Have you ever found yourself wondering how your friend is holding up when you haven’t talked to them for a while? Have you ever felt that way about your dog?
Conversations help to make relationships, and strengthen them. We feel close to people when we talk to them often. Sometimes I feel that urge to have a good conversation with someone even if we have talked frequently, but the conversations have been routine.
I have that same longing towards my dogs when I haven’t been able to train them for several days in a row.
We are lucky, as dog trainers, that our everyday lives allow us to include our dogs for most activities. And even with dog-centered lives, training adds an element of conversation to the relationship that is hard to duplicate in other ways.
Through our training conversations, I can explain to them what to expect in any given environment (and what is expected of them), how to get comfortable with distractions, I can tell how they feel about specific triggers, gauge their energy level, spot early signs of discomfort, and work through thought problems together. Dog and handler both know what it looks like in various situations when we are thoughtful, unsure, frustrated, joyous, relaxed.
I can easily navigate life with my dog because we have created shared vocabulary through these conversations.
A couple of years ago, I was able to recognize very early signs of bloat in Bourbon because of these training conversations. I believe it saved her life, since we were far from an emergency hospital. If I didn’t notice until she was in obvious distress, we wouldn’t have gotten to help in time.
Earlier this week, a couple of dogs barked at Coaster as we passed on the trail and she got spooked. A quick run through our training celebration and she bounced back in seconds, raring to go. Without a history of “talking” with her, I wouldn’t have a meaningful or effective way to communicate to her that it was no big deal and to keep going.
Many years ago, when Lemon first came to live with us, she didn’t trust humans to handle her or invade her personal space. We limited her initial interactions with strangers to be strictly training conversations, and it taught her that humans could be predictable and trustworthy. Now she can interact with people outside of the context of training and can be a social girl.
Through training conversations, I can discover what tricks my dog thinks are funny, and have a good laugh together. I can create ways for them to feel included around the house, helping with chores. I can create ways for them to better interact with each other and keep a peaceful household. I can help them build character and confidence.
I’ve often described the relationship we have with well trained dogs as three-dimensional. Training conversations takes our dog interactions to a place of teamwork. It is my wish that every dog owner can experience that type of relationship with their dog. If you need help talking to your dog in a meaningful way, let us know. We can help!
