Dog’s are amazing; truly man’s best friend. But boy, can they come with problems.
Barking. Jumping up. Pulling on the leash. Aggression. Fearfulness.
It isn’t always a walk in the park. Heck, even the walk in the park can be a nightmare.
I’m writing this to let you know that there’s hope. You dog doesn’t have to be like this for the rest of his life. You absolutely can have a good, calm dog.
But what you focus on really matters.
Will you focus on fixing the problems? Or will you focus on building a solid relationship?
Let’s look at each of these.
Let’s say your focus is on fixing problems. You look at your dog like she is a list of problems you have to fix. You’re always scratching your head, trying to correct this, or fix that. It’s never much fun, and you never get to relax, because if you’re looking, there’s always something to fix.
With your focus on fixing problems, you’ll be quickly overwhelmed. You’ll try a shock collar, or shouting, or a tug on the leash, or some other unpleasant stimulus to stop the barking, jumping, and other unwanted things. And you’ll be a treat dispenser for trying to build up the things you like.
Sure, some behaviours might change or even disappear, but new problems will erupt. Plus, if you don’t have the treats on you, your dog will act like you don’t exist.
You’ll never really feel a connection to your dog, because you’re so busy fixing, correcting, and handing out treats.
It’ll be disheartening, because, deep down, you know that your dog is doing what you say out of fear of correction or desire for a treat. Deep down, you know that your dog isn’t doing it because they love, respect, and trust you.
You imagine that once your dog sits, stays, comes, walks nicely, and is calm around the house, THEN he’ll love, trust, and respect you.
But that’s backwards.
The idea is to develop the love, trust, and respect first. THEN your dog will listen to you. And all those problems will disappear on their own, without you chasing after each one with a clicker, treats, or shock collar!
The reason he’s not listening to you now isn’t a training problem necessarily, but primarily a relationship problem.
What do I mean by a relationship problem? Do I mean that you have to rub your dog’s ears more, play more fetch, pay them more attention, give them more treats?
Absolutely not. There's nothing wrong with these things, but they alone, they wont' help; they might actually make it worse. Spoiling your dog will not fix the relationship. Imagine, if your child was having trouble in school so you just gave them more chocolate bars. Nope.
I’m suggesting that there is a problem in the relationship dynamic. If your dog isn’t listening to you, it’s because they think they don’t have to, because they think they are in charge. That they are pack leader.
That is the root of all the problems. Your dog thinks that she’s in charge.
When you switch that dynamic, when you become pack leader, your dog will calm down, listen to you, and so many problems will disappear on their own. Because you are in charge.
So instead of trying to solve each problem, change your focus to the relationship. Become the pack leader in your dogs eyes and all the rest will fall into place.
You might even enjoy your next walk in the park.
Do you want to become the pack leader in your dog’s eyes? It’s so simple once you understand dog psychology. Schedule a consult with me to begin.
Here’s to you and your dog,
Elaine
