Don’t Skip Kindergarten: The ABCs Every Dog Needs

When we are young, our parents and teachers teach us our ABCs.

Why?

Because the ABCs are the foundation for everything that comes later in life —reading, writing, spelling, and eventually more complicated skills. We don’t expect a child to read a novel before they know their alphabet. We build the foundation first.

And how do we teach those ABCs to children?

Through songs, stories, pictures, repetition, encouragement, and lots of fun!

So what does this have to do with dog training?

A lot!

Dogs Need ABCs Too

When I work with clients, I often explain that dogs need to learn their own version of the ABCs before we expect them to succeed at the “college-level” behaviors.

Before expecting a dog to come when called from across a busy park, walk beautifully past distractions, calmly greet visitors, or ignore another dog on a walk, I want to build the foundation first.

Think of it as: Kindergarten → Elementary School → High School → College → Real World

We don’t skip the early grades and expect our dogs to magically know what to do.

And just like children, dogs learn through repetition, positive reinforcement, relationships, and experience.

We don’t yell at a child for saying “ABF” instead of “ABC.” We help them learn the correct answer and make learning fun and rewarding like Kindergarten!

Our dogs deserve the same approach.

So What Are My Dog Training ABCs?

The specific foundation skills I want every dog to develop include:

🅰️ Response to Their Name

Your dog’s name should mean: “Pay attention—something good is about to happen!”

A strong name response becomes incredibly useful in everyday life and is the foundation for many other behaviors.

👀 Focus & Attention

Before I expect a dog to listen around distractions, I want them to understand how to check in with their person.  This isn’t about demanding constant eye contact.

It’s about building a relationship and a dog who can notice their person, connect, and then make a choice.

🤝 Positive Handling

Dogs will need to be handled throughout their lives.

Ears need checking. Nails need trimming. Medication may need to be given. Vets need to examine them. Groomers may need to handle them.

I want dogs learning early that human hands predict safety, good things, and cooperation—not force or fear.

🌎 Neutrality in Our Human World

This is a big one.

Our dogs live in a human world.

They need to learn how to navigate people, noises, cars, bicycles, visitors, veterinary clinics, sidewalks, household activity and all of the other things that come with being a dog in our world.

Being able to observe something without needing to interact with it is an incredibly valuable life skill.

Calm and neutral is a behavior worth teaching.

What About Walking On Leash and Coming When Called?

Those are important skills—but I consider them more like high school or college.

A reliable recall isn’t created by repeatedly calling your dog when they’re already chasing a squirrel.

A nice leash walk isn’t created by putting a leash on a dog, going out on a walk on the street full of distractions and expecting them to automatically understand what we want.

We build the foundation first.

Name → Focus → Connection → Reinforcement → Skills → Distractions

Then we gradually increase the difficulty. This is why I often tell my clients:

We train FOR the moment, not IN the moment.

If your dog only learns a behavior when the distraction is already happening, we’re asking them to take their final exam before they’ve gone to school!

Why I Don’t Make Dog-Dog Play the First Lesson

You may notice that “play with other dogs” isn’t on my ABC list.

That’s not because I’m against dogs playing.

I absolutely believe appropriate, safe, one-on-one dog play can be wonderful enrichment for the right dogs.

But I don’t want it to be the first—and most heavily rehearsed—lesson my puppy learns.

Why? Because I’m thinking about the next 10–15 years, not just puppyhood.

A puppy who learns: “I see a dog → I get to play!” may eventually become a teenage or adult dog who thinks: “I see a dog → I MUST get to that dog!”

And that can create frustration, pulling, barking, lunging and overarousal when access isn’t possible.

Dogs also change as they mature. Social preferences can change, and not every dog remains highly social with other dogs throughout life.

So I want my dogs to first learn:  “I can see a dog and be calm and neutral.”

Then we can decide whether appropriate interaction is something that dog actually enjoys and is suited for.

What The Studies Say About Dogs Who Take Training classes*

Studies show dogs that take class, ideally before 6 months, is beneficial in reducing a substantial set of unwanted behaviors when the dog becomes an adult.

• A 29 percent reduction in the likelihood of displaying aggression.
• A 40 percent reduction in the likelihood of exhibiting destructive behavior.
• A 36 percent reduction in the likelihood of having compulsive behaviors.
• A 32 percent reduction in the odds of engaging in excessive barking.
• Dogs who attended a FORCE FREE training class were up to 3 times less likely to show aggression as an adult!

What We Learn First Matters

Think back to your own childhood.  You probably haven’t practiced your ABCs in decades, yet you can still recite them.

Why?  Because those early learning experiences were repeated, reinforced and deeply established.

The same principle applies to our dogs.

The behaviors and emotional responses they practice repeatedly become easier and more automatic. It’s another reason I don’t make dog to dog play part of their ABCs.

That’s why I want my dogs’ early “ABCs” to include:

• Connection & Relationship with their person!
• Focus
• Safety
• Handling
• Calm
• Neutrality
• Good Choices
• Confidence

Not: “Every time I see another dog, I get to go play!”

There will be plenty of time for high school and college.

But first… Let’s make sure our dogs graduate from Kindergarten. 🐾

But There is More! We are Teaching Humans Too and Timing is Important!

Training another species that doesn’t speak our language is a motor skill.

It takes timing and understanding. For example, did you know the first thing you should teach for clear communication is a “marker” word!

Many skip this important step plus it’s all in the timing! You will learn this and more in a good class!

From ABCs to the Real World

My goal isn’t to create a dog who performs perfectly in a training class.

My goal is to help create a dog who can live successfully in the real world.

That means teaching skills that support the dog’s quality of life—not simply behaviors that make the dog more convenient for humans.

And sometimes that means slowing down.

Sometimes it means going back a grade.

Sometimes Kindergarten is exactly where your dog needs to be.

That’s not failure. That’s learning!

If you’re struggling with your dog’s foundation skills, reactivity, focus, leash walking, recall, handling or ability to stay calm around distractions, I’d be happy to help you figure out where your dog is on the Kindergarten-to-College learning scale and build the foundation from there.

Don’t skip Kindergarten. Build the ABCs first.

Happy Training! 🐾

*Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817302551

Photo Credit: Photo by Josh Rakower on Unsplash