So someone says to you:
“Well … er … um… not too sure….maybe.. I’ll just see what happens and hope for the best….”
Does the above inspire you ? are you ready to listen to this person’s every word ?
Probably not, however this is something that a lot of dog owners struggle with, in short it’s indecision.
While the term leadership, gets spoken about a lot the underlying aspects sometimes get little more than lip service.
Part of the role of a leader is to make decisions. Something that I often speak to my clients about is that of the idea of the black and white, and its the grey areas that you get the problems from. This comes down to making decisions .Then in the case of dog behaviour, letting the dog know what is right and what is wrong.
To go even further with this, something that has been touched on before is the idea that your dog is observing you all the time. If you don’t make decisions and are wishy washy, then the dog knows this and will in most cases reflect this in THEIR behaviour. Often this leads to bad, or worse aggressive behaviour. ie. if the dog has no confidence in you they will take over in some situations, EVEN IF THEY DON’T REALLY WANT TOO.
Recently while walking a clients dogs I saw this in action, I came to a bridge where another walker had decided half way across they wanted to turn back (probably they had gone the wrong way, nothing was wrong with the bridge) by the time they had um’d and ah’d about which direction to go, myself and another person with a dog had come to the end of the bridge they now wanted to go back to. They then started to walk a few steps then stop, then tentatively a few more until they stopped again. They then came up with a convoluted, over complicated plan to move the dogs and people. (plans should be as straight forward as possible and easily communicated) Ok, some points for coming up with a plan, but again a poorly thought out, impractical plan can sometimes be just as bad as no plan. The whole time they were also back flipping on something they had just said.
In the meantime all the dogs involved who had been well behaved were becoming a little reactive to the situation, they could see and feel the state of the unknown, of indecision. Eventually I moved the other guy and myself back so the walker would leave the bridge and we crossed without incident. But the dogs certainly were on edge and closely watching the walker that had displayed the lack of decision making.
The sad part is that the walker causing the issue called themselves a dog trainer. Which goes to the point that the idea of decision making and leadership is often glossed over and only given lip service. They should have known better ! The last thing you want to do in a situation where there are dogs you don’t know is display confused, indecisive behavior.
For the record, instead of all the mucking around, go to the end of the bridge, step to the side, wait for everyone to pass and use the time to really work out which direction you want to go.
Maybe this comes across as a little bit of a rant, and maybe it is, however it just really emphasised to me how an everyday situation involving dogs could really show how important it is to make decisions if you want to take a leadership role with dogs.
One thing people get the wrong idea about is the idea of leadership and dominance. I’m not saying you have to be an over bearing verbose, dominating individual.
If you said to your family or friend, “hey, let’s have Pizza tonight ?! ” – you are being a leader ! You have made a decision, a plan and are enlisting support for the cause. Did you find the statement to be DOMINATING ? You don’t have to be aggressive or over the top with every decision, you just have to let others know you have made decisions and what they are.
To also clarify you are allowed to change your mind. But, you have to let others know of your new decision. However that said, flip flopping is not good and is a real red flag for any dog trying to work out if you’re a leader or not. Take the time to consider the decision if required.
There you have it, a major part but something that does not nearly get enough thoughtful discussion is the idea that as a leader you make decisions . You also let the dog know what they are and what the expectation attached means. As you often see in life, decisions bring certainty which leads to calmness.
Which is what most people are after, a calm, well behaved dog !
These are some of the areas we provide dog training for in Sydney – if you are not listed, please still contact us ! The Hills – Annangrove, Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Box Hill, Carlingford, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, Dural, Glenhaven, Glenorie, Kellyville, Kenthurst, Maraylya, Maroota, Nelson, Northmead, North Rocks, Rouse Hill, West Pennant Hills Blacktown and surrounding areas – Acacia Gardens, Dean Park, Doonside, Glendenning, Glenwood, Kellyville Ridge, Kings Langley, Kings Park, Lalor Park, Marayong, Marsden Park, Oakhurst, Parklea, Quakers Hill, Schofields, Seven Hills, Stanhope Gardens, The Ponds, Toongabbie, Vineyard, Riverstone
