Growth Comes from Guidance and Engagement

What an adventure the G2G: Kids Interactive Game Series was in January!

Not only did Shadow learn how to crawl, jump over bars with his humans, but he learned to follow their lead and he was motivated by their interactions.

The growth from the kids and Shadow was tangible.

Matty and Joshua were unsure at first about what this class was going to teach and what was expected of them.

The same goes for Shadow. There was some hesitation and uncertainty of what was expected of him.

With a little guidance, hands on learning as well as coaching, Matty and Joshua were able to reach Shadow’s heart.

In the last moments of our final class, I asked Matty and Joshua how they feel about the class.

Joshua responded, “I feel great! I definitely see a difference.”

I asked them to describe what the difference was they saw.

Joshua responded, “he understands what we mean, he knows when to come to us, he recognizes our voices and follows them better.”

What a difference 4 weeks did in helping shape a life long friendship between Joshua, Matty and Shadow.

If your kids and dogs are struggling developing a positive and strong relationship and you’re not sure what to do, a new class will be starting in March!

Keeping the Science in Dog Training

When you begin training any cue, you will want to make sure you ask yourself, “what am I trying to teach or convey to my dog?”

This not only shapes what you want to get across, but also how you want to translate what you wish your dog to learn.

Then you will want to ask yourself “how will I respond if my dog doesn’t get it right or if my dog does something wrong?”

Because even if your dog is doing something wrong, you have to look at yourself and see what you’re teaching is not getting across or what are you reinforcing instead.

Blaming the dog for missing a step or doing something inappropriate or unwanted sidesteps your role in what you’re teaching.

Punishing the dog for getting something wrong doesn’t teach what you want instead.

All it does is leave a void of ??????

Then if you follow up with praising something else, this whiplash experience only leads your dog in further mistrusting you.

Just like a child who is repeatedly reprimanded for doing the wrong thing and only receiving attention when the wrong thing happens, this reinforces the child to continue on the path of making choices that are risky, unhealthy and maybe even dangerous.

When that same child receives praise, trust in the adult is not immediately restored. Mistrust pervades. Only after repeated affirmations and acknowledgement of not just doing the right thing consciously by the caregiver, the caregiver must identify those characteristics of good character, responsibility and connection with others will that child start seeing the benefit of making better choices and their larger connection to their world.

On similar levels the same is true for your dogs. Begin seeing what they are doing well and placing the focus and attention on the little acts of what is going well and then take a look at what you are teaching.

If you’re saying “sit” and your dog is just looking at you, some questions to ask yourself are

“how many times did we practice?”

“Was the practice consistent where my dog understood 8 times out of 10 to the cue?”

If no, “what can I do differently to teach my dog with clearer communication of what I’m looking for?”

“Does my dog offer the behavior I’m looking for on his own?” If yes, “how can I use that in training?”

Once you start asking yourself these questions can you begin to see how you can become a better teacher rather than looking to punish your dog for getting something wrong.

Only through your self evaluation will you and your dog emerge with a stronger relationship and one which has been solidified out of love and affection instead of fear and intimidation.

Picking the Right Trainer

I know how challenging it may be in finding a trainer who is both knowledgeable and ethical.

I’ve been there.

My life before I became a dog trainer, I was in the same boat.

Dog training was new to me, but I know I needed help with my little guy Jack.

His barking was Out.Of.Control. Regardless of where we were or what we are doing.

Unfortunately, the trainer we initially saw used aversives.

My husband and I were uncomfortable with those training methods.

Now looking back, those were the first methods used. There was no discussion on preventing the barking or managing the environment.

All the trainer cared about was ending a problem without even the slightest consideration of Do No Harm or humane practices.

What this only did was making Jack’s barking on a leash even worse.

Being committed in my goals of figuring out better ways and approaches in line with my values, I set off on a training path.

Fast forward several years later, here I am encouraging you to seek information out about a trainer’s methods before you purchase.

How to Spot a Trainer That Uses Aversive Training Methods