We all talk a lot about changing or eliminating a dogs behaviour. But what about stopping the dog from learning the behaviour in the first place. Just as I stated in my last blog I had created a behaviour in Odin that was completely contextual to only my son.
Obviously, dog trainers understand the importance of socializing and training our dogs. We all go out of our way to ensure that both of these things happen. Trainers spend a huge amount of time just observing dog’s behaviour
This particular subject always reminds of a Mini Fox Terrier that I helped with many years ago and yes some of them really do stay with you. It was a friend of a friend and their little Foxy was very sweet, affectionate and very social with everyone.
In dog training, I have made many mistakes and some that haunt me. Hence I’ll never make those mistakes again. When my son was first born my dog at the time was a Belgian Malinois named Odin. I had raised him myself from a pup.
This statement always makes me smile when my client first contacts me and tells me of their issues they are having with their dog. Yet they will interject with ‘but he’s really smart’ and the reason why every pet owner thinks their dog is really smart
Dogs are complex in a way that we are not.
One of my favourite analogy’s for explaining the very way basic of teaching a dog anything is just like teaching a child to first walk. When that child takes it’s very first step the parents face will light up with excitement, following with lots of praise
I had this issue with a dog before I became a trainer because I had no idea to what I was doing. I was so concerned about my puppy upsetting the neighbours with its crying and barking at the backdoor that I inadvertently created a monster
Always an exciting time, one I know all too well. As you could imagine I have had many pups over the years and I have bred a few litters myself. The experience of getting a puppy never lessens, even for someone like myself.
People are often very embarrassed when their dog behaves poorly, especially when it shows aggression to another dog. The reality is that for professional dog trainers who work in the pet industry, a large majority of their work is helping people with exactly this behaviour problem.
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