Ambassadogs

Dogs are amazing intelligent social active animals. Regardless of breed, type, age or sex of the dog each and every one chooses to live with us. You may have been the one who decided to offer to share your home with a dog but ultimately it’s your dog’s choice to live with you. He or she could leave easily if he wished and some do! He could run out an open door, jump over or dig under a fence. He could run off during a walk. If he really wanted to he could be aggressive to escape from you. He chooses not to. That in itself is pretty amazing.

We in return feed, water and shelter them. We ensure they are physically healthy and exercise them. It sounds like a fair “trade” but imagine the roles were reversed. You are a social intelligent active being. Imagine being provided for as your dog is, fed, watered, sheltered and exercised. Sounds great doesn’t it?! However in the role reversal you will have to do one thing more than anything else. You will wait. You will wait to be fed, you will wait to be walked, you will wait for a game, and you will wait for attention or fuss. Day in, day out your main task will be to wait and to do so without complaint. You will not get bored and play with something you come across. You will not vocalise your annoyance and boredom. You will not be over excited when someone comes home and you finally have someone to interact with nor will you be overexcited when you’re allowed out and can speak to other people. You will remain calm, steady and happy. You will do as you are asked when you are asked and by someone who speaks a completely different language to you that you don’t really understand!

It’s a big ask isn’t it? Yet this is not only what we ask for but actually fully expect our dogs to do. When they don’t behave as we would like we often blame the dog, simply for being a dog.

Take a moment and write a list of all the things you do NOT want your dog to do during a 24 hours period and include the timescales (for example : I do not want my dog to be destructive during the 8 hours I am at work). Then write a list of all the things YOU provide for him to do during a 24 hours period, again including the time scales and compare the two lists.

Not quite so much fun being the dog now is it?

The good news is you are not a dog. Hopefully (!) you don’t greet others sniffing their genitals, bury bones in the garden or like to roll in foul smelling faeces. More good news - your dog is not human. He does not “misbehave” because he’s “trying to dominate you” and he’s not secretly planning to take over the world. You dog stays with you because he enjoys and accepts your very bizarre human behavior.

All he would really like is for you to extend him the same courtesy.

 is vital during any form of training to ensure you set your dog up for success. Imagine working on commission, you only get paid for every item you sold. You’re a good salesperson but then they change the product to one you don’t know anything about. You don’t understand how it works at all. The first day you sell nothing. Not great, try again tomorrow. Tomorrow you sell nothing. And on and on it goes. How long will it take before you quit your job? Not long I’m betting!

Your dog will not attempt to learn anything if he is repeatedly asked to do something over and above his understanding. You can’t sell an item well you know nothing about/don’t understand and your dog can’t learn a command well that he doesn’t understand.

Other factors to take into account are:

Make sure your dog is not unwell, stressed or over tired before starting a training session.

Pick a time when your dog is relaxed and ensure the reward is one he actually wants!

Ensure no distractions initially – we want him to succeed not fail because something more interesting came along!

Never get angry at your dog. You wouldn’t work happily for an angry boss

Do not be afraid to go back a step if your dog does not understand what is being asked and break it down further.

Keep sessions short and to the point. Rather a successful five minutes than a stressful half hour with neither of you understanding what the other is doing!

Don’t be afraid to stop and try something else.Never force your dog into the position you want. That’s being a bully not training.

Always end on a high note!

Ask for help if you get stuck – don’t allow it to frustrate you into anger.

Why train your dog?

There are many different reasons to train a dog. Dogs live in a world governed by human rules and laws. Dogs do not speak our language nor can they read however if they appear to have “broken” any of our laws or rules your dog could live a life of restrictions or even lose its life. Every single dog, past, present and future can and more importantly WILL bite in a specific set of circumstances. Do not be fooled into thinking your dog is the exception to the rule – he is not. The circumstances in which each individual dog will bite vary greatly dependent on that dog but every single dog can and will bite when their threshold in a specific situation has been reached and he feels he has no other choice. Few choose to take this path but each and every one can.

Contrary to popular belief in a situation your dog sees as threatening, your dog will not protect you. He will protect himself if he feels he has too. As his owner you should be the protector and positive training will allow him to put his faith in your ability to ensure his wellbeing meaning he is less likely to be aggressive and you will be less likely to fall foul of the law.

Training builds a bond between handler and dog that should be built on fun, reward and mutual respect. You cannot train a dog without watching him and by watching him you will learn more about your dog than any book can ever teach you. You will know his likes and dislikes; you will learn what he is fearful of and what relaxes him. You will be able to spot potential problems and deal with them before they occur. This will benefit your dog by making him more comfortable and relaxed which in return will make owning a dog much more relaxed and pleasurable for you!

Training is also just plain FUN! You can exercise your dog for miles every day. Your dog will always walk further! Mental exercises by way of training should be equal to physical exercise. Training should happen every day for the life of the dog. You do not have to teach your dog to be an obedience champion if you don’t want to.

He doesn’t care much for rosettes. Teaching Sit, Stay, Down, Wait, Recall, Stand, Leave and Drop are in my opinion the main “must haves” for most pet dogs. After that anything goes! Teach him to ride a skateboard, open or close a door, give high five…even teach him to help tidy up! Dogs love to learn and love to see us happy because that brings more good things their way.

Happy mentally and physically exercised dogs are happy content relaxed tired dogs that don’t want to play with your expensive mobile or vocalise their discontent or bounce up and down in excitement.

Happy content relaxed dogs create happy content relaxed owners!