Thursday, February 28, 2008

Recipe for dog training success!

When it comes to dog training, I've noticed that most humans focus on the final product, and not how to get there. Similar to going out to eat a meal - we focus on the finished yummy meal brought to our table, not how it was prepared. Why should we when someone else is doing the work? We may inquire how something is made in order to give us a better idea of what the meal might taste like - but do we really care how hot the grill was? If the meat was marinated first? The actual steps of the recipe? Not really - unless it was so great we'd want to duplicate it at home... but even then, it's usually somewhat different. 

So why is it most dog folks tend to focus intently on the final product of what they want their dogs behavior to be? As opposed to figuring out the simplest way to get there...with little strain and stress on themselves and their dogs. 

It's high time we as humans take the time to learn a "recipe for success" for educating and training our dogs. That is what I like to focus on in the classes I offer at The Inquisitive Canine - the "how to get the behaviors", not just the behaviors themselves. Sure, the dogs learn the behaviors that owners want, but that's just the side effect of actually learning how to get the behaviors in the first place... As the chinese proverb goes: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Or in this case: Push the dogs butt to the ground and he sits for that moment - teach the human to teach the dog to sit, and he sits when you ask. 

So, come join us at the inquisitive canine to learn about, and develop the tools and techniques to create your own recipe for success for getting the behaviors you want out of your dog.

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