10/11/2021
How does the Karate Kid teach us to be better dog trainers?
So you are probably thinking “there’s nothing similar about a movie from 1984 and training my dog.” But oh my--there is nothing farther from the truth!
The Karate Kid gives us an exceptional example of splitting behaviors into easily achievable pieces that are easy to learn and repeat. “Wax on, wax off” seemed so mundane but taught Daniel to have perfect form. Miyagi split the final behavior into its components to make each easy to master. The movements became muscle memory, so he did not have to think about the basics when he began putting them together.
When I work with client dogs, this is exactly what I do. We never teach the final behavior at the beginning. It’s built up over many sessions, from a simple behavior that is easy for the dog, to a behavior that is complex and looks completely different. Take closing a cabinet: I teach the dog to touch my hand (a common and easy trick), then stick a post-it note to my hand, then transfer the post-it note to a wall, then to an open cabinet door. Each step is a simple progression for the dog, so they stay motivated and ready to learn more.
It's so important to realize that Daniel doesn’t practice karate by doing karate--by going straight to the tournament and expecting to make progress. He'd skip so many essential steps (and much of the film's plot), and there's no way he'd succeed! That we can skip straight to the goal context is a huge misconception in dog training. Everyone tries to start training skills in the situation where the dog will need to perform those skills. To get the best, most reliable results you need to practice, practice, practice in a distraction-free environment. Once your dog masters a behavior in that space, then and only then can you take it elsewhere.
I get it: we all want instant results. We'd all like to earn Johnny Lawrence's respect and put a stop to the Cobra Kai's bullying right from the start. But the reality is we will get much better results if we split our behaviors and practice before we need the skills. We will be happier with our dogs' performance, and our dogs will feel much more secure in their knowledge.
