Be The Person Your Dog Thinks You Are
We talk a lot about the relationship between you and your dog being at the heart of teaching, training and generally learning to live together.
If you’re involved in any way with working with people, you’ll know that finding out what motivates them, supporting them as they learn and utilising their strengths is how you bring out the best in them. Chastising, intimidating and confusing them is never going to create a productive and positive environment.
If you’re heading up a team, you know that working together is the only way forward. You are your dog are a team. You’re in an environment that you’re comfortable in. You understand the language. You understand the social nuances and you understand how your family operates.
Your dog has no idea what the sounds coming out of your mouth mean. They predominantly communicate using body language. Your dog has no idea about the human social nuances. They certainly have their own though. Your dog has landed in your family and has absolutely no idea how it operates.
Yet, despite all of this, they look at us with adoration – most of the time. They manage to offer unconditional love, against all the odds and regardless of what mood we’re in, they still think we’re pretty great.
So, rather than worrying about cues and teaching and training right now. Try and be the person your dog thinks you are. Kindness, patience and understanding are at the heart of this. Show your dog that you’re worthy of that adoration. Spend some time with them, think about your communication with them from their perspective and ask yourself, ‘how can I help them today?’