Active Dog Training vs. Reactive Dog Training

Most people don’t really want to train their dogs. Let’s be honest. I mean maybe some sit/stay things are fun. Maybe The shaking paw trick is cool. But really we hope our dog just gels into our family life without much disfunction. Yelling “No” becomes a standard sound in the home. Throwing your dog outside or in a kennel becomes a standard go to technique of dealing with disruption. The jumping, the barking, chewing, peeing in the house all becomes one big “ No!” Festival. Your dog thinks his name is “No”. It’s frustrating. But you have been training in a reactive state. Always behind. Always yelling, always cleaning up the mess. It’s what I call Reactive Dog Training. You are always reacting to a behavior after it’s beginning. This is how most people train their dogs in the first 5 years. Finally the poor pooch starts to settle down in life and after years of being nagged, begins to comply a little. If we could teach him at an early age the “Rules of our home”, we could avoid 4 years and 6 months of discomfort and frustration. Active Dog training, as I call it, involves being in training mode and setting aside time to “Work “ on certain issues head on. Waiting for them to happen organically is a long hard road of training. Also a waste of you and your dogs life and happiness. Imagine going down the road in your car, suddenly you're getting pulled over for speeding. But, the are no speed limit signs anywhere! It’s a $50 ticket. Not bad, but whatever. Next day, same thing happens in a different part of town. No signs, nothing posted. But you get another speeding ticket. This time it’s $25 . Not bad, but annoying. Next day, different part of town, you drive very carefully, you stop completely at every stop. Turn signals on every time. Then bam, another cop pulling you over. This time you’re going too slowly. Yet still no speed limit signs anywhere! This ticket is $100! What the heck? So now you get an idea of how your dog sees your home life. Inconsistent rules, no signs lots of “tickets”. What a way to live. Be proactive in your training, teach and guide. Don’t expect her to just “get it” and get along. Hire a trainer if you don’t have the tools or knowledge. It will be a blessing in your life and your dogs.