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I have no direction of where I will have this blog go today. Most people that hire me to help with their dog know that I hit on simplicity. I do not over complicate things. Lots of times we read all of these different things online and they contradict each other. It's sad that there are so many quote on quote "proven Techniques" out there. If you've read my blog then you know that I talk about how a dog can read your behaviors and how the slightest changes in the environment can make your dog react differently. The " truth" is that it doesn't really matter how you train your dog. Consistency in how you do it is key. I often talk in layman's terms. The reason is that it's not difficult. It's difficult to implement when you're trying to work the same way that I do. The reason is I'm me and I do what comes normal. What I do very well is explain the process and why it works for me. You could hit the dog every time it messed up and it'd learn. Now will it have confidence? Every now and again i'm sure it would. The thing is there are about five major characteristics in training a dog. I've thought about this. There are more but these are the five main points I hit home when I work with people.
The owners must be themselves. Crazy right? Not really. We often see something work and think we could change who we are and get the same results. The dog doesn't fool that easily. What may end up happening is you may make the situation worse. The dog trusts the real you so don't hide it.
The second thing is Marking behaviors. I can not stress this enough. It should be one word of your choosing that is followed by a second then the dogs ultimate reward. Marking behaviors helps the dog learn fast by it understanding that it did something that was very beneficial to him/her. Now I say marking the the behavior is it's easier said than done. Often times you can mess this up by moving too fast. You are marking the behavior as you treat. This is a giant sized no no. Mark first, reward second. Very simple but to get your body to work in sync with your hand is definitively a practice makes perfect behavior from you.
Marking when the dog does it wrong. This is crucial for when the dog does mess up and you need to verbally correct the dog. This should be a strong no. Your dog learning to deal with some pressure is an important life skill. We teach our children to do it all of the time. Telling the dog no is simple. What is not simple is doing it correctly. Let me be clear if your dog is digging in the yard. You should tell him/her a firm NO. I know you're asking well what if the dog doesn't understand no? Then you will need to follow through. No first then follow through if there's no response. Never ever use the name with no. If your dog is reacting out of fear never use the word no and follow through. That is key from making a fearful behavior more dangerous for you and or the thing it's fearful of.
Patience... This guy here. If you do nothing else of this list follow patience. This characteristic is key. When you are experiencing a behavior you're not familiar with or sure how to solve it yet. Patience is will be key. It allows you to think and problem solve. There have been plenty of times I'd see a dog and the behavior would pretty unique. Patience allows me to work through the reward system. Patience will also allow you to allow the dog to think and maybe offer you the correct behavior to mark. I can tell you when the dog makes a decision and it happens to be the right one. The dog will really begin to enjoy the game.
The last one is structured activity. Allow yourself to be active with your dog so you can meet their limit not yours. The limit is just when you see that the dog recovers at home. The recovery where they'd rather have rest than play. This is the kind of structured exercise they need. Not fetch not hide and seek but a relaxed walk where your dog is paying attention to your pace the whole time. This is a difficult exercise for any dog. Master this activity and most behavior problems go away.
These are my five major characteristics that I beleive will help you in developing a super strong bond with your four legged friend.
until next time!!