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.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Charlie, my labradoodle and i really enjoyed the class last night. Charlie did a few sits and downs before i went off to work this morning so i am excited (and i think he’s exhausted!) see you next week!
Michelle Bunch
My name is Vince, we have a one year old German Shepherd which we recieved from a friend a few weeks ago they purchased the dog when he was a puppy.
Odin is a very big dog who loves kids, but my kids are scared of him because of his size. What should I do?
There have been no behavior problems with Odin, he sits, stays, comes when asked and very sociable with people and dogs.
Sincerely,
Vince
Vince: since we do not know your children, the dog or anything that’s an impossible question to answer very well. If your dog is good with the kids then you need to
figure out how to make your children unafraid in a way that you know your children will understand. Have your kids feed the dog, walk the dog, gently pat the dog.