One of my clients has a 7-8 month old male Borzoi that is turning out to be a really fine dog.  We have taught his dog to sit, down, stand, stay, go to bed, wait when told, respect boundaries in the home and he won’t go into the street without a certain leash attached.  Pretty darn good huh!

After complimenting the owner and the dog, on a job well done I asked to what he contributed his success in his dog’s training.  The answer was exactly what I expected.  He replied, “a lot of hard work, consistency and repetition doing the training exercises you taught me Jim.”  ”It’s a lot like raising a child.”  

He also acknowledged that he didn’t know how people with full time jobs found the time (he’s semi-retired) to train their dogs.  This brings up a good point.

Prioritize your goals with your dog and  just work on them one at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed with doing everything at once.  Not only will you get frustrated, but your dog will become frustrated and he/she will begin to dislike training because you get impatient with them—again, like kids.

I am with clients for a short time out of the entire life of their dog.  My clients and you as dog owners have “the life of your dog” to work on training goals.  Take it slow but be consistent - and work on something every day.

Just like Mick Jagger says, “time, time, time is on my side yes it is”

The payoff will well be worth it—I promise. 

Jim Burwell