Auntie Al’s Dog Training Services
A Gentle Touch - Outstanding Results
604-868-0341
Alix Balfour - Trainer
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Auntie Al’s Dog Training Services A Gentle Touch - Outstanding Results 604-868-0341 Alix Balfour - Trainer
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Under a Rock When a couple of friends are walking down a busy sidewalk together you will often see one stop at a store window and the other come back to see what is so interesting. When dogs walk together you will often see one stop to sniff a spot with the other coming back to find out what is so interesting. It is the exact same scenario. What you don’t see, generally speaking, is a human and dog walking down the sidewalk showing the same interest in the goods shown in the storefront window or an owner and dog on a stroll in the woods with noses pressed up against a tree trunk together. To have a really great relationship with your dog find activities that best serve the needs of both. Depending on the breed of your dog you can teach him to carry objects by mouth or saddlebags, making him a proactive part of your public experience, allowing the dog to feel useful and appreciated. Dogs love that. When in nature, be more dog-like. Walk the length of logs, hurdle logs and fallen trees, dig holes in the sand. Dogs LOVE that! (Please fill the holes in afterward. Avoid injuries for both human and dog.) Or if you’re like me and the family dog, Pepper, you’ll look under a rock. Pepper was a Miniature Schnauzer who loved to burrow and capture. During the long hot days of summer; the earth dry and dusty, sweetly scented with straggly hay and goldenrod, Pepper and I would excavate an old compost area used for yard trimmings. There was any number of good-sized rocks half buried in the soil, rocks that I would turn over to discover what lay beneath. As some of the rocks were heavily set in the soil, digging around the edges was required, a chore that both of us did together. Pepper loved digging holes together. To Pepper’s delight the newly turned rocks exposed beetles clustered below. Pepper would be in all directions at once trying to capture the beetles as they ran for new cover. It was a game that Pepper never tired of. The beauty of it was that Pepper would look to me for something to do instead of looking for herself, a problem she was prone to, especially when it came to the neighbor’s garbage. I was willing to engage in activities that were fun for her. I gave Pepper focus. That is the underlying problem in dog/owner relationships. The owner is not providing proper focus to keep their dogs attention. When you’re out together remember that for your dog, you are together, you’re a pack and someone has to be the leader. Provide focus. |
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