Dogs rely on us for shelter, security and survival . They are a reflection of ourselves. I am sure you’ve listened to the phrase “our dog is a mirror image of ourselves” and that’s not far away from the thruth! Our dogs learn how to interact with the outside world through our interactions and its our duty and privilege to teach them how to live harmoniously in a world led by us.
These personal qualities will provide the best example for your dog :
1. Be Reliable.
Your dog needs a system. Just like kids they while be defiant when they don’t have rules and structure.
It helps to have a schedule. This brings predictability to a dogs day, which helps build confidence. Your pup will relax knowing what is coming next. Feed him and exercise him everyday and try to follow a routine. You will realize they pick up on routines very quickly. It also doesn’t hurt to have a snuggle area near the place were he sleeps. A place to snuggle and bond is another example of a predictable routine.
If he is allowed on the bed at certain times of the day, invite him up. Don’t let him make the decision without placing him off the bed or couch and then inviting them to come up. They should wait near the bed seemingly “asking” for permission. In nature, the pack leader controls the resources. Rules of conduct are essential in dog-pack culture. Your dog should rely on you for providing direction about how to behave. If they know who is in charge they will feel safe.
Every good dog owner knows that simple rules or obedience are non negotiable because they play a major role in your dogs safety and well being such as :
-Come when called
-Dont eat things that are not yours
Following the rules brings freedom, like allowing him slowly to roam around the house , or playing in the dog park because he is not barking and challenging every dog . You will be surprised, the biggest bullies in your area are pups that are very dominant by nature and have zero rules in their household. They’ve also never had an owner that just corrected them for their bad behavior. Freedom is also a primary reinforcement action, which are some of the biggest and more valuable rewards you can give your dog.
2. Make time to be foolish and silly, open to play.
Our relationship with our dog brings self discovery. Allow yourself to spend time with your dog with no extra stimulation. Just yourself and your buddy. Dogs live in the moment and certainly appreciate us doing the same.
These moments serve as a way to know our dogs better, what motivates them and helps us understand our companions.
Take time during the day to be silly and play with your dog . Have funny conversations, he loves to hear your stories and will not judge you, I promise! Our dogs need time with us to just be together and enjoy each other.. and we do too!
3. Forgiveness and patience.
Dogs need the chance to earn our trust so we can protect each other needs. Your dog wants a good relationship with you, so if you are struggling to change a behavior, you should take the time to learn new methods and techniques to train the desired behaviors. This includes boundaries, and occasionally corrections. Our dogs need a well balanced teacher that will bring consequences to the table with compassion, not frustration doubt or hesitation. Dogs communicate through actions, and they need to know where their limits are to some behaviors. Corrections are a tool a dog owner needs to use to make sure that dogs know when to stop.
Let’s say Fido is learning to not jump on people when coming in the house and instead we want him to greet them on his bed while in a sit . He is doing great with home lessons alone but as soon as you add a new person into the scenario he breaks the sit in his bed consistently and you try to say “bed, bed, bed” as many times and loud as you can resulting but it doesn’t work.
A patient owner will remain calm when the dog breaks the sit command to go jump on the visitor. The more you react the more the dog will react. If you start yelling and responding aggressively the dog will also become more excited. This will make training harder. Sound familiar? Next time you do this exercise try adding a distraction when the person comes in like displaying a toy that you know your dog likes right when the person comes in. If you can teach your dog to ignore the visitor when they enter, then reward the dog by giving them the toy they you use to distract them, they get rewarded for the correct behavior.
A patient dog owner doesn’t bring emotions or stress to a training session. Finding out how your dog learns the best is critical. Some dogs can learn 3 commands a day while others take 3 days for a single command . Planning ahead for what you want to train is setting your dog up for success.
Your dog doesn’t reach the full capacity of a trick or command until he or she can do it repetitively everywhere you do it . Always start slowly by fading away from prompts and getting into the words . If your dog seems to lose interest or doesn’t know what “step 5 “ is, back up to step 4. Be willing to dedicate your time and embrace your dogs learning process.
A good dog master plans accordingly , embraces challenges and allows mistakes to happen . It is all part of the process .
4. Understands your dog’s motivations and weaknesses .
A successful dog trainer pays attention and knows their dog. Before a training session make sure you are offering the best reward to get the best outcome .
If you are rewarding with food, usually chicken, hot dogs and cheese work the best . For toys squeeke balls or tugs . You can also reward with a fetch game , a tug or war game even some off leash freedom at the park . Try different rewards and see what motivates your pup the most .
If your dog is scared of something while training encourage him enough to reach a milestone but don’t push him enough to cause him to fail. Try to end on a good pitch but know it will take repetition before you can start to predict your dog responses .
Be eagerer to share knowledge . Nothing to prove and everything to offer . Even if you don’t know what you are doing nobody knows your dog better than you.
Good Luck and don’t forget to write your comments below .
Daniela Carrera
Head Coach
