Last week I was driving though Suwanee and stopped to fill up my tank. The guy filling up his tank next to me and asked if I was “the dog trainer”. (I had the Home Dog Training magnetic stickers on the side of my car.) I informed him that I was the dog trainer and asked if he had a question. He said that he just got two wonderful Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies. They were already almost one year old and were pretty well behaved. His question was that it seemed they just didn’t want to learn any of their “come, sit,walk, stay” obedience commands. As soon as he thought he was making some progress, everything he thought they had learned just vanished into thin air. Had I ever seen this happening before?
I told him that Rhodesian Ridgebacks are one of my favorite breeds. They are not only humungus, but my experience has shown that they are actually great students. I then asked my client how long he had been working with them. He responded that it had been about four or five days. I then stated that one of the biggest reasons that we have problems training our dogs is that we are impatient and want the training to be really quick. Our dogs learn through repetition and consistency. Neither of these words are synonyms for “fast”.
I shared a really big dog trainer’s secret with my “gas buddy”. The best way to train his dog is to take “baby steps”. If the dog is having a hard time sitting, let’s first make sure that he can stand next to him and just calmly give him a focused glance. If his can’t do that, he won’t be able to sit. If one of the Rhodesian Ridgebacks is misbehaving while in a room full of people, let’s first make sure that he might be in the room with just a single family member and be calm. As before, if he can’t do that, then he definitely can’t be good in a room full of people.
Shhh! Don’t tell anybody else, but the secret is really easy. Break down the training process into many exercises with “simple goals”. Each goal is obtainable and is required before you move on to the next “simple goal”. You will now be able to succeed because you have forced yourself to take “baby steps”. If you have moved on to the next goal and your dog is consistently failing at that level, move back one goal and continue to reinforce that requirement. Our teachers in school called this “Let’s pause and review for a moment…”.
This will allow you to be consistent and succeed. Your dog will feel better because he will have the ability to obey you. You will build your confidence because you are also succeeding and meeting your goals. The relationship between you and your dog will be a happy, learning, and loving experience.
We hope you will call us as soon as possible at (770) 718-7704 if you are in need of any dog training help. There are many more great dog training articles at Best Dog Trainers Suwanee Georgia. You can locate all our phone numbers, text addresses and email contacts at Dog Training Help Center Suwanee Georgia.
Follow Us!