Session 2: Starting out – Are you having some “policy” disagreements with your dog?

10/08/14 • 44 min

The Dog's Way Podcast: Dog Training for Real Life

In this podcast episode I discuss the start of training. In my “in -person” lessons we all start out at the same place. Whether someone just got a rescue dog a few weeks ago or whether they paid tens of thousands of dollars for a “fully trained” dog, we all start out assessing three things.

First, relationship, then basic “core” skills (including the one core skill that makes any dog a “good dog”) and lastly we address “policies”. One of the challenges in starting with a new client is that everyone calls me with what I label a “policy disagreement” with their dog. That is, their dog has one set of default rules and their owner would like them to have another.

Before throwing down the new policy manual, (to be fair to your dog) we have to see if they have the basic “core” skills to do the kinds of policies that you want them to do and before we address basic skills, we have to clarify the relationship. At the end of this podcast, I leave you with some “observational” homework so you can start assessing those three areas right away (relationship, basic skills, and policies).

For more of The Dog's Way podcast follow us on Twitter @TheDogsWay Subscribe on Facebook, and listen to all of our episodes on our website.

Leave me a voicemail and hear yourself on a future show! I'd love if you'd leave me a brief message to let me know how these tips worked for you! Call (844) 364-7929. And if we use your comments in the show, we’ll send you a free video training series! OR if you don’t like free stuff ... Email your questions to me: [email protected]

All the Best,

The post Session 2: Starting out – Are you having some “policy” disagreements with your dog? appeared first on The Dog's Way.

For more of The Dog's Way podcast follow us on Twitter @TheDogsWay Subscribe on Facebook, and listen to all of our episodes on our website.

All the Best,

The post Session 2: Starting out – Are you having some “policy” disagreements with your dog? appeared first on The Dog's Way.

Previous Episode

Session 1: (Introduction Podcast) So, Who’s This Sean Mcdaniel Guy?

In this podcast, I go over what you can expect from our podcast on a weekly basis as well as who I am and where I’m coming from with regard to dog behavior and training. I give you some idea about how I got started in training (which is likely very similar to how you [...]

The post Session 1: (Introduction Podcast) So, Who’s This Sean Mcdaniel Guy? appeared first on The Dog's Way.

Next Episode

SESSION 3: Learn how to structure your dog’s lifestyle more.

The Progression of Difficulty:

There are three things that make anything harder (or easier) for your dog;

What you’re doing while your dog does a task: This is usually measured by how connected (or disconnected) to you. For example, on leash versus off leash.
What’s going on around your dog while they do a task: These are sometimes called “distractions”

Distraction theory (further break down):

Distance
Movement
Surprise
And number of distractions
How long you expect your dog to do a task

PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND HOMEWORK

Get your dog’s freedom/responsibility quotient back into balance

Structure your dog’s everyday life more

Here’s a link to an article on our blog that will give you some things to change around your house to structure your dog’s life more during this training phase. This article was originally written as a response to people who asked what to do after their newly adopted dogs started acting up, but it’s good advice for anyone trying to tune up their relationship and training with their dog.

LOOSE LEASH WALKING

Here’s an article on the blog that has a short video clip showing you what I mean by loose leash walking

Leash pulling article from the blog

Let me know how this experiment goes with your dog!

For more of The Dog's Way podcast follow us on Twitter @TheDogsWay Subscribe on Facebook, and listen to all of our episodes on our website.

All the Best,

The post SESSION 3: Learn how to structure your dog’s lifestyle more. appeared first on The Dog's Way.