The 3 Ds
Duration, Distance, Distraction — the framework for making any skill reliable in the real world.
Key Points
Only raise one D at a time. When you increase one, drop the others.
If she fails twice in a row, you've raised the difficulty too fast. Make it easier.
Duration, distance, and distraction are separate training challenges — treat them as such.
Mix in easy reps between hard ones. Don't always make it harder.
The Framework
Every skill Bryn learns needs to be 'proofed' — made reliable in different contexts. The 3 Ds give you a systematic way to do this. Duration: how long she holds the behavior. Distance: how far you are from her. Distraction: what's competing for her attention. Each D is an independent axis of difficulty.
The Golden Rule: Only Raise One D at a Time
This is the most important training principle you'll use. When you increase one D, drop the others back to easy. If you're asking Bryn to hold a sit for longer (duration), do it from right next to her (distance = zero) in a boring room (distraction = zero). If you're adding distance, keep the duration short and the distraction low. Trying to raise two or three Ds at once is the number-one reason training stalls.
Duration
How long Bryn holds the behavior. Build this in tiny increments: 1 second → 3 → 5 → 10 → 15 → 30 → 60. Don't always increase — mix in easy short reps (variable reinforcement) so she doesn't learn that it just gets harder and harder. If she breaks at 10 seconds, go back to 5 and rebuild.
Distance
How far you are from Bryn when she performs the behavior. Start right next to her and add distance in small steps: one step away → two steps → five → across the room → out of sight (briefly). Return to her to deliver the reward for stay-type behaviors — don't call her to you, or you're training recall, not stay.
Distraction
What else is competing for Bryn's attention. This is usually the hardest D because you can't fully control it. Build systematically: quiet room → room with mild activity → backyard → front yard → quiet street → park at a quiet time → busier environments. Each step up is a significant increase in difficulty. When adding a new distraction, reset duration and distance to easy levels.
Putting It All Together
A reliable sit-stay looks like this: Bryn sits for 2 minutes (duration) while you're 15 feet away (distance) with a dog walking past at 20 feet (distraction). You don't start there — you build each D separately, then combine them gradually. This process takes weeks to months per skill. That's normal. Rush it and you'll spend more time retraining than you saved.