Relevancy

Best thing to do when starting to train your dog. Being relevant.

Getting started training with a new dog or even just getting started with a current dog can be challenging.  There is tons of information online and on social media that can be hard to understand because it may not be where you and your dog are at.  Finding good sources of information to take the guesswork out of training takes time and is difficult, so to help with that, here is a little tip to organize many things into one area.   Instead of focusing on small details that pertain to one particular aspect like sit or down, focus on concepts that can generalize to many different aspects.  With that being said, the main one that can be pretty easily incorporated but also seems to be missing from many folks tool box is “relevancy” or “being relevant to the dog.”  

What does being relevant to the dog mean?  

One of the best questions to ask is, are you a part of the many conversations that are had during the day?  If you use a kennel, does your dog rush out without acknowledging you?  Does your dog use a doggy door to go potty or wait at the door and once it is open, burst through the door?  Does the dog entertain themselves and not know how to play games where you are involved? Does the dog satisfy their needs and wants with no help from you?  Does the dog free feed throughout the day? What do walks or outside time look like?  Is the dog checking out everything and anything but not paying any attention to you? These are the conversations that should be looked at, and if you answered yes to any or all of those, some reevaluation of what is going on should be done.  It is important to be a part of the conversation, to be a part of the dog’s day and life. If you are not really there, why would the dog need to listen to you? Relevancy is even more when the situation is unsafe or can be detrimental to the dog. Truly being your dog’s best friend will help you out when it really matters.

Becoming relevant to your dog 

The easy way to become relevant is to start taking control of the situations.  However, that is a lot easier said than done.  Several factors can make that difficult to achieve. One, it can seem like the more challenging or more time consuming path.  The easy thing to do is the one with the least amount of effort, but there is no growth without challenge. 

That can look like, not wanting to leash your dog up to go potty outside so they learn to focus on going to the bathroom instead of just putting them outside for thirty minutes until they want to come in.  But then when you go on a walk it takes thirty minutes for the dog to go potty or they mark on everything they come across. Another thing that can add a challenge to being a part of the conversation is the human emotion that gets attached to it.  For example, “the dog looks so happy running back and forth chasing the squirrels every time they go outside, I don’t want to make him bored or change his personality.”

When you really look at the situation, is the dog happy?  Or could them chasing the squirrel be building anxiety in the dog since it is becoming the expected action every time they see a squirrel.  Then that same behavior repeats itself where ever you go and see a squirrel.  Thinking and acting for the bigger picture and how the actions can affect things can keep everyone on a good path instead of thinking short term which is really just for the moment that is happening and how things can affect long term goals.

A lot of things that lead you to not being relevant to the dog are really self rewarding behaviors. Once control is taken over you become the gateway to the things the dog wants and needs. Once that is established the dog will start to pay more attention to what you bring to the table because you hold the key to the good things in life.

Do what is best for your dog

Training your dog isn’t complicated but it can be challenging.   There are many things that can affect decisions, actions, and what is allowed and not allowed.  However, being present and thinking long term can help ease the process.  At the same time, thinking short term every once in a while isn’t bad, less so when a solid foundation has been built up and short term thinking doesn’t become the norm.  No one is perfect and neither is their dog but you can have the dog that you want if you are willing to put the time and effort in.  That means taking the role of a parent who knows what is best for their dog even though the dog may want something else.  Love isn’t all just cuddles but also being able to have hard conversations.