When taking your dog to dog school, one of the dangers to guard against is one’s own ego. There will be that Golden Retriever in your class who seems to be able to do ‘everything’. And its tail never stops wagging. Perhaps, there is a Border Collie in the class who moves from command to command with amazing speed. There are always those dogs in your dog school classes; and those dogs seem to take naturally to commands and perform easily. Meanwhile, your dog still may be deciding whether it even wants to be there, let alone learn anything during class. Please don’t be discourage and please don’t let your ego over-ride your good judgment.
It is not a competition.
Dogs learn at different rates. And each dog has a different affinity to dog school and to learning obedience. Don’t let that Golden Retriever tweak your ego and make you go at a rate that is unsuitable for your dog. Your dog is unique and will learn these ‘dog things’. The dog will tell you what its comfortable speed of progress is. You just need to listen. The speed of progress should be dictated by your dog and not by comparison to any other dog in the class.
It is nice to see how other dogs are progressing. However, your dog’s progress is a measure of how well you are learning the dog training skills. And those skills are critical to your dog’s learning. Important factors are your expression, your ability to relax, your timing, your praise and numerous other skills. Dog school is more about teaching you, rather than teaching the dog. The dog will be taught in the privacy of your own back yard or your living room. Mostly, dog school is a place for your dog to socialize and to have fun with you.
If you fall into a competition with that Golden Retriever in your class, you will be forcing your dog at a pace with which it is not comfortable. You want to make sure that, above all, your dog thinks and believes that this dog obedience is ‘fun stuff’. Let your dog progress at its own rate. Persevere. And soon there will be that day when your dog will be just as good (if not better) at obedience than that Golden. And you will enjoy that day because you went at your dog own speed. You listened to what your dog was saying.
Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/
[tag]dogs, dog school, training, progress, ego, obedience, praise[/tag]