When to stop pushing for marginal dog training growth

I have many personal dog ownership and training preferences. There are things we do or don’t do with Scout for specific reasons, and I love thinking about those concepts. (Hence the self-proclaimed “dog nerd” thing!)

At the same time, I realize what probably has the biggest impact for the average dog owner is just intentionally engaging with their companion. Spending time together. Building a bond. Enjoying a goes-both-ways relationship.

So here’s a dive into my thoughts on “marginal returns” in dog training. When are things good enough? Do we always need to optimize further? And if I could give a green owner one single piece of advice, what would it be?

TLDR: The Instagram post that inspired this full-length blog

paws.andreflect

A post shared by @paws.andreflect

First things first: What is marginal growth?

Marginal officially means situated on the margin. If something is marginal, it’s a small change. We can think of it as only kind of important—it’s not that it doesn’t exist, but it isn’t integral to the fundamental result we’re looking…