02/21/2025
The second Miko gets to the training field he BEE LINES it as fast as he can to this herding ball and waits for me.
Miko has been working through some reactivity protocols and taking agility classes since we first met and has made absolutely dramatic improvement!
As you can see, Miko is a German shepherd. He needs a job, and he needs multiple outlets for the plethora of natural behavior patterns that have been genetically ingrained into his DNA since the breeds inception in 1899. That’s 126 years of humans specifically selecting natural traits to emphasize, as well as specific natural traits to eliminate. Thus is born a loyal, protective, creature with a strong innate need to stare, stalk, chase, and bite - hello, modified predatory motor pattern. 🤗
Without outlets for those accentuated instincts, behavioral “abnormalities” begin to occur.
These behavioral abnormalities first and foremost stem from normal, instinctual, behaviors that have simply been misplaced.
Instincts cannot just be cut off without severe mental fallout occurring; but they most certainly can be redirected, and channeled into a more acceptable and appropriate activity that fits better into our modern everyday human life.
So what’s the first thing Miko and I do when we see each other on Wednesdays and Fridays? You guessed it, we play and work together, in a cohesive and controlled manner that lets him express all those pent up feelings he’s got from being a well behaved, civilized boy, who’s constantly controlling his instinctual need for genetically ingrained behavioral expression. Say those last four words five times fast. They’re some of the most important words in dog training. But not many trainers really want to talk much about them. Once you know how important biologically fulfilling activities are, you’ll understand why those activities play just as much, if not more, of a role in your dogs “good behavior” than teaching them the word “sit” ever will.
Steven Covey famously said “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” and it’s a concept I always try to live and train by.
Truthfully, I think we could use a lot more of that concept in our interactions with dogs.
So do me and your pup a big favor! Look up their breed(s), or your best guess if you’ve got a rescue dog, and learn a bit about their history and why humans decided to create the breed in the first place! It will likely give you great insight into why they do what they do, what makes them tick, and a good starting point in finding activities that will greatly improve your life together. ❤️