Living (and training) positively

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October 24, 2012 by EV

Those of you who follow my work know that I am committed to a training philosophy known as “positive dog training”, which emphasizes the use of dog training methods that are absent of force or fear.

Why is this so important?

How do our interactions with our dog during training impact our lives and those around us?

Start by looking at your own life.  If you have a dog, training him and communicating with him is likely to be a significant part of your routine.  You want that interaction to be fun, right?  Your training time with your dog should feel rewarding, not exhausting.

How do you want your dog to feel about you?

Let’s take a step further.  What message do you want to send your children or your friends about how to treat dogs and how to interact with them?  Do your actions and your training methods support this message?

When we train our dogs using methods that are built on patience, dedication, clear communication, and rewarding good ideas, our dogs trust us, and they learn to be well behaved in a way that’s safe and friendly toward them, as well as fulfilling to us. We begin to see a parallel between the way we train our dogs and the way we do all sorts of things in lives. We begin to see a better part of ourselves and a better future for dogs as a whole. We feel more fulfilled and more accomplished, and we feel a sense that our relationships with our dogs matter in a way that’s bigger than Sit, Stay, and Come.

We learn that our dogs are wonderful listeners when we give them a clear set of rules and when we behave accordingly. We begin to look forward to our training time with our dogs, which in turn makes their behavior even better as our focus on showing them the ropes increases.

Our dogs learn that humans are safe, predictable, and can be trusted and that they need not defend themselves against us with their growls or their teeth.  The people around us learn that dogs are important and can be taught to get along nicely in our society through kind, simple interactions.  And, all of us dog owners avoid filling our lives with needless negativity and violence that’s often disguised as dog training.

What’s not important about that?