Dog Training Goals for the New Year: A Plain Plan With a Road Trip Angle

Dog training goals for the new year work when there are only three of them and each one gets a month. A recall you trust at the trailhead, car manners that hold at a gas station, and a calm greeting on a walk, in that order. It is the plan we run with Ella, our tester, out of Malvern, Pennsylvania.

The Short Answer: Three Goals, One Month Each

January is recall. February is the car. March is greetings. Five minutes a day, most days, and the month is the deadline for a first version, not a finished dog. The order matters: a dog that comes when called is easier to load into a car, and a dog that settles in a car is easier to walk past a stranger.

Every goal uses the same reward: small, single-ingredient pieces from our training treats collection, counted out of the day's food.

Goal 1: A Recall You Trust at the Trailhead

A recall is a promise: the dog turns and comes the moment you call, even with a deer track under its nose. Build it in the kitchen first. Say the cue once, in a bright voice, and pay the second the dog reaches you. Ten repetitions, twice a day. Pay every single time this month.

Week two, move to the yard or a quiet field on a long line. Week three, add one distraction at a time: a ball on the ground, a family member walking by, another dog at a distance. Week four is the trailhead. Park, clip the long line on, walk fifty feet, and call. If the dog comes, pay big and keep walking. If not, shorten the distance and try again. One word, one chance, one reward.

Recall is the one behavior where the dog should think it hit the jackpot. We use freeze-dried beef liver, because the smell travels and the pieces break small. Save it for recall only in January so the cue keeps its shine.

Goal 2: Car Manners That Hold at the Gas Station

Car manners are four skills: load up on cue, settle once the door closes, wait at the door until released, and no bolting at a gas station. Teach them in the driveway, engine off.

Loading. Open the door, say "load up," and toss a treat onto the seat or crate mat. Ten times a session. After a few days, say the cue and wait for the jump before the treat appears.

Settling. Sit in the driver's seat with the door closed. Feed a piece every time the dog lies down on its own. Quiet gets paid, wiggling does not. Stretch the gap between treats from ten seconds to a minute over two weeks, then repeat with the engine on, then around the block.

Waiting at the door. Open the car door a crack. If the dog moves toward it, close it, calmly. Open again. The moment the dog stays put, feed through the gap and say your release word. The door only opens for a still dog, so this lands fast.

The gas station. This is the exam. Fuel stops are loud, smell like food, and have traffic everywhere. Wait routine before every door opening, leash on first, and pay the dog for standing beside the car while you pump. Our full drive-day teardown is in Teaching "Load Up" and "Wait": Car Manners That Hold at Highway Speed.

For the car month we switch to freeze-dried cheddar cheese bites. One ingredient, real cheddar, and no grease on the seats or the console.

Goal 3: A Calm Greeting for Strangers and Dogs on a Walk

A calm greeting means the dog notices a person or another dog, looks at you, and keeps walking, or sits if the stranger stops to chat. It does not mean the dog says hello to everyone; most dogs do better with fewer greetings.

Start at a distance where the dog can see the other person and still eat. Feed a piece when the dog looks at the person, then again when it looks back at you. That second look is the goal. Close the distance a few feet per session; if the dog cannot eat, you are too close.

For the stop-and-chat greeting, ask for a sit before the person arrives and feed a steady drip of small pieces while you talk. The dog learns that a stranger nearby means treats from your hand, not theirs. Ask friends to ignore the dog this month.

Strong-smelling fish treats earn their keep here. Freeze-dried anchovies are single-ingredient whole anchovies, and a few in the pouch will pull a dog's nose back to you from across a sidewalk. Freeze-dried beef heart is the milder option and breaks into fingernail-sized pieces. We also make freeze-dried minnows, whole fish, for when they are back in stock.

How to Use Treats Without Overfeeding

Three months of daily training adds up to a lot of rewards, so the pieces have to be small. A training piece is the size of a pea. A liver or heart chunk breaks into four or five of those, and cheddar bites snap in half.

Count the pieces out of the day's food. Before a session, take a handful of treats, then take a matching scoop out of the dinner bowl. On heavy training days some dogs get most of a meal from your hand, and that is fine: the dog eats the same amount, it just earns some of it. If you are unsure how much your dog should eat, ask your vet.

The Training Kit

What rides in the glovebox for all three months. The treats come from our freeze-dried dog treats collection; treats from our kitchen ship within one business day, and shipping is free over $50.

• Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Bites: one ingredient, snaps in half, no grease.
• Freeze-Dried Beef Liver: 100% beef liver in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags.
• Freeze-Dried Beef Heart: 100% beef heart, same three sizes, breaks small for greeting drills.
• Freeze-Dried Anchovies: whole anchovies, single ingredient, the strongest scent in the kit.
• One-Hand Treat Training Pouch from Up Dog Shop: food-grade silicone, no zipper, squeeze to open. Wear it on a wrist, loop it on a leash, or clip it to a belt. Ships separately from Up Dog Shop.
• The Odin Treat Dispensing Toy from Up Dog Shop: fill it with small treats and let the dog roll it as a cool-down after a session. Partner item, ships separately from the maker.
• Modified Monthly: our subscription box of freeze-dried proteins, curated to your dog's preferences each month. The standing reward supply, so you never run out in week three.

Start the Lap

Three goals, one a month, five minutes a day. Write them on the fridge, put a pouch by the door, and count the pieces. By spring you have a dog that comes when called, rides quietly, waits at the car door and walks past a stranger without drama. That is a better road trip partner.

Load the pouch from our training treats collection and start with recall. Ella says January is the easy one.