Love is more powerful than fear! Is so true in many aspects of life, yet never more so than in training a dog. I actually read this quote on an email about playing golf! I initially thought what a catchy quote, then I thought how I agreed with it. Then I thought how apt it was when I think of dog training and how I train dogs.
Fear can be created in quite a few different ways in all aspects of life yet it should be avoided at all costs when we are handling or training dogs. I know absolutely that a dog responds better to any command when they trust us over they fear us. When a dog trusts us we then learn to trust our dogs.
Probably the most common form of inducing fear is in the tone of our voices. I often hear when I am interacting with dog owners that dogs respond to a tone of voice. This is still encouraging fear because our encouraging voice tends to be of a higher pitch and the dog gets excited. Our opposing tone for control is quite far away from that in fact usually the complete opposite. Commanding tones nearly always have an air of threat behind them, deeper and more of a "you had better do this or else" feel to them. I can promise you that all dogs can be trained using only a basic tone. If all dogs were trained on a basic tone there would be far less aggression and nerves displayed in our dogs. This happens because as we repeat our controlling tone we become more aggressive and louder until the dog complies. It is definitely a recipe for a nervous or aggressive dog. Lose your ego.
Every day I play with my dogs in one form or another, it can be high excitement with a toy or a game of tug or doing some searching game or even hiding in the woods or splashing in the puddles(with wellies on) dogs of all ages have a playful side, mine are 11 years old and 6 years old. The 11 year old Buddy is the most playful.
When my dogs greet me, I try to use the same enthusiasm that they are giving to me. My point to telling you this is that I try my best to show them how much they are loved. My enthusiasm is never hidden when they are doing something I have instructed them to do and they are doing it. Also when they make the right decision for themselves something that is taught..........wow what a dog!! I let them know.
Owning a dog should be a joy and it should enrich your life. If it is not a joy remember that you can change the situation so it can become a joy. For both you and your dog.
As always if you need my services please get in touch and discover how to change your dog for the better.