Many of you already know this but like kids, no two dogs are alike. Seldom do I go on a call and not hear the client lament about a dog they had that was so good and wonder why this one is out of control. Can you imagine how terrible life would be if all people and all dogs had the same personality?
It just natural that in remembering all things we recall the good times and leave out the bad. It may also just be that when you had that dog your life was a tad slower paced or just different. Never get a dog with the expectation that it will be like any other dog you have ever had, even if it is the same breed from the same breeder. Out of my five dogs, none of them have a personality even close to each other or that of any dog I have ever had.
You have the obligation to shape dogs, whether its a puppy or a rescue into what you want to make them the best dog for you and your family. A small percentage of dogs fall right into that. A much larger number of dogs are thought to be stable because except for going to the Vet or groomer are never observed much outside the property on which they live with the people and dogs they live with.
No matter what behavior issues you experience with your dog, the first thing you have to do to change that behavior is get the dog to focus on you, and that takes movement. One of the questions on our submission for training is if the dog gets walked. So many people answer no, and that they have a huge yard. The walk is just not about physical exercise, it is about relationship. It is your chance to lead.
When you watch dogs play it is all action and reaction based on movement. Just walk up to your dog without saying anything and make the “I’m gonna get you movement” like you would do with a little kid and watch your dog’s reaction and their focus concentrate on you. The key to speaking dog is to limit talking and use more movement with physical touch to correct the unwanted behaviors and praise the ones you like. It is really all that simple.
Few dogs have ever walked on a loose lead, we start that in the house and move to the door. The front door or the door most used in the house is Narnia to the dog. Its completely magical, its where the rest of the pack comes and goes as well as where new people come in. Not to mention that every time it opens exciting new scents flood the air. There are also moving objects like people, animals and vehicles. This is where behaviors like barking,jumping, and running out happen resulting is a stress by the family overwhelm the dog with excitement. The dog gets to the door first and as with every situation where the dog is in front of you, the dog focused and excited hears nothing you say and your attempts to calm they only add to the chaos.
Instead we have the whole family go out the door first. We approach the door correcting the dog with a leash POP or RESET until we have a loose lead. We move painfully slow until the dog is standing with a loose lead at the open door and looking up at us. We WILL not go out the door until the dog yields to us letting us know they are ready to walk. Until you can control your dog at the most exciting place in the house their is no sense in trying to control them in the world. It is much easier to keep control that to get it in the first place.
The second the dog looks up at me maintaining a loose lead is the second I know that we are communicating mentally. I have used the Immediate Correction Lead as a support to shape the behavior, but now with a loose lead our connection is visual and mental. This is equivalent to talking to someone on the same channel. Once accomplished there is very little that can’t be conquered.
If you are reading this and have not trained with us. Put whatever you walk your dog on and take them to the front door. Open it wide and see what you an do to get them to relax, submit, and yield to you.
This one exercise secures you as the pack leader. Try it and see.