Energy and Training: The Magic Ingredient

To all my Banffy Haus German Shepherds clients:

Don’t you remember the teacher school that kept you riveted to the discussion, and had such passion for the subject that it rubbed off on you?   I remember one of my teachers in 1st grade who every year taught us about Japan.  She made this exotic culture so interesting that I have gone on to study Japanese, have been there a number of times, and taught my son and daughter to enjoy sushi from a young age.  Do you also remember the teacher that was so boring everyone fell asleep in class?

Dogs sense energy.  If you are tentative, they know.  If there is any fear they know.  What you feel goes right down the leash into your dog and affects his attitude to the training.  The best trainer knows how to spark interest in their canine students.  One thing I know for certain is that energetic tones, and exciting quick movements, enthusiastic rewards, and stopping while they are still interested in continuing, are key to keeping the training interesting.  And if you dog is engaged, not only are they easier to train, but they look so much crisper and respond so much more immediately.

Here are a couple of helpful hints:

1. So, it is best not to train your dog when you are not going to be enthusiastic about training.
2. Keep your posture tall and confident
3. Keep the pace brisk- quick movements.
4. Use enthusiastic tones
5. Reward often
6. Reward unexpectedly and with high energy approval
7. Keep the routines shorter
8. Switch disciplines often
9. Only do long and complete routines on the day of a trial or competition
10. Correct quickly and completely.   If you do this, then they will start to correct themselves, because they expect you too and don’t want to be corrected.

And enjoy training.  Training times are some of the best bonding experiences for you and your dog.  You learn to respect their desire to serve you and they learn to respect your authority.  This way you get the best of both worlds!  And a trained pet is a happier pet.  It gives them a purpose that they need.

I hope these are helpful hints for understanding how to get the most out of training.  If you want to visit and K9 university.