This week I have an excellent example I want to share with you of just how important it is to be confident in our own training mechanics when it comes to transforming the behaviour of our dogs.
In theory, we all know that we can improve on our training skills, but the story below highlights the fact that investing time in the human side of training is absolutely essential.
The Story
A while ago I worked with two separate clients and their dogs which were both dog reactive.
Both dogs are high energy breeds.
Both of these clients felt at times that they didn’t react quick enough to help their dogs, and struggled with coordination in general.
(It’s not that these owners weren’t trying hard enough. They had skills under their belt and were implementing the strategies I recommended. But their dogs were a handful and the owners needed super skills not just average ones.)
So we spent a few lessons just teaching them separately how to handle their dogs the best way for their specific dog. MECHANICS!
We then did a lesson with them together with their dogs (at a distance from each other) practising disengaging from the other dog and staying relaxed and happy.
The difference was like chalk and cheese!
1️⃣ The dogs were calm and learned well
2️⃣ The owners both had smiles on their faces and told me at the end how pleased they were with their dogs
3️⃣ The owners both told me how much more confident and relaxed they felt inside (compared to before when they felt unsure of what to do when and as a result got stressed)
So…take the time to work on YOU as well as your dog!
If you feel confident, that will make you a better handler and your dog will learn better as a result. (I’m saying this to myself too!)
But I don’t know where to start!
If you have no idea where to start with working on your dog’s challenging behaviour, get in touch and tell me about your dog. I’d love to help!