06/20/2024
Imagine starting a new workout routine at a new gym. You don’t know the environment. You’ve never tried this type of exercise. Your coach asks you to show him a pull-up. You attempt, but can not even move an inch as you hang helplessly from the bar. Your new coach stands by just watching, and labels you as weak.
You continue showing up, attempting to “figure it out” as a new coach approaches and offers guidance. She noticed that you may be too week for a pull-up, but that there are movements you can work on to develop first that will lead to a pull-up over time. They gathered the information you provided with your struggle and got to work to form a plan.
That’s what we do to dogs. We get a new dog in and see a behavior in the moment. Suddenly we label that dog as a resource guarder, high prey drive, aggressive, reactive, high energy, etc.
It’s what you do with that information that matters.
I see those behaviors as a way to connect with a dog and give them a different answer. And much like building muscle in the gym, the behaviors do not change overnight. Their struggle is an asset full of so much information. I can use it to build partnership, relevancy, and trust.
But if we continue to label dogs from that one blip in time, we are not any better than a coach that just watches us struggle and labels us as weak.
Further more, we often as too much of dogs with out developing the basics first. Kinda like asking a newbie in the gym to sn**ch (a complex Olympic weightlifting movement).
A good coach is going to see where you’re at, take that information, and teach you the basics first with movements that are safe, easy to understand, and offer guidance, direction, and safety. Because its almost impossible to learn when you don’t feel safe.
It is our responsibility to understand the dog, not theirs to understand us.
