Does your dog “know” how to come to her name when things are boring, but forgets all about you when things get interesting? You’ve done the training, you’ve followed a step-by-step plan, and you’re now out in the world...with no dog in sight.

Or perhaps you’re aiming for a nice down-stay...during din-dins. You’ve got your dog to down, and you’ve got your dog to stay, but there’s the small matter of…din-dins. As soon as the tantalizing possibility of human food and human interaction crops up, your dog doesn’t seem to have a clue what this whole ‘down stay’ thing is all about.

In both these cases, you might find it useful to consider how dog training and earthquakes are…related? That’s right, bear with me. In both dog training, and earthquakes...there’s a useful mantra.

Magnitude matters.

A tiny temblor might be of only minor interest to those who experience it. You grab your empty coffee mug as it shimmies on the table and call your friends to see if they felt the quiver. But you’re not fazed. It doesn’t feel major, or even that noticeable, and if something else pops up on your horizon like an ice cream truck (I mean, come on), or an important email from your boss, it’s soon forgotten.

But an earthquake of a higher magnitude? A higher-magnitude earthquake matters. You pay attention, it’s foremost in your mind for a long time. And the memory of it lingers. Higher magnitude earthquakes are in the news and you’ll probably share the narrative of “where were you when…” for many holiday dinners to come.

Magnitude. Noun. Size; extent; dimensions.

Photo: Christik | © Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Magnitude matters for earthquakes. No one will dispute this. But when it comes to the food treats you are using with your dog, you might be surprised to find out that the same rules apply: magnitude matters. A minor quake might be of minor interest to you, in the same way that a piece of kibble or a palatable but uninteresting treat might be of minor interest to your dog. If we want our dogs to really perk up and pay attention...and for performance around heavy-duty distractions...we probably need to pay attention to magnitude. A delicious, soft treat is better than something boring. And a couple of delicious soft treats are better than a single, stingily-delivered, one.

Our dogs, like us, pay as much attention as the situation warrants.

Which brings us to an interesting point. When I say magnitude, I’m talking about the magnitude as perceived by your dog, not by you. Just as your perception of the magnitude of an earthquake matters, it’s your dog who decides what is a minor temblor of a food treat and what is much further up the Richter scale. So if you’re finding yourself with a well-trained dog who finds distractions to be very, very distracting, you may do well to ask yourself: on a scale of meh to wowzers, are my treats magnificent enough?

Wondering how you can harness the earthquake-like powers of good treats to help your dog learn some important life skills? Head over to my online learning partner’s site Doggy Geeks University to find a load of self-paced courses, including a few from yours truly!

Dog Training is Like an Earthquake in One Important Way