As a trainer, there are some things that I hear all the time and some basic misunderstandings with clients between their view of things and mine. (And I inevitably get myself in trouble becasue of it) My dog “knows it” is one that always trips me up. When I hear that, I chuckle to myself …
Did you ever see one of those people that can ask your dog to do anything, and they just blindly obey, leaving you stupefied? You asked, asked, and asked again with no response from your dog and here comes this stranger and viola, obedience. Did you ever go through training sessions and come away completely …
Leadership does not mean dominance. A leader has more to do with respect than dominance. Leadership is an understanding (a communication, if you will) about who is greater in the hierarchical stricter than others in a given social group. Being the provider of your dog’s food is the primary way to communicate with your dog …
Digging is a common problem that is probably universal to all dog owners. This is the time of year for much excitement for our dogs: with the smells coming up from the thawed earth, the activity they can hear on the ground and above their heads, and the sounds of activity they can hear, but not quite identify. They are anxious to get back into their environment and investigate all that has and is going on. As owners, we love to see this renewed excitement, except for the digging that goes along with it all.
Counter surfing is not only maddening but potentially dangerous as there are a myriad of human foods and other substances that can be dangerous to a dog. Like all poor behavior, owners tend to ignore bad behaviors until they become painful enough to address. At that point, though, how do you break a bad habit? As with any behavior modification it takes several things, all of which equally important: respect from the animal, consistency, and ongoing training and reinforcement. If any of these items is missing, you will have less than successful results.
