impresses me.  When keeping up with short five-times-a-week practices, they can achieve a good amount of change.  My clients graduate confident in the relationship they have with their dog, able to support their needs, and with skills to make the best choices if challenges arise.” 

Sara Scott: “The main job of the dog trainer is to teach the owner how to be an effective teacher for their own dog. Trainers already know how to train dogs and could easily come to your home for an hour and train your dog for you, but ultimately the way the owner responds to the dog the other 23 hours of the day is what really counts in the long run. Video-based learning is the most effective way for the owner to learn new material, practice technique, and learn to read dog body language. This results in real and solid behavior change. Professional and competition trainers video themselves practicing all the time because we know it helps us improve our skills and become more efficient as dog trainers.”

Many people may still prefer to do their dog training with an in-person trainer, and that’s understandable. But I’ve found the benefits of online training to be significant. If you’re looking for a flexible, effective approach to dog training, I encourage you to try it.