Don’t Skip The Process
I’ll admit it, I’m an impatient person. I see where I want to go and I want to get there as fast and as quickly as possible. However, when you’re a teacher, coach, trainer, or whatever else you want to call yourself, you have to break it down into small and easy to understand chucks. Slowly layering in more and more as progress and understanding happens. Too many of us want to rush the process with our dogs. We see tools and think “ah yes, this will get me where I want to go!” And yeah! It for sure will! But there is a time and a place for everything and each additional step should be taken after ensuring understanding and proficiency have been accomplished. While each dog is going to be different and some tools can be utilized right away, there are some dogs that require more time. Even then, some dogs may be ready for certain types of training, but their humans are not. Its important to see where your dog is at and meet them where they are. It’s important to know your own understanding, education and knowledge before moving forward as well. That’s one of the gigantic problems with ecollars, is that many individuals want to utilize this tool without taking the previous steps beforehand. Does your dog understand verbal markers? Do they understand leash pressure? Do YOU understand how to teach your dog leash pressure? Do you know how to have proper leash management? With each new command and behavior did you start from the first step and work your way to the top? When you see your dog or yourself struggling do you take a step back or do you continue to try and climb to the next step? One step at a time. One new tool at a time. One new behavior at a time. Don’t look for the big quick improvement. Look for the small improvements every day, because when that happens it will last. Never underestimate the importance of repetition until automaticity can be achieved. Have you been rushing the process? ►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance