My thoughts...
I see it all the time when trainers are talking about how you need xyz to have a well trained dog & don't get me wrong to a certain degree, I agree with them.
But
If the behaviour doesn't bother you & isn't harmful to others, does it really need changing?
This is why we ask you what you need & we only make suggestions where absolutely necessary outside of what you've asked us for help with.
The other thing I constantly see is trainers saying, if your trainers dog isn't super duper highly off the charts trained, they can't train your dog.
Now, for this, I have 2 thoughts.
1. This is all subjective. My dogs are certainly not the most well trained, but to me, they are MY perfect dogs. They listen when I ask them to do something, they're friendly (well, maybe minus Coop, but he has a reason🤣), and they welcome strange dogs into their home. They love to train, they cuddle me whenever I ask, they're easy to groom, they let me dress them up in fleeces, coats, costumes. They're all muzzle & crate trained. The list could go on.
2. If your trainers' dogs don't have blips, to me, that's a red flag as that's just not real life. Our dogs are living, breathing, and thinking animals with impulses. It's okay to have a bad day or a bad training session & it's NORMAL for your dog not to listen sometimes.
Example: this time last year, I let Chloe off her lead to run into our training class & instead she 180'd and ran into the road, whilst blowing off her recall. She'd never done that before & she's never done it since. She actually has really good road manners&recall(as all my dogs do), so this was a complete fluke & she's a lucky girl that she didn't get hit by a car. So she went back on a longline for about 3 months whilst I built up my trust in her again. She will probably never do that again.
Find a trainer who aligns with your values, ethics & needs. If you need help with something & your trainer starts out doing something else you don't want/need, don't
TikTok Trend...
There isn't many TikTok Trends I get involved in but when I get to show off how much my babies have grown/changed, I cannot say no to that😍
Go Home...
It's a cue I teach all the dogs from their very first walk.
I start with saying it as we walk through the gate and then I build up the distance to see how they're doing and then for my own dogs - not fosters/guests they get to run home once we've made sure the road is clear💜
