One of the most interesting yet challenging aspects of my job as a dog trainer, is figuring out what a pet parent is trying to tell me when they explain something that they’d like to “fix” or change about their dog’s behavior.
Recently I met with a new client who was very concerned that his dog, PJ, did not respond to or listen when he called her name. He thought maybe the dog didn’t particularly like her name so she ignored him when he called her. The first thing I explained to the owner is that dogs tend to tune out words that they hear all the time, so if he is calling the dog’s name over and over to get her to come to him, PJ has probably just stopped paying attention to the sound of her name.
While the owner seemed to be a bit bothered that PJ might not like her name, what was really annoying him was that 1) his dog was ignoring him, and 2) he couldn’t get her to come to him. Fortunately, both of these issues are fairly easy to “fix”. Positive reinforcement techniques, like those taught by a professional dog trainer, will have PJ running happily to his owner’s side in no time.
As a dog trainer, it’s my job to work with both dogs and their owners to get to the bottom of nuisance behaviors. While interpreting the dog’s behavior can be a difficult part of the puzzle, it’s often more challenging to decipher what the dog parent may be trying to tell me. Getting to the root of the problem is a process that involves a lot of patience and understanding on everyone’s part.
Now that we have the tricky part figured out, we can get on with the program! …Here PJ! I’m the one with the treats and it’s time for us to have some fun and get to work!
Note: the name (PJ) has been changed to protect the innocent. 🐶
Pam the DogWalker 