I was in Cumming yesterday with a current Home Dog Training client and his rambunctious American Foxhound named Brodie.  Like many American Foxhounds, Brodie was a little animated and loved to jump on people.  At our first session, we had trained everyone what to do to stop her from jumping and actions they should do to discourage it in the first place.  The problem was not with Brodie, but with my clients two sons; nine years old and seven years old.  They were still encouraging her to jump.  My client and I spent about an hour with all of them, reinforcing the need for calmer interactions and got everything back in line.  As I was leaving, one of my client’s neighbors approached me as I was getting in my car.  He wanted to know about the dog training. He said he was always busy and wanted me to train his eight-month old Boxer.  He said he would even give me a key so I could get into the house to train when he was not home.

I explained to my client’s neighbor that there are many dog trainers who say “they will train your dog” so that you will have a “great family dog”.  That is not quite the way that Robin and I view the situation.  We view “dog training” more as relationship building than simple muscle memory and fear.

It is true that Robin and I can train dogs to be great dogs.  They won’t jump on people or steal food from the table.  They will walk nicely with us, obey our obedience commands, and not bark intensely at the neighbors.  None of these things are overly difficult if the appropriate relationship of bond, trust, and respect have been established between us and the dog.

This is where the issue comes into play.  If we do all the work, the dog will respect us and see us as their leader.  The bond of trust and respect will be between us.  Some of our “work” will initially “rub off on the owner”; but since he doesn’t “know how to be the boss”, the dog will quickly realize “he is not the boss”.  Normally, within two to three weeks, the dog’s old behaviors will return and often intensify.

That is why we always are telling our clients that our job is to teach them how to be the best dog trainer in the world for their dog.  Our success and the strength of the bond between the dog and the client is based on our relationship building between the two of them.

In order to accomplish this, the dog must respect and obey the client’s wishes and rules.  The only way that our client can have this take place is to have his dog’s calm and complete attention.  If the client does not know how to do this, he will never properly communicate what is right and wrong.

The great news is that understanding how to get your dog’s calm focus is pretty easy.  The bad news is that you, as your dog’s owner and leader, will need be involved in one form or another.

You never learned your “times tables” by keeping the cards in your desk drawer.  You had to actively practice with them, understanding what was the right answer and what was the wrong answer.  Eventually, you got it and knew all your “times tables”.  That, exactly, is what you must do to have a great, wonderfully trained dog.  It is up to you.  As your “dog trainers”, we can only guide you in the right direction.  We can do a lot of the work, but you must still jump in. You must take the journey.  And, by the way, it is really a wonderful journey!

You have to remember that when you think “I need a dog trainer for my crazy dog”, you are really asking for a trainer for yourself.

Please call Robin or myself at (770) 718-7704 if you are in need of any dog training help.  We have a lot of good dog training advice at Best Dog Trainers Cumming Georgia.  Find all our phone numbers, text addresses and email contacts at Dog Training Help Center Cumming Georgia.