There are so many dog training experts out there. You can hire someone to train your dog for you, or you can go to classes, or you can take advice from a trainer online.
But how do you know which way to go? How do you tell WHO should train your dog? Who is the best person to train YOUR dog?
YOU are.
That’s right. You are the best person to train your dog!
"But," you might be thinking, “I am not a dog trainer! I don’t know how to do it. Isn’t is just easier to do what someone says or, better yet, pass the dog to someone to do it for me?"
Here are the 3 reasons YOU are the best person to train your dog.
You are your dog’s primary handler. You are around your dog most the time. Every single interaction with the dog is either getting you closer to your goals or further from your goals. You need to know how to build positive interactions that build towards your goals, rather than accidentally have interactions that erode your progress.
The foundation of all dog training is relationship. You are the best person to build a solid relationship based on trust and respect. After all, the reason you have a dog in the first place is to have a friendship with your dog!
Life is always going to throw you and your dog a curve ball. When you are your own dog trainer, you’ll have the tools to know how to navigate the situation, and best of all, your dog will look to you for guidance. In other words, you’ll have within you everything you and your dog need to navigate any situation.
How can I help you become your OWN dog trainer?
I call myself a dog trainer, but my job isn’t focused on teaching you dry, empty skills, like when to make the dog sit, when to give a treat, how to use a certain device to correct the dog, etc.
I call myself a dog trainer, yet my job is to equip YOU with the knowledge and skills you need to earn the role of your dog’s leader, teacher, and guide. My goal is to empower YOU to know just how to guide your dog at any moment of any day. I want to help YOU become your OWN dog trainer!
Here’s what you learn with me:
Dog psychology. Discover how to think like a dog and see the world through dog eyes instead of through human eyes. You’ll learn that certain behaviours that the dog exhibits don’t mean what humans think they do. You’ll discover that certain behaviours that you exhibit with your dog are interpreted very differently by your dog than you intend. When YOU are your OWN dog trainer, you’ll use your body language, energy, and behaviours in a way that make sense to your dog.
Earn trust and respect in equal measures. Trust and respect are the basic building blocks of any relationship, including the one with your dog. Most folks yo-yo between love, love, loving their dog, and then feeling frustrated that their beloved dog doesn’t listen, even after all that spoiling! When YOU are YOUR own dog trainer, you will love your dog in a way that makes sense to the dog, meeting all their emotional needs, without spoiling them.
Make your dog feel safe. Many problem behaviours arise because the dog perceives something in life to be dangerous. When YOU are your OWN dog trainer, you’ll know exactly how to make your dog feel safe and secure in any situation so that he is looking to you for guidance and direction.
How to interact with your dog in the spaces between training sessions. Most dog experts will have you focus on 3 ten-minute training sessions throughout the day, using treats and/or corrections to teach the dog tricks, for example. The problem is that in-between the training sessions, when the treats are put away, your dog doesn’t listen. Furthermore, the tricks you taught your dog in the training sessions aren’t really helping you to have a calmer and happier dog. Instead, when YOU are your OWN dog trainer, you will have successful interactions with your dog all day long, so that in every single interaction - especially the ones between the training sessions- you’ll know exactly what to do to get closer to your goals.
Fill your tool box. To be your OWN dog trainer, you need to have techniques at your fingertips to help your dog feel safe and calm. Some techniques work in some situations with some dogs, and other techniques work in other situations with other dogs. This isn’t a cookie cutter approach. It’s flexible and adaptable to you and your dog.
How to problem solve. This is perhaps the most empowering piece. Once you understand your dog, and you have tools and techniques at your fingertips, you’ll know how to put it all together. You’ll be able to walk confidently through life with your dog, no matter what life brings your way. That’s how YOU will be your OWN dog trainer!
It’s time for YOU to become your own dog trainer! Your dog is waiting for you.
Here’s to You and Your Dog,
Elaine