What in the world is a robot dog you may ask? A robot dog is a dog that is so trained that they literally look like a robot when they are performing commands, like they are not HAVING FUN doing what they are doing.
One of the risks for a K9 trainer is that we over train our own personal dogs to the point that they begin to become robotic in not just how they obey commands but worse; how they ACT in general!
A Malinois or Belgian Shepherd is a fairly common law enforcement dog and dog trainer dog. The reason is they are fun to train and they typically have an extremely high drive and work ethic and are SMART! But they tend to also be a bit too high energy for most people and can end to be very immature for a longer period of time than other dog breeds.
When you see a well-trained Malinois they can look very flashy in how they obey commands for they typically perform commands and routines with a certain amount of speed and crispness.
The dilemma is we don’t want to train the personality out of our dogs or any dog. We still want them to be their same goofy self, just a well mannered and obedience trained version.
We are occasionally asked by clients if training their dog will change their personality. A good K9 trainer will make sure they do not do that UNLESS there are emotional or behavioral issues that are being caused by that personality trait.
Most dogs are more happy and more self-confident after being trained in obedience for they feel less like they are guessing and surer of the choices they are making. That is the goal of dog training, to give your dog a yard stick or foundation to set their behaviors from so they no longer must guess. The more confident your dog is, the less reactive they will tend to be which is why all dog training programs should incorporate self-confidence and environmental confidence as part of the obedience training course.
In the end, we all want a well-trained, good-mannered, happy and obedient dog, not a robot!
If you are in Dallas, Denton, Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall, Tarrant, Ellis or Grayson County and would like to discuss a training program for your dog, you can schedule a evaluation for your dog using our trainer’s calendar.
We look forward to meeting you and your pup soon!
Have FUN with your dog!
The K9 Culture Family
A Dog That Is A JOY To Live With!
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