A Lot of Patience and a Few Treats
Building relationships and adjusting expectations
My dog doesn’t catch on to training very quickly.
That’s probably an odd thing for a dog trainer to say. A lot of trainers seem to have intensely smart dogs with high energy. They run them in agility competitions.
My dog did okay in the agility class we took last year. He struggled pretty hard with the tunnel. Even when it was squished to the shortest length possible.
But also, I did bring him home years before I became a dog trainer.
This is Jeeves. He just turned 7 years old on July 21. He’s the inspiration behind the logo for Telltail Dog Training and, ultimately, the reason I became a dog trainer.
He graduated from basic training six years ago and Canine Good Citizen five years ago, my first introduction to dog training. I had no idea what I was doing, and we worked really hard on his manners. I remember being in a class about about 15 students, rarely getting feedback from the instructor, and not sure if I was doing it quite right.
I thought he was going to fail the Canine Good Citizen test, because he could not handle being apart from me.
And training really has never been easy or fast with him.
Even now, his level of excitement ramps way, way up when we’re doing training, and he loses focus quickly. His brain just seems to short circuit. But we keep going, and I add in new stuff now and then.
More recently, I wanted to teach him “paws up” (or “sit pretty”), a trick I’d taught dozens of times easily to other dogs. He really struggled.
It took us about six months for him to understand the whole process, and lifting his paws up is still only about one second. That’s a long time for a little pay off.
But the time spent training together built up our relationship. It firmed up his abs. It taught me patience. And every second more we get, with his little paws in the air, is another little victory.
Because, seven years ago, I didn’t bring home a dog that is going to win any competitions or learn hundreds of tricks. I didn’t even know I would become a dog trainer then. But I did bring home a little guy who has enriched my life, helped me meet new people, and gotten me outside plenty of times–all against my will.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
