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Many here probably know my dog and I train and compete in several dog sports but that’s not what this post is about.
This is for people who just want a well behaved pet dog, whether it’s a puppy or older dog.
I have a list in my head of behaviors that I would like my dog to have to make her an excellent dog. Behaviors like sitting by the front door and not running out when someone comes to the door or a package is outside and I have to bring it inside. When I got my dog, she was an adult. I also had three cats, two had health issues and all 4 pets were eating different food so meal time took awhile to prep and I wanted my bouncing, pawing, demanding new dog to lay down calmly and patiently until the cats were sorted out and I had the dog food ready. Not pulling on the leash was important and training my dog to step into her travel harness was too. I had others and I expect to have others when problems develop.
It took months to train most of these behaviors and there were times when I almost gave up because it was so annoying and depressing that it was taking so long. I want to encourage everyone to not give up. Never train when angry or not in the mood because your dog won’t learn under those circumstances. Keep it balanced positive. If something isn’t working, look for alternative methods...ask here or your trainers, check the internet or ask friends. You can always tweak a method to meet your dogs personality. Remember dog’s don’t generalize easily. Not going through my front door meant I also took her to many pet friendly stores where she had to sit and wait to be released into PetSmart, Lowe’s and PetCo. Getting her solid on this behavior was more work than I initially understood.
All the work going into making these behaviors rock solid pays off huge. I have a dog who will not run out the door for the rest of her life. I don’t have to spend 15 years worrying every time I open the door that she will run out. I do keep an eye on these behaviors and if they deteriorate I will immediately step into to train. Our not pulling on the leash is only 80% there because if she’s extremely excited she will still pull. The difference is she now when she does get excited and pulls, she stops at the end of her leash, thinks a moment then returns next to me to walk instead of just pulling and pulling and pulling. Maybe one day I’ll have that magical dog that always walks next to me and never pulls, maybe not but I can live with her current pulling. While most of these behaviors are perfectly performed, not every one is...this is a dog and real life nothing’s always perfection.
I want to encourage everyone to keep working on problem behaviors, don’t assume all are easily trained and don’t give up too early. The benefits are wonderful. Pat your self on the back and enjoy newly trained behaviors.
This is for people who just want a well behaved pet dog, whether it’s a puppy or older dog.
I have a list in my head of behaviors that I would like my dog to have to make her an excellent dog. Behaviors like sitting by the front door and not running out when someone comes to the door or a package is outside and I have to bring it inside. When I got my dog, she was an adult. I also had three cats, two had health issues and all 4 pets were eating different food so meal time took awhile to prep and I wanted my bouncing, pawing, demanding new dog to lay down calmly and patiently until the cats were sorted out and I had the dog food ready. Not pulling on the leash was important and training my dog to step into her travel harness was too. I had others and I expect to have others when problems develop.
It took months to train most of these behaviors and there were times when I almost gave up because it was so annoying and depressing that it was taking so long. I want to encourage everyone to not give up. Never train when angry or not in the mood because your dog won’t learn under those circumstances. Keep it balanced positive. If something isn’t working, look for alternative methods...ask here or your trainers, check the internet or ask friends. You can always tweak a method to meet your dogs personality. Remember dog’s don’t generalize easily. Not going through my front door meant I also took her to many pet friendly stores where she had to sit and wait to be released into PetSmart, Lowe’s and PetCo. Getting her solid on this behavior was more work than I initially understood.
All the work going into making these behaviors rock solid pays off huge. I have a dog who will not run out the door for the rest of her life. I don’t have to spend 15 years worrying every time I open the door that she will run out. I do keep an eye on these behaviors and if they deteriorate I will immediately step into to train. Our not pulling on the leash is only 80% there because if she’s extremely excited she will still pull. The difference is she now when she does get excited and pulls, she stops at the end of her leash, thinks a moment then returns next to me to walk instead of just pulling and pulling and pulling. Maybe one day I’ll have that magical dog that always walks next to me and never pulls, maybe not but I can live with her current pulling. While most of these behaviors are perfectly performed, not every one is...this is a dog and real life nothing’s always perfection.
I want to encourage everyone to keep working on problem behaviors, don’t assume all are easily trained and don’t give up too early. The benefits are wonderful. Pat your self on the back and enjoy newly trained behaviors.