The Easy Button

Working with dog owners is often an interesting experience.  Besides teaching agility, I often help friends, family members, and complete strangers with their new puppies, adoptees, and dogs that need some training.  Across the board, I think most people are shocked to find out how much time it takes to train a well-behaved dog. Have you ever watched agility on TV or YouTube and thought how effortless is all looked?   People see other people's dog behave or perform and expect their dogs to do the same, never realizing the work that happens behind the scenes.

One thing to remember is that there is no "Easy Button" for dog training.  If I had one quick, simple solution to training a dog, I could write a book and make a million dollars.

Alas, I am not a millionaire, but I do have a lot of experience.  If you are having issues with your dog, it's best to start with the basics and ask yourself these questions:

• Is my dog getting daily aerobic exercise?  
• Is my dog mentally stimulated on a regular basis (training, problem solving, agility, etc.)?
• Am  I spending enough quality time with him or her cradling, playing fetch, hanging out?
• Are my dog's basic needs met?  Is he or she in pain, cold, hot, hungry, uncomfortable?

And last, but most importantly:

• Do I realize that my dog will not learn the correct behaviors if I do not teach them?
• Am I committed to my dog? 
• Do I see him or her as a unique individual with basic needs that need to be met by me?
• Am I willing to put the time into taking care of my dog properly?
• Do I have the knowledge I need to successfully take care of my dog?

While I know that most of you who read this blog are committed to your dog and do the best that you can, I think that these are questions we need to be constantly asking ourselves.  I realize that if Cheri is acting up, it's usually my fault.  Through each successive puppy, there has come a time when I've had to sit down and decide where my heart really was.  Once I decided that I loved my dog, that I wanted him or her to be around, and more importantly, I wanted us to both be happy, I was able to recommit myself to their cause.