Your dog passed obedience school. Did you?

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Is this Issue

• How to make sure you aren’t the obedience issue

• The community answers: Has your dog ever shown signs of anxiety?

• Vet approved training tips

• Service of the week - In need of dog training? Try the Canine Trade Group

• Article of the week: Who is buying up vets?

Your dog passed obedience school, but did you?

A Washington Post article published at the end of January candidly describes how dog owner James Gorman realized his dogs hadn’t failed obedience school; he had. James didn’t have the consistency, patience, or discipline to wait until his dogs followed a command to give them a treat. He didn’t set many boundaries except to come when he called, not make a mess in the house, and not bite.

James mentioned that people seem to focus on what makes a dog trainable, but he set out to discover what qualities make a person good at dog training. Besides the above-mentioned qualities, adaptability was the top response from experts.

Sit & Stay Pro Tip: Owner Involvement

Listen to your dog.

One reason in-home dog trainers have the upper hand on obedience classes and board-and-train programs is they can focus on each dog as an individual. One expert, Cynthia Otto, said that a great trainer “doesn’t have a prescriptive plan. They actually take the time and start to understand the dog.”

Put simply: what works for one dog may not work for another.

To help your dog have a successful training experience, you must be willing to use techniques that work for your dog—not techniques that worked for your last dog or that you believe should work because Cesar Milan said so.

Put in the work.

You also have to be willing to commit to the training program—and if you aren’t, don’t be mad about your dog’s behavior. The author of this article didn’t mind that his dogs wouldn’t sit when he said “sit” as long as they stuck to the important rules, like using the bathroom outside and being gentle.

You can’t take your dog to a few classes or send them away to be trained, never practice at home, and expect it to stick. There is no such thing as someone else training your dog for you. John Van Olden of Canine Trade Group often says that’s like going to the gym and hiring a personal trainer but not putting in any work yourself.

You won’t see results.

Side note: You get to decide what counts as good behavior from your dog! If your dog isn’t stressing you out, then consider them trained.

Last week’s poll results

We asked and you answered! Most of your dogs have shown signs of separation anxiety.

The Smile Section

Vet Recommendations

Pet Place shares seven vet-approved training tips:

1. Make training enjoyable.

2. Invest time in house training.

3. Crate train.

4. Get the right leash and collar.

5. Reward your puppy for good behavior.

6. Timing is vital.

7. Safely socialize your pup.

Read the full article here.

Service of the Week - Need dog training?

Who do we look too when our pup needs training? Canine Trade Group. This nationwide group of dog trainers focuses on reward based training and has helped tens of thousands of dogs and owners reach their goals. Here’s what owners are saying:

Article of the week - Who is buying up all the vets?

Though a few years older, we found this article on the recent trend of vet practices getting bought up very interesting.

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