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Kindle Notes & Highlights
‘Nothing taught by force stays in the soul.’ – PLUTO PLATO
Training is not about fancy tricks to impress our friends; it’s a way to enhance everyone’s life.
There are really only ever going to be two reasons why your puppy won’t do what you’ve asked: 1.They don’t understand what you’ve asked them to do. 2.They’re not motivated enough to do it.
No dog is ever stubborn – that’s a foolish concept driven by our ego and pride.
Our responsibility is to teach them what we do want, not to spiral into the murky realm of punishing what we don’t want.
Abraham Lincoln, who admittedly never won Crufts, said: ‘Violence begins where knowledge ends’,
Control the environment properly so these unwanted behaviours don’t occur and make sure you offer plenty of more acceptable outlets for puppy to partake in.
Let’s be honest, you didn’t get a puppy for a quieter life!
That’s how I want your puppy to be. Living life purely for pleasure, not a care in the world.
If there is a behaviour that you don’t want me to do, please give me a reinforcing alternative behaviour to do, then we’ll both be happy.
There are only two reasons I won’t do what you’re asking: –I don’t know what you’re asking me to do. –I’m not motivated enough to do it.
Please learn more about my body language so we can communicate better. How I ‘feel’ is far more important than what I ‘do’.
No dog is ever ‘stubborn’, and I will not be the first!
Please don’t feel the need to dominate me, that’s not how we Canis Domesticus are put together.
When puppy has gone to the toilet – AND ONLY WHEN THEY HAVE GONE – it’s carnival time! Treats, fuss, praise, play – the lot! Whatever your puppy loves the most, make sure that they receive it immediately after toileting outside, in order to not only reinforce the behaviour, but to reinforce the behaviour in the right place. The lesson here from pup’s perspective is: –Toileting inside = nothing –Toileting outside = THE BEST STUFF IN THE WORLD!
A tickle under the chin is far more preferable than a big, scary hand reaching over puppy’s head.
punishment will never tell the puppy what you do want them to do.
‘Communication doesn’t start when we speak, it starts when we listen.’
YOU’RE AN ANIMAL! We all are. We get body language. All animals do.
When reading a dog’s body language, it’s very important that we also observe and assess the context and environment.
No one part of the body will 100% guarantee that puppy is feeling x, y or z emotion. What we need to do is look at the whole picture – all of the body parts plus the environment – and then we can make our educated guess and, if need be, act to help puppy out.
