Dogs are not born knowing what to do and how to please you!
It helps to remember that at one point, dogs were wild until humans domesticated them. In the wild, a dog will spend 80 percent of its waking hours scavenging and hunting for food. In our home, we have removed this need to hunt. It also means we have removed 80 percent of their mental stimulation and exercise they would get from hunting.
It is not only important to realize that dogs in the wild must hunt, but it is deeper than that. It is a self-fulfilling exercise for them. They literally get stimulated by the chase and the chase is fun for them. If just the act of hunting did not give the dog an immediate payoff, in this case; fun, they would eventually stop hunting all together for the majority of the time they do not catch their prey so they go hungry. It just FEELS GOOD doing it.
The hunt or instinctive prey drive they are acting on is a reward all by itself. If you have a dog that has a high prey drive with squirrels or small animals think about it from that perspective. How many times have you let them catch a squirrel? Does that stop them from getting excited when they see one?
Good obedience training is not just about teaching a dog to sit, come, down and stay. At our dog training facility in the Dallas Metro Area, K-9 Culture uses obedience training to accomplish several things at the same time. Good obedience is not an act of submission, that is the last thing we or you want. A well-trained dog is a dog that understands structure and routines and obedience is simply a means it which we have to help them associate those correctly.
Once a dog understands what we want and how to do it then they now know how to make you happy and how to operate and live within your family as a part of your family and what their part is. Dogs tend to make us happier when they know how to make us happy. If they do not know how, they are going to guess and quite often their guess is wrong which leads to frustration for the human and the dog.
First, we want to teach the dog good manners. Dogs that have a solid obedience skill set tend to be well mannered dogs that can go out in the public around distractions and yet still be dependable.
Second, we train dogs to be able to manage their impulses on their own. This is the longest part of training for we are teaching the dog something they not only do not know how to do but in the wild they have absolutely no need to do.
Lastly, we show dogs how to focus on their handler or people when spoken to. The ability to focus needs to be a skill that is so well established that can do it even when that dreaded squirrel is teasing him from the tree. A dog that can focus and has the ability to manage their own impulses with a repertoire of solid obedience commands fulfills K-9 Culture’s Vision and Mission of: “A Dog That Is A JOY To Live With!”
We look forward to seeing you and your pup at our dog training facility in Carrollton, Texas soon and helping you have a better and happier relationship with your dog!
The K-9 Culture Family