It's been a while...

It has been a while since I logged in here.. I've been sidetracked.

Decided to dust this blogg off and bring it back to life as I got asked today to write down my thoughts about dogtraining, I'm going to start here.

First, there's a lot of talk about packleaders, alphadogs and dominance. And on tv you will see people using different methods refering to these 3 words.

I am not impressed. What you learn on tv are ways to handle emergencies - where a behaviour has become so out of control that brute force, be if fysicly or mentally, is the only way out.

Second, people show. And thats GREAT! But what people don't realize is that to have a Good canine citizen in your dog takes time. Out side of the showring or trialfield. To have a nice walk in town, good behaviour in the house and a happy and obedient dog - has nothing to do with training it for show. Nothing at all.

I am not "the packleader". Not in the way you see the word used, I do not "dominate" my dog.

Why?

I dont need to. It's as simple as that. Kaiser and me, like Batzo and me, are a team. Partners. In the relationship I am boss - not because I focus on dominating him, but because I reinforce the behaviours I like, I shape them into being what I want.

A good dog has drives, playdrive, preydrive, fightdrive, fooddrive, toydrive, a will to herd or hunt or.. it is our foundation. It is what we base our training and our relationship on. A dog comes with buildingblocks, they are opportunists. They will do what they gain from doing, if it's food, a pat, a click, a "good boooy!" or a toy - it doesn't matter.

How do you shape a good foundation in your dog?

First, you have to find the buildingblocks that are the most solid. Is it food drive? Does balls mean the world to your dog? The goal is that your interaction with the dog is what it's trying to get.

It starts when the dog is just a pup. Thats where you start identifying the drives, the braveness, the will. Those buildingblocks are our mold to form and create a happy, loving dog that will be a joy to be around.

We have to know What is in our dog - and let it work for us. People say that a high drive dog is "hard". In my way of thinking it is not true, instead of correcting that dog, instead of trying to push it around and instead of ending up in a conflict situation - let the drives work For you. Pick out the drive you feel is best suited for the occation, normally it's food or play drive, and use it.

By making sure that the puppy gains something by coming to you, affection, praise, candies or a toy you are building the foundation for a good recall as it gets older. By teaching the pup to wait for a heartbeat before eating - you are teaching it patience and the Very usefull commando "wait" or "Stay" - which Will come in handly later on in life.

Kaiser and the successfull "gossiptraining". I have taught him to look at me when other dogs bark at him, using a clicker to mark the behaviour I want. You dont Need a clicker, but it might help speed things up a bit.



He is happy, willing - and if you pay attention, he's following handsignals and little looks from me - he knows how to read me. A very attentiative dog that says "Hey look at me! Im good, i know this, did ya see what i did? Look at me, come on, Im GREAT!" That is what I want in my dogs. Joy - and selfasteem.

Take it easy! ..and i'll be back.... lol