Leading Our Dogs to Learn
Dogs have the capacity to change and grow faster than we give them credit for. We tend to sell them short concerning their capacity to improve how they behave. What is required is a basic level of leadership to lead them toward the things we wish them to do. When we are consistent and relentless in informing them of the ideal dog we have in our mind, they will learn. As owners, we must lead our dogs to learn.
It’s tough to perceive the true effect of our actions. This is true in our daily lives. Whether we buy the high-fat choice at the market or accept one more beverage at the party, we can be seriously challenged by what is in our best interest. To a large extent, life can be pretty forgiving of our choices and we are quite resilient as healthy beings. But ‘Live it up’ and ‘Live a little’ can be obstacles to leading healthy lives.
When it comes to our dogs, though we are faced with a straight up teaching arrangement. They will only learn what we choose to model, inspire, and reinforce. Dogs will only follow through on the behavior you teach and encourage them to do, over and over again.
With all this in mind, the leadership that is necessary is both calm and assertive and always patient. This can be a huge challenge, even with a sweet young puppy. The style of your leadership is even more essential when faced with a pushy, bratty, or reactive dog. Understanding your dog’s temperament and the leadership required for the dog you have is critical for training success. Working with a professional dog trainer can make all the difference in gaining control of the behaviors you want to change.
One key lesson for becoming a calm, assertive leader is to work on improving your awareness of the triggers and circumstances that set off your dog’s poor choices. Once you can anticipate how your dog will act up you can then be consistent with actions to correct and refocus his attention back on you, away from the distraction. Your goal is not to allow him to get overexcited or disconnected from your control in the first place.
A proper training experience gives you the skills and strategies to keep your dog in control at all times. Stepping out of your comfort zone to become the leader that is required can be uncomfortable. The trainer you choose should be sensitive and supportive in teaching you how to lead your dog.
It can be a lot to change how we live with our dogs, but we can inspire them to learn to be better. What it takes is responding to every training opportunity with leadership that matters and improves our quality of life.
