While most people think of skills as human conveniences, skills are often taught and used to benefit the dog. Skills can give him information on what is expected, boundaries and safety.
Skills are essential! They give dogs tools to use in a complicated world and can actually give them more freedom because they’ll know how to navigate different environments and scenarios with you. They come to know what to expect and what is expected.
There’s nothing more joyous than a dog being able to run full out, off leash! But they need the skills to do so safely, especially a recall or response to their name.
Wait is one of the very first skills, after response to their name, that I teach my dogs when they are puppies. Why? It’s a foundation skill for good manners that requires impulse control as well as an important safety skill.
I often hear frustrated clients who don’t understand why the dog doesn’t just do what is asked of them. The owner feels that the dog “owes” them because they provide food, shelter, and love. The least the dog can do is sit, wait, and come when called, right?
While it sounds like a friendly way to live and a great way to socialize your dog, is it a good idea for your dog to greet every person and dog you see on a walk?
Unfortunately, probably not. But why?
There are several reasons a dog appears to “not listen.” Notice the word “appears.” Dogs hear us but may not truly understand our request or may not have mastered the skill that we ask for.
Many of us have been there. The new puppy/dog doesn’t measure up to the last dog or the dog we have just isn’t what we were expecting.
People lose their ability to easily find joy when way too soon. We become “grownups” and forget how to find or create joy within every day. Many dogs, on the other hand, find joy every single day for most of their lives.
…and not fix anything. Most people want to fix things when they go wrong—solve the problem, make it better, get a plan together. But sometimes, there is no solution, or at least no immediate solution.
We have schedules, places to be and places we are expected to be on-time. Getting the dog out to potty and for a bit of a walk can directly affect and even conflict with our daily schedule. So, this can become a tug of war—the dog pulls toward a smell, and we pull forward to finish the walk so that we stay on-task and on-time.
