The three D’s of training are Distance, Duration, and Distraction. These are the three factors that influence how difficult a behaviour is for your puppy. When teaching a new skill, it’s important to keep these elements low at first so your puppy can learn successfully. Distance refers to how far away you are from your puppy when they perform the behaviour. Duration is how long your puppy is asked to maintain the behaviour. Distraction relates to what is happening in the environment around them.
As training progresses, these elements can be gradually increased, but it’s important to only change one D at a time. For example, you might ask your puppy to hold a sit for a little longer (increasing duration) while keeping distance and distractions the same. If all three are increased at once, the exercise can quickly become too difficult and your puppy may struggle. Understanding and adjusting the three D’s helps set puppies up for success and allows training to progress in a clear, achievable way.
