“He didn’t like it.” “She didn’t like it.” These are the four words that often accompany the biggest loss of opportunity for my clients and their dogs. Similarly these same four words often signify a great loss of safety for our dogs or for people in their lives.
Our goal, at “I Said Sit!” School for Dogs, is to be as least invasive and minimally aversive as possible when helping canines and their human companions learn to live together. In fact, our methods strive to make learning a positive and pleasant experience.
We want to “empower, not overpower.”
The conundrum is when the human gives up on something beneficial after the dog initially expresses resistance to a new thing. There are creative solutions, and we are here to help our clients learn to help their dogs adapt. Positively.
Common dog training dilemmas
The most common cases that arise, are when people want their dogs to be potty trained, but say, “She didn’t like the crate.” A client might wish to prevent a budding case of separation anxiety, but their puppy, “didn’t like being left alone (Or insert any one of many solutions that involve teaching a puppy how to be alone).
Sometimes it comes down to safety. Maybe the dog unpredictably lunges towards pedestrians or other dogs, and has bitten or previously been in fights, and yet, “doesn’t like the muzzle or the gentle leader.” Or it might be nail trimming; vet visits; grooming; proper diet; car harnesses, or even just cars! In a few short sessions your dog can be taught to enjoy putting a muzzle on. Muzzle training is something that is so easy when done right and it makes for a great safety plan for a vet visit if your dog is injured and scared.
A qualified trainer or consultant can actually make fun games out of these objections. There are ways to gradually introduce weird new experiences in a way that will thrill your dog. It is our job at “I Said Sit!” to figure out a way to help the dog learn to enjoy the structure, or the independence, or the safety gear.
We want to encourage you to explore with us the many ways to make the experiences in the above list, pleasant. This can mean preserving the opportunity to give your dog a well-rounded, confident, healthy, safe life. Give your dog a chance at normalcy. Give us a call! You might just find yourself saying, “He came to love it!” after properly introducing a new piece of training equipment.
