We talk about preventing unwanted behaviours a lot in the dog training world, one other thing to prevent is injuries and illness. Diet, nutrition and exercise play just as big a role in our dogs lives as they do in ours. Although, I have a hard time not eating addictive sugar, I can make sure my dog has a healthy diet! As I get older and sadly, bigger, my joints ache more then ever before, same with our dogs. Making sure they have enough exercise but finding a balance is important. I see some people out running with dogs that are way too young (and small) as well as some that are past their prime and it is difficult to watch. If an opportunity presents itself I will make a useful suggestion or comment to help the owner (really the dog!). Many times there is not an opportunity so that is why I am writing this today.

Preventing unwanted behaviours also means feeding a healthy diet, going to a good vet who continues their education, and maintaining a good balance of exercise. Dogs who are not feeling well display many unwanted behaviours, whether it be from poor diet which causes an upset stomache or loose stools to too much or not enough exercise which can cause boredom, chewing, jumping up and many more naughty doggie behaviours. Too much exercise can lead to stiffness and joint pain as well as ligament tears and much more. I have a friend whose 9 year old black lab was playing Frisbee with him on a very hot summer day, the dog did not stop playing and the owner didn't realize the dog was over heating. This led to the dog jumping one last time and never getting up again, he had heat stroke and died. Very sad indeed. I haven't talked much about what kind of diet or what kind of exercise and will save that for my next post. This one is a food for thought post.

Vaccinations is also play an important role in how your dogs overall health is and can affect their behaviour as well.

I will leave this one for another day and since I am not a vet I will make sure to have good resources available to those that are interested in finding out more on whether to vaccinate or not.

Joey and Blossom are starting to have so much fun together! Joey is smaller and definitely the boss. Size doesn't matter with these two.

Today I had an "ah ha" moment.
Last week a client asked me a question that I have answered many times over the past years. The question was, "How come my dog doesn't listen to me as much now as he used to when he was under 5 months old?" My answer is, for many reasons: the pup has had more life experience (age) and has gained confidence, not enough positive feedback,inconsistency in teaching, something missing in the relationship,frustrated, confused, testing boundaries......
So my "ah ha" moment happened while walking my own dog Blossom (which brings me much serenity and joy because she is a wonderful dog and listens well).
I remembered that when I first was becoming a dog trainer, I was like a sponge and learned so much so fast. I was fascinated with dogs and their behaviour. While going to dog training school, I went routinely and was on time for every class, I enjoyed seeing positive results in the dogs that I worked with. More importantly I was being rewarded by owners who worked hard to be, fair, consistent and who listened to their dogs and were continuing to teach. All of the things I have to do to be a good instructor! except I needed to listen to the owners as well.
Last year while at a conference I saw a very well know dog behaviourist, who I was excited to listen to. While she went on with her presentation I stopped listening, why? Because she was saying things that were inconsistent with many of the top behaviourists as well as her earlier works. I had been following her protocols for years now and found that I had wonderful results so now I was confused. I was ready to be a sponge and learn more but she left me frustrated to a point that I actually left the room. So at that point I stopped learning, even though I didn't agree with her I could still have stayed and learned why she felt this way. So I went back in to the room and finished listening to her speak, I saw that I wasn't the only one that had left as there were many chairs empty that were filled before.
We were confused, frustrated and my own confidence in teaching was in question.
Even as a dog trainer, I need to be confident in what I tell people because it is such a huge responsibility for their dogs life.
I never want to be a know it all but sometimes we stop listening because we are unsure and need to have clarification on issues. The same with our dogs, when we are not clear or consistent they shut down and stop listening. As a dog owner, it is our responsibility to make sure that we give positive feed back for good behaviours and take the time each day to work with the dog. We need to listen to them and work even harder to figure out why the dog is confused or frustrated. Make a plan and have set goals to work towards and go for it. Having fun and teaching through play is very effective and helps to create a bond of trust and leadership.
Woofs for now!
D

dogs at the Fraser River

Another gorgeous day in Vancouver. Today we went to the Fraser River and the dogs swam and dug holes in the sand, thank god they don't do that in the yard!!

off to the beach again on another warm Vancouver day

I just finished a set of basic obedience classes and everyone that started the classes also finished!!! Big accomplishment, usually someone is missing.
Everyone was doing really well but I could see that another set of classes to review it all wouldn't have been a bad thing. I may consider that going forward.
12 years as a dog trainer and I still love it! That says alot about this business.
I taught a puppy class previous to the basic one and as always........loved it. The people are such sponges and the dogs so darned cute! Hard not to love this class but again I wish that I could teach for a longer time because I never seem to get everything in that I want. My reward is to see these same dogs years later and see how happy the owner is and how bonded they are together........now that really makes my heart warm.

here is a picture of her.