If I knew then what I know now.....

One of the blogs I followed was joining a global effort to discuss the same topic, which is "If I knew then what I know now" and I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for people to exchange general training tips/knowledge.

For me, if I knew what I know now, I would not get disappointed/mad/angry at my dogs for not doing what I ask or what I thought I have trained.

I realize now that my dogs really are a reflection of my dog training knowledge and ability. Any failures that used to be perceived to be my dog being stubborn or only doing whatever he wants is really my inabilities to communicate with my dogs what I want and provide him enough reinforcement/values, so he thinks doing whatever I want is fun and rewarding for him as well.

I also learned that it is totally fine to have high expectations of your dogs - whatever those expectations may be, but at the same time, have high expectation of yourself first as a teacher/advocate to your dog.

Am I making my criteria clear and consistent to my dogs? Am I making it easy for him to succeed, so he can make the right choice and be successful and get rewards often? Am I providing him with comparable rewards/reinforcements depending on what the tasks may be?

It's ok to challenge your dog and hope they improve or overcome whatever fear/obstacles they may face, but make it safe and fun for them to try. Take little steps, so they move forward with a lot of success and reinforcements. Go slow, so they can gain confidence. If you feel you are stuck, then you are moving too fast.

Training is not just to ask your dog to be obedient and do whatever you say, but a learning process for both human and canine to understand how to best to communicate with each other and still have fun.

This is the blog that inspired me to start this thread. It is a great read for anyone that has dogs, regardless of whether you do doggie sports with your beloved pets.
Dogs are Amazing and Will Do Everything You Want If You Have Cheese!
http://susangarrettdogagility.com/2012/03/dogs-are-amazing-and-will-do-everything-you-want-if-you-have-cheese/

Comments

  • That's very interesting, because I'd say the opposite- that if I knew then what I know now, I'd wish I understood it was okay to TEMPER my expectations for my dogs (well, especially one of them) and my expectations for myself.
    :)
    Goes to show we are all on different journeys from different places, huh?
  • @Wryly Brindle

    I think I saw some of your experiences in a different thread.

    I guess what I am trying to say is many people have unrealistic expectations of their dogs while they themselves do little on their part to figure it out how best to help their dogs to go from where they are now to where they want to be, expecting the dogs to do all the heavy-lifting.

    Dogs have potentials to do so many things that can keep them physically and mentally fit to enjoy life with us and I would always try harder on my part to help them move forward. We may move really slow, but it is alright. I prefer slow progress over staying at the same spot forever.

    You are absolutely right about we are all on different journey from different places! :)
  • If I knew what I know know especially when I had our last three dogs before Bella and Saya I'd stood up more and worked with them in more positive reinforce way and upped their quality of kibble..

    I'd been more cautious walking in neighbor hood in case of off leash dog maybe if Pearly wasn't attacked by a chow chow she'd been bit more accepting of strange friendly dogs.

    With Bella I'd kept her down in the basement with me more often when dad was being in his moods and stuff maybe if she didn't get yelled at a lot for wanting attention she would stayed good off leash..

    I'd made sure that Bella was fed separately too my parent's fed her with dink which pushed her aside a lot to eat her puppy food which I think is why she resource guards her food or treats from other dogs due to that experience.

    For Saya I think I'd gotten the hunting dummy toy sooner and worked more with tracking at early age and also switched her to raw diet at 8weeks instead of 8months..
  • That what I was thinking Crystal, but you said it way better than I can....It's different dogs, different places, etc. But yeah, I also thought I wish I'd known I could temper things too, that I didn't have to try to mold my little crazy dog into something she can never be.

    It's a good question, though, so I'm going to mull it over more (and may post more on the Shiba side, since some of my thoughts on this might be more relevant over there for the more beginning NK people.....)
  • i wouldn't have fed that ox tail to Toki.
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