“We did the
news well, you know how ? We just decided to”
-Charlie Skinner, The Newsroom
So what does a television series about the news have to with dogs, their behavior and training?
Well, I often get ideas for blog posts from talking to people about their dogs. A comment I never get tired of hearing after training or even just having looked after them for a few days, is that their dogs are now so well behaved. The word that keeps coming up is “calm”. It’s so rewarding to hear that.
In a lot of cases their dogs were not always “calm” – usually, very much the opposite.
When I pass people walking my dog, and their dog is really playing up and mine is calm, holding a sit as they walk past, I’ll get a comment like “wow- you got lucky” – Let’s look at this for a second.
Sometimes (and I must admit, once upon a time I was in this group) owners get the idea that they got the “difficult” dog. Everyone else or a select group got the “easy/calm” dogs. While there may be a small element at play here, in relation to temperament. In the vast majority of cases, any dog can become a calm, relaxed, well behaved and obedient dog.
For the record I did not get lucky – Chani, my dog, was a bit of a challenge to begin with. (people say a bit more than that)
It just takes a bit of know-how (that’s where the trainer comes in) and consistency from the owners.
While sometimes a dog jumping on visitors or stealing food from the table may just be an annoyance or a little embarrassing, sometimes the untrained dog can lead to more serious issues. In the ultimate of cases, dogs that get worse and become aggressive, often end up on euthanasia tables. (which is why I take my work so seriously)
When I first talk to people about training their dog, and say that they could expect their dog will be holding a sit or a drop for tens of minutes (with distractions) in a reasonably short amount of time. I get that “look”, that I must be talking about someone else’s dog. No – I mean yours.
I love working with the dogs and the owners and as stated above, it’s so rewarding to see the transformation and the happy, excited look on people’s faces. Almost like they have joined the mythical Good Dog Owners Club.
Like I have said before, it does take some consistency, a willingness to try new things, and the ability to shift thinking or “headspace” to understand what the dog is looking for, and responds too. As the saying goes “Give the dog what they want, and they will give you what you want”
So getting back to the Newsroom – how do you get a Good, well behaved dog? – You decide too.
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