Foxwood Sheepdogs

25/05/2022

20/05/2022

This is brilliant and well worth a read. This is truly the way forward for dog training…

How a dog feels is more important than what they do.

It's so sad to hear again that a child has lost their life due to a dog. Everytime I hear these stories my heart breaks and sinks.

It is undoubtedly true that we are a nation of dog lovers who now share our lives with over 13 million dogs. One of the last studies done in 2018 showed us that 28 per cent of UK households with children now have a dog, compared to just 24 per cent the previous year. This figure has likely exploded over the last 2 years.

These deaths are always both horrific and tragic and my heartfelt condolences go out to all involved. As a professional dog trainer I always take some time to reflect when things like this happen and wonder about our relationships with dogs.

I've recently been writing a 21 week Complete Puppy Course which delves deep into the wonderful world of puppies. I've learnt so much along the journey and some of the biggest things I would like to share with you here.

I think with more understanding we can learn to live with our dogs even better. As a nation as dog lovers we have a huge responsibility to understand these wonderful animals more. We need to understand their endless potential for companionship, love and fun as well as their own ways of communication and emotional experience.

For too long the narrative has been "get dog, train dog, job done". This narrative has to change and we HAVE to shift towards working with feelings over obiendience (I'm not a fan of this word). For myself, and many professionals on the front line, how a dog feels is (for the large part) more important than what they do. Let me repeat that... How a dog feels is more important that what they do.

When writing my course I've read and studied numerous studies on animal behaviour from the heyday of behaviourism in the 1960s right up to present day. These studies tell us that, like humans, dogs have a range feelings and emotions. They struggle at times, feel fear and get stressed. They need to get quality sleep and have their lives enriched in order to remain in balance. They need to be able to express themselves as dogs do. Add to this our responsibilities to meet their fundamental needs of safety, nutrition, health and environment and we start to get an idea of how we should approach these fantastic animals.

One part of the puzzle that is so criminally overlooked is how we all have a responsibility to learn how a dog communicates. The fascinating world of Canine Body Language is something every dog owner should delve into. Once we have an understanding of what our dogs might be feeling and how they are communicating, we are much better placed to assess situations and interactions in order to keep them safe. This for me should (and maybe one day will) be mandatory for all dog guardians.

Another part of the puzzle is the myth that every puppy comes to us as a "blank slate" ready to be moulded into whatever we desire. This particular meme sets our expectations WAY too high. So much of how a puppy develops is out of an average guardians hands. Aspects like:
• Genetics, the passing of genes through heredity to the puppy
• Pre Natal (before they are born). Where what happens to mum whilst pregnant can have a huge effect on the puppy.
• Post Natal (after puppy is born). Even after the puppy is born early experiences and exposures during the first sensitive period and post natal care play a huge role in personality development.

All this happens before new owners even pick up a puppy.

Once the new puppy is home a careful management and socialisation plan is required in order to provide, appropriate, exposure to experiences.

Even if all this goes incredibly well ANY dog can, if put in a situation they can't handle, lash out and become "agressive". All too often puppies and older dogs are put in situations that, with a little knowledge, planning and forethought can be avoided. This, for me, is the most upsetting part of this whole mess.

Now don't get me wrong I love training dogs, I'm an accredited trainer with the ABTC (Animal Behaviour & Training Council) and have the honour of being the Director of Training for PACT (The Professional Association Of Canine Trainers). What I want to say here is that training things like Sit, Wait, Leave It, Stay, Down, Come and Heel are only a small part of what is required to connect to a puppy on an emotional level. I coach thousands of new puppy owners each year to understand and build relationships with dogs that will last a lifetime. This, in my opinion, is how puppy training should be approached.

What this all boils down to is a need for better education in this country when it comes to dogs. We need to understand the personality type of the dog in front of us as well as how breed might effect this. We need a mind set shift away from obedience training to focus more on helping dogs to feel safe, secure, enriched and allowed to just be a dog. We need to learn how they communicate and we need to learn how to keep them safe and out of trouble when off lead or in public places. We need to understand what kind of situations there might be potential risks when it comes to humans (of any age) interacting with dogs.

I've always loved this quote from the wonderful Chirag Patel, Domesticated Manners

“Listen to your dog’s whisper so he doesn’t have to shout.”