Barking at the Moon

08/02/2023

👌🏼

It might sound odd to say a dog trainer won’t train your dog but it’s true. The only person who can do that is you.

You are the person your dog spends the vast majority of their time with. You are the person they have most interaction with. Who sets the boundaries, who has the opportunity to consistently reinforce behaviours, who chooses the environments your dog is exposed to, who has control over your dog's day to day life & experiences.

When you go to a weekly training class or have a weekly session your trainer isn’t really teaching your dog….they are teaching 𝘺𝘰𝘶 how to teach your dog. And your success will be determined by whether you take what you learn and implement it on a daily basis. Because even if you see your trainer or attend your class religiously every single week, week in week out, that still amounts to a tiny proportion of your dog's life ( just 0.6% of their week if the training session lasts 1 hour).

Your trainer's job is to give you the understanding, skills and confidence that will allow you to effectively teach your dog and to support and guide you through the process.

Your job is to put what you learn into practice.

25/11/2022

Education is what is needed. Not banning the breed.

28/09/2022

DO YOU WANT AN OBEDIENT DOG?
Choose to have a well-behaved dog rather than an obedient dog
Is obedience all it’s made out to be? Do you want a dog or a robot that complies with your every command? If your dog is not obedient, are they challenging your authority? Are they an embarrassment to you? Is a “disobedient “dog a reflection on you? Everyone wants a well-behaved dog, but contrary to popular belief, a well-behaved dog does not need to be an obedient dog.
Just focusing on obedience without considering a dog’s mental or emotional state or the context of the behaviour will never truly change behaviour. Yes, dogs can be forced to be obedient - usually through old fashioned, outdated methods of punishment or corrections. Shouting “No!”, repeated commands, collar grabs, yanking the leash, shock collars, spray bottles, choke collars or other aversive methods may all seem to work on the surface but these methods have consequences. Stress, anxiety, fear, negative associations, frustration, reactivity, mistrust or confusion are just some of the results. Is this the kind of fall out we’re willing to risk to ensure we have obedient dogs?
Modern, scientifically based training methods provide a far more successful way of guiding dogs to be well-behaved. Training methods that focus on communication, self-control, calmness, patience, focus and behaving well because they want to, not because they have to, is the intelligent way to train a dog.
Focus on relationship, positive reinforcement, force free, modern methods. Focus on having a well-behaved dog not an obedient dog.