02/08/2023
The more time I spend with dogs the less I want to train them. The joy of dogs for me is observing them being dogs, and doing 'dog stuff'. What dog stuff intails varies from breed to breed and from individual to individual. For Milo it includes running through long grass/crops. Stalking and chasing 'prey' (no animals are caught/harmed), and searching for / digging out holes where he find the scents of animals/beetles. This is where he is most joyous.
Bertie... While he's not feeling too well right now, Bert's joy comes from socialising with new people and dogs. He loves making new friends and going on novel adventures. He also loves scavenging, and would spend the day sniffing out and searching for dropped food.
Kai, I am still learning about Kai. But he is just such a happy boy no matter what he is doing. His dog stuff mostly involves running and sniffing. We hired a field last week and he spent about 50 minutes of the 1 hour tracking scents. He also loves water, and once he has had some mad zoomies, he enjoys nothing more than taking a dip. Kai also enjoys socialising and meeting new people and dogs, but is more confident doing this on areas he can be off lead.
None of these things involve 'training', each is part of each dogs breed and personality traits.
Letting them do what comes naturally and is their own specific 'talent' is what I adore about spending time with my dogs.
No amount of puzzle feeders, tennis balls or lead walks will ever replace creating safe environments that enable you to let your dog be a dog.
All that said, a dog without 'formal' training needn't mean chaos. Learning still takes place. We can still manage situations, and we can still 'train' but just in a less authoritarian and repetitive manner. There really is no place for compulsion training, be it done through punishment or reward based means. The power and joy of enabling your dog to have adequate time to just be themselves really needs to stop being so overlooked and be prioritised more β€οΈ
- Despite posting here I am still taking time off due to being unwell, please contact Skyhardt Dog Training if you would like help with your doggo. β€οΈ