Dog Training? - K9 Solutions

"If you would understand this secret, you must first understand the distinction between training an animal and educating one. Trained animals are relatively easy to turn out. All that is required is a book of instructions, a certain amount of bluff and bluster, something to use for threatening and punishing purposes, and of course the animal. Educating an animal, on the other hand, demands keen intelligence, integrity, imagination, and the gentle touch, mentally, vocally, and physically."

J. Allen Boone, Kinship with All Life

The most common line of questioning I get is in regards to dog training. "Are you a dog trainer?", "Can you train my dog?" "Whats the difference between what you offer and dog training" are the sort of questions I commonly field.

Normally I will try to ascertain what it is the client wants to achieve, as this is very important.

The reason for this is, if you are looking to a solution to your dog's behavioral issues, then training will not help. You simply can't train away these sorts of problems. You have to find the root cause of the problems and address that. Training just doesn't do that. All training does is (sometimes) mask the problem by teaching the dog to act in a certain way through consequence of action. It is only a band aid solution at best.

If a person is looking to train their dog for a specific purpose, besides behavioural issues, then there are are a number of people/organisations in the Darwin area who can provide this service. Again i have to stress, though, that training will not address the root cause of the problem, just mask it, at best.

With many dogs, If you put in enough time and effort training them, you can have a dog that will sit, stay, play dead, jump through hoops or whatever circus trick you want.(Some dogs,on the other hand, are in such a stressed state, that nothing will get through.) This, though, will not ensure that your dog will respect you as a leader, thus respecting the boundaries you set or your personal space. For example, not humbugging you when you are eating.

There's not much point in having a dog that will obey the orders that you bark at them through fear or reward, if they;

can't settle down and relax with you.
beg for food until you yell at them to stop.
jump over you or visitors until you yell at them to stop.
get that worked up at certain things that they just don't hear you barking orders at them.
are so stressed when you leave they destroy things or simply cannot relax.

Dog listening works by first, getting the dogs into a calm state of mind. Then, and only then, can you show them how they are expected to behave. You no longer will have to scowl at them to stop what they are doing, as they will learn and respect the boundaries that you set.

Rather than have a dog that begs for food until you yell at it to go away, wouldn't you much rather a dog that doesn't beg for food to start with?

This, in essence, is the difference between what I can teach you, and traditional training/obedience.

This is achieved without the use of any force, pain or fear. You do not need choke chains, prong collars, electric collars, citronella collars or any other cruel implement to establish leadership.

Once leadership is established, if you want to train your dog for whatever reason, in any field, it will make the training process so much easier. A dog that sees you as a leader will be be much more willing to do as you ask.

“I used to look at (my dog) Smokey and think, 'If you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking,' and he'd look at me like he was saying, 'If you were a little smarter, I wouldn't have to”

Fred Jungclaus.