Tips
Clear Communication
You’ll hear me talk a lot about…talking less.
Clear communication is important to instill the trust your dog has in you to be their liaison for the human world, the confidence they have in themselves to successfully do what you ask of them, and allows them to remain calm and relaxed with less stimuli.
Think about it. Who would you rather follow? Someone who seems disorganized, unsure of themselves, and brings stress into your life, or someone who is direct, kind, and peaceful?
There are many ways we can show our dogs affection - play, going on trips, training, petting, and walks. Overusing words is not one of them.
Energy leads. Less is more.
Premack Law
Dog training is a lot about bartering. You do this for me, I’ll do this for you. Therefore, there are a lot of things we ask of dogs that are unnatural for them. That doesn’t mean they can’t like it.
Toy-drive and food-drive are two big ones.
Did you know you may have to teach your dog how to play? You may also need to teach your dog how to take treats as rewards. There are a lot of other ways to barter with a dog, but these two are HUGE because they are accessible to us and we like them, too. And in the context of training, the easiest to manage with the biggest ROI.
If your dog does not play and is not food motivated, you may first need to learn more about these yourself before then implementing them with your dog. I promise you, they can be the game changers you need to take your training to the next level!
Body Weight
I want you to take a look at the graphic below (the irony of this being made by Nestle’ is not lost on me); where does your dog fall?
Chances are, you didn’t know that you SHOULD see ribs. (While it can be a bit hard to tell with long-coated dogs, you should still be able to feel their ribs.)
Think about all the ways in which our weight impacts our overall health and longevity; same goes for our canine companions. If your dog scored a 6 or above, now is the time to take a closer look at their nutrition and fitness.
If you want to know where to start, please reach out!