What if…

What if we changed the way we thought about and approached dog training?

What if instead of worrying about if our dog sits every time we ask them to, if they have a perfect stay, that they don’t jump up on you or others, or if they are going to chew your favorite pair of shoes, we spend our time focusing on their emotional state, meeting their needs, and their quality of life.

What if we focus on our dogs being comfortable in proximity to people, including your vet and groomer, instead of caring if they sit when those people are around?

We could focus on them getting enough enrichment or structured exercise so that they are content and don’t have to create their own enrichment in ways that may destroy our home or drive us nuts.

We could focus on doing activities they enjoy instead of ones we want them to do.

We could focus on their body language so that we understand their emotional state and communication.

What a wonderful world it would be, for both ourselves and our dogs, if we could do those things.

I find that most clients try to impress me with what obedience skills their dog knows and, while it’s super cool for your dog to have skills, what really matters to me, and your dog, is that your dog feels comfortable, happy and fulfilled.

That’s the important stuff. Once you have that, all those other behaviors that you want will fall into place with a little training.

Sara Sokol is owner of Mr. Dog Training in Brunswick Maine; A positive reinforcement dog training facility, offering both virtual and in person classes, that has been voted best training in Maine for 9 years in a row.