07/03/2021
Any Tips?
Every single day I get about twenty messages asking if I have any tips in an area of dog training. Of course if that's 'how do I make my dog down faster, or recall faster' or 'what's your favourite ball to use' then I can no problem answer in a paragraph on Facebook and I love doing that for people.
The problem arises when people are asking for tips for advanced behaviours whether that be advanced heel work or reactivity or even aggression.
Behaviours beyond the basics don't have tips. It's like calling a pilot and asking for tips to fly your plane. There are no tips. There are many faucets learned inside and out to successfully fly a plane. You need to know intrinsically how they work. Sure he could say, push the throttle forward and you can do that without learning much, but although it will feel like you are making progress hurtling down the runway, you aren't.
Once you hit the end of the runway, what do you do then? What's the next tip you need? What about when you get off the ground? What about when you're hurtling towards a mountain at five hundred miles per hour?
Dog training is no different (although thankfully not quite as dangerous as flying a plane without a clue what you are doing). You need to understand the entire picture.
If there were tips in dog training, every trainer you know would collate them into a pocket book and then they'd never have to stand outside on a miserable January morning again. Unfortunately there isn't a book of tips and there's a forever changing set of variables.
It's why me and all the other trainers in the world get up and work dogs every day in real life. So if you have an issue, seek help. When my car breaks I take it t the mechanic, when I feel ill I see a doctor, when I injure a muscle I see a physio, I don't go online and look for tips.
Consult a professional, join the Academy, book in for a group class, I don't care what your action is, but you have to take some!
