Dog's Best Friend: First comes the obedience

20 Aug Dog's Best Friend: First comes the obedience

Ted Hoff, of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel, makes a strong point: if your dog is not paying attention to you, he/she is NOT being trained; you are.

Case at hand: Drake, Ted's young Lab male, is mostly totally appropriate. But Drake, the yellow Lab, is not certain Ted means business all the time- "Is this good enough? This?"

At this point, Ted can be a friend or a mentor. He chooses, not only to be a mentor, but he chooses to require a specific behaviour, which the dog may want to ignore. Note that the orders ARE carried out. How? My feeling: firmness, persistance, and an understanding between trainer and dog: "No matter how this works out, I care about you. You will make me unhappy sometimes. No matter, my love is unconditional."

You will note that the gestures and words are positivie, bold, but there are no treats, no undeserved praise, only positive reinforcement for appropriate action. Appropriate that Ted recognizes the mental pressure on the dog, and does everything to mitigate that energy. Errors are not met with anger or disappointment, they are met with do-overs. And appropriate praise.