• Nadine Whittal, dog trainer writes:
As is customary on a Saturday morning, I woke up at 05:30 to set up for puppy and obedience classes. As I had met all of the dogs and their handlers previously, I had a very set idea for how the day was going to progress and had prepared accordingly. Amazingly, or ironically, I was proven wrong. The day progressed far differently from what I had expected and it just goes to show that the dog and handler relationship has a profound effect on how a dog will behave in and out of class.
In puppy class, with the addition of two new puppies, one of which was quite a nervous little guy and the other a very excited little guy who had absolutely no idea how to play with other dogs without offending them, I had though the class was going to be a lot of managing puppy behaviour. To my utter surprise, each of the handlers had diligently been practising what they had learnt in their previous lessons. The puppies were super polite with each other and very responsive to their own handlers.
I know, it sounds boring, but often we think we have a great relationship with our dogs by virtue of the fact that we bought them, and we feed them. It doesn’t work that way at all.
I mean, you birthed your children, feed and clothe them and I am sure that you sometimes wonder if you’ll ever have a decent relationship with them. It’s the same thing with animals. You actively have to work at having a relationship with them and there are so many aspects to that – having fun together, discipline, rewards, trust and companionship.
My elementary obedience class progressed in much the same way. I had expected to have trouble with one of my dogs and had prepared to step in if necessary. However, this dog’s handler had spent so much time building a relationship with him, practising the exercises I had given them to practise, and just developing trust between the two of them, that I only had to step in once to prevent the dog from lunging at another dog. This is a monumental achievement!
Often, your relationship with your dog will affect your ability to control and maintain its behaviour. So, always work on building a positive and trusting relationship with your animals. It will make your life ten times easier!
