12/26/2024
One version of an academic/laboratory view of dog behavior asks: 'can dogs acquire impulse control?'
Of course they can. ;) At PK9 we teach, observe and reinforce it every day, every class, every course session.
Classes forming now for puppies, adolescents, and adults.
For information, email: [email protected]
I'm not trying to slag on this creator, which is why I obstructed the contact information and as much of the identifying imagery as possible.
I gotta say, though, I really detest this mentality that paints all dogs as lemon-brains, incapable of learning self- control.
It's not true.
It's not true that you "have tried everything!"
It's not true that Greyhounds can't learn to sit or to recall.
It's not true that herding breeds can't learn not to 'herd' the kids.
It's not true that your Cane Corso will never stop barking at the neighbors.
If you were foolish enough to add a JRT to a home with small animals without thinking that through, you sorta get what you deserve. Still, it is possible to own both successfully. You just have to want it bad enough.
Your dog can absolutely learn to control its impulses.
What *is* true is the singular lack of commitment most people have to get the dog to that point.
Between not committing to changing, not putting forth the effort to change, and relinquishing any attempt to the belief that dogs can not be taught to govern their actions is the same mentality that ultimately strips our rights as owners to live with our dogs in meaningful ways.
It is so easy to lower standards because the solution looks like work and smells like effort, when every time we do that, it diminishes the value dogs bring to our lives.
Instead of breeding away from working qualities because people want the look of a Shepherd, but not the drive of a Shepherd, or Terrier, or Hound or other working breed, select a suitable breed for your lifestyle.
If you choose a breed with a working history, remember that even though genetically that dog may not have the same degree of drive as a working counterpart, there are enough genetic remnants to make life interesting for you, if you cared enough about the breed to research it's behavior tendencies.
There are consequences for every action. Choosing the wrong dog, choosing the wrong candidate for your lifestyle once you settle on a breed, not making an effort to help that dog succeed, isn't a *dog* problem. It's an owner problem.
Instead of getting frustrated at an animal for your bad choices, you can make it work when you select a trainer who understands how to develop drive, channel drive, redirect drive, focus drive, or, if necessary, suppress drive.
Stop blaming the dog. Stop listening to people who make these vague generalities based on an incomplete model of untrained - or poorly trained dogs.
If your dog is do***ng like it's never dogged before, maybe it's time to look for someone to help you understand how to fit that square peg into that round hole.
The only thing separating you from the dog you want and the dog you have is TRAINING.
When you are ready, we are here.
