Disclaimer: Training dogs is a art as much as a science, the advice I give on my entire blog is relative. Every owner needs to determine what is right for their dog in that moment. As you are all living creatures, and dogs are too, I am not liable for anything you do. I always recommend finding a trainer to help in person versus asking anyone on the internet including myself.
The majority of my blog is training, but the majority of that are my own failures and successes. As a trainer in the real world not just online, I do my best to understand and help owners find their own solutions to their own questions. But this does not mean I am free of the online questions. So here you will find my views on dog training. My views may grow and change depending on the dog and the time but the roots of my thought process will always be the same.
Dog training has a long history with people, we all like to consider ourselves animal lovers and doing good by our pet. People came along and told us that we need to be forceful with our pets or they wouldn’t respect us, then people came and told us if we force our pets to do anything they stop loving us. I believe that real dog training lies somewhere in between classic dominance based training and positive dog training. Every dog is different every owner is different. There is no magic cure all for every dog. What I do for one dog may be drastically different from the other but these nuances are what make training so addictive and so rewarding.
You train your dog everyday whether you want to or not. Every time they present a behavior and you respond, good or bad, is an instant you trained your dog. By training yourself, by becoming attuned to your dog constantly is where great dogs are made. Every dog has the opportunity to be a great dog, no dog needs to live in fear, in stress or in confusion. We bring dogs into our lives it is our job to not make excuses and show them the way.
Dogs have been around for a very very long time, they evolved along with us, meaning that they had to learn to work with us. Without formal training, dogs have been working with us and understanding what makes us tick for hundreds of years. There was no “correct” way to train a dog for many many generations. I prefer this method, one based on trust and respect and most of all, friendship and companionship. You put fancy words on it all you like that’s what all trainers do. Dogs will figure out whats good and bad based on your reactions and modify their behaviors accordingly. The highlight of training is when your dog is no longer just your dog, he is your partner, he understands you and your reactions he makes his best guess on what you want waiting for affirmation. This is the greatest feeling in the world, when you have succeed in developing a real trusting working relationship, where your dog, confronted with choices makes the one you want him to make without you ever asking. If you don’t have this kind of relationship or aren’t working toward one I want you to ask yourself why not, not make excuses because of your dog and make a change. Every dog can do this and I think every pet and owner deserves this kind of relationship.
When training goes bad everyone knows. You know, the dog knows, the whole public knows. We all fail, I know I do all the time. Take a step back and reevaluate. What did you not make clear to your dog? Did you expect to much to soon? Did you not prepare accordingly? Dogs can change behavior slowly and one day your dog might ‘suddenly’ revert back to a unwanted behavior. This has happened to me countless times. I turn around one day and I have a wild child again. Take a moment and see what needs to change, chances are it’s you. Also don’t over-complicate things, you will in turn frustrate yourself and your dog.
As for recommendations, the easiest dogs to start with are those by a good breeder who has taken the time to start the puppy out for you. Every puppy I bought has had a chance to experience car rides, baths, vet visits and has had good experiences right out of the starting gate. Adoptable dogs have an unknown history but luckily puppies are easily impressionable and very forgiving. If you have a puppy I recommend a well rounded positive dog trainer, one who understands how to make your dog willing and easy to train down the road.
If you have an adult dog or already having problems with your puppy you might need a trainer to show you how to get across to your dog that you are still in control. To clarify these are trainers who will show you how to make your dog do something in a correct way, to clarify that even more, how to say no in a way your dog understands. This is key for any training, saying no , and sadly some people are afraid to say no to their dogs and that they will stop loving them.
Unfortunately dogs can get beat everyday and go back to the owners who are abusing them because that is fundamentally dog, loyal to the bone. But if your dog is a repeat offender he isn’t understanding you. I say no to my dogs when they presented the wrong behavior, it doesn’t mean I am going to kill them or even hit them ever, it means that was wrong do something else. For example if they get mouthy on a child. For everyone’s safety they get a no, they present me with the right behavior they get a reward. Smarter breeds or breeds that are regulated ex: Border collies, Stafordshire terriers, anything in the pitbull family, Scottish Terriers usually need training like this. Note on bully breeds: If you take on a dog that has people against it you owe the breed and yourself to be better then the best dog because every little mistake will be held against you and the breed. The goal with any dog is to get them back on track where they know no means no but that you never have to say it more then once.
I recommend this book Practical Dog Training even though its over a hundred years old I think the concepts are more then applicable today. It goes over the ways dogs learn, love, respect, all in simple language.
Training your dog professionally is a personal choice you don’t have to do it with guidance, plenty of people haven’t, but ALWAYS do what feels right to you.
Strange Encounters of the Dog Kind 