You know how music teachers can always tell which students have been practising between lessons? Some are playing Für Elise while others are still on Three Blind Mice.

Dog training isn’t all that different. You can always tell who’s been practising. The dogs and their owners come back to class with the confidence to build on what they’ve learned.

We do exercises in class so you know how to go out and practise at home and use them in everyday life.

Practise at home doesn’t have to mean setting aside specific time every day to train your dog. You can, but you don’t have to.

The best way to train is to incorporate it into your everyday activities together:

• Walking to the coffee shop? Grab some treats, let them sniff, and practise a couple of minutes of loose-lead walking.

• Drinking your coffee on a park bench? Practise Capturing Calm.

• Walking through the front door together? Practise Threshold Manners.

• Giving them something to chew on? Practise Wait.

• Bringing your dog in from the backyard? Practise Recall.

• Playing Tug? Ask for a Drop It.

• Having a snack yourself? Practise Leave It with your snack on the coffee table.

• Watching TV? Practise Settling.

All these little moments give you and your dog opportunities to practise these skills in different situations, helping them become more useful and reliable in real life.

And don’t forget to make it fun! You don’t need to turn every single moment into a training exercise. Just look for little opportunities to practise along the way. We’re teaching our dogs skills to help them live happily alongside us, and the more enjoyable training is for everyone, the more likely we are to keep doing it.

So forget the idea of “practice makes perfect”. That’s an impossible target.

We’re not looking for perfection anyway. We’re looking for good enough.

You don’t have to practise everything, every day. Some weeks you’ll have more time and energy than others, and training looks different for every household. Just keep finding little opportunities to practise, enjoy yourselves, and build on what you’ve learned.

And if you’re getting stuck, ask us for help. That’s what we’re here for.

We run developmentally appropriate puppy classes in Brunswick, Melbourne. Learn more here and get in touch if you’d like to join in.