Thursday, April 18, 2013

Lighten Up...I'm A Dog

To treat or not to treat? To click or not to click (clicker training)? To stick out your tongue at your dog or not to stick out your tongue? Look...don't look. How do we know which is the best training method for our dog? Like me, maybe you have been all over the training map and still feel like a beginner. I want my dog to love me, but not just for treats. I want to know that if I forget my clicker one day, my dog won't run away. I want to know that if I stick out my tongue at Astrid, that I'm not violating some 'canine rule' and she will be ruined for ever. And I want to know that if my dog looks at another dog and the other dog reacts badly, that I'm not the one who is all wrong. Alas, I have learned the answers to all of these questions. Yes, no, sometimes, maybe and most important...what works with my dog? I'm not saying to leave things up to our dog. It all works to some degree. Try it all out, then keep what works and leave the rest. What have we found works best? Treats are good, ask your dog but don't leave it up to them...make them work really hard for it sometimes. No, Astrid doesn't run away if I forget my clicker. Our emotional bond is stronger than that. Sticking out our tongue at our dog might violate a canine rule, but it sure is funny teaching this one and your dog will forgive you when they see how much it makes you laugh. And the other dog reacting badly when your dog looks at them? You just might want to quit looking at them....some dogs are like that. Our only cardinal rule in training is that whatever class we are taking, we go by the instructors rules while in class. We fit in better and our dogs will appreciate it. If our dogs could talk, we think they would say "lighten up, it's all good".