Dog Training Advice: The Top 5 Things I Wish Dog Owners Did for Themselves and Their Dogs

When I talk with dog owners, I find that I frequently have the same conversations with people. There are so many different things to think about if you have a dog that isn’t perfect (and for the record, I don’t think there is such a thing as a “perfect” dog – they are all wonderful and unique – and challenging in their own individual ways – which is what I think makes dogs great!). Instead of trying to boil the ocean (i.e. try to take on an impossible task) – why not start small and start a few simple habits that can truly change your life and your dogs? To that end, here are the top 5 things I wish dog owners did for themselves and their dogs!

1. Don’t be so hard on yourself! You don’t have to be perfect or have a perfectly behaved dog to be a good dog owner with a happy dog. Now, this is not an open invitation to let your dog walk (or jump) all over you and your family. But you do need acknowledge and celebrate the little things. Did your dog just sit when you asked him to instead of jumping on you? Win! Did you just have a pleasant walk with your dog? Win! Who cares if it was because you didn’t see another soul on your walk – give yourself a moment to enjoy the peace you just experienced!

   

2. Walk your dog everyday. Yes, seriously, walk, everyday. Even if you start with a 10 minute walk with your dog, 10 minutes is better than nothing – for you and your dog.
3. Learn to recognize when your dog needs a break (or a timeout). Does your dog tend to go bananas when the kids come home from school? 30 minutes before they get off the bus is a great time to take that walk we just talked about! Follow up the walk with a yummy frozen Kong in his crate as a reward, and when the kids come home they just might not be as interesting to him as that Kong is! (here are some great Kong recipes to get you started http://www.kongcompany.com/recipes/). Is your 8 year old having 5 friends over this afternoon? This is another great time for a crate break with a Kong (and another one of those walks too!)
4. Does your dog seem growly lately? Is she acting lethargic and not interested in playing? Call your vet! I get so many calls from people that start with some version of “Six months ago my dog started growling at my 5 year old…” or “For the last 3 years my dog has seemed anxious….” Probably one of the worst things a dog owner can do is see a problem, then ignore the problem until it becomes a big, scary problem – like “my dog who has been growling at my 5 year old for the last 6 months just bit him in the face….”. Nip issues in the bud! First order of business is to write down what you see so it is fresh in your mind and then call your vet! It is not uncommon for medical issues to masquerade as behavior issues so rule that out first. Then, if your vet gives your dog a clean bill of health, call a trainer (if you call a trainer first, they will likely just tell you to call your vet to rule out medical issues and then we can talk about training).
5. Make training games and exercises part of how you interact with your dog. Look, no one relishes spending hours everyday training dogs (except dog trainers, but even we don’t do this with our own dogs on a regular basis). Training with your dog should be fun and enjoyable for both you and your dog. The best I know of to accomplish both goals – train my dogs and have fun – is to build training into my day with my dogs. They sit before going outside, they sit before coming in, they sit before meals, they sit and wait to be invited onto the bed (yes, my dogs get on furniture, and no it doesn’t make me a bad dog owner) and every once in a while we play random games like “come find me”, group sits and downs, and touch exercises just for the fun of it. How long does all this take? Combined time of day’s worth of training exercises for 4 dogs: maybe 20 minutes – really! Try this: do 5 mini training sessions with your dog each day – each session should be no more than 3 minutes in length – do this for the next week. Let me know how this works for you – did you enjoy it? Did your dog? Does he have a better response to “sit”? Does he offer the behavior sometimes now without being asked? Is your dog more attentive to you? Does she seem to eagerly anticipate the sessions?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing how the mini sessions go!