Common Problems with Standard Dog Training Systems
- Trying to train our dogs the way we were trained is a mistake.
- As humans “there is time to work”; and then “there is time to play”.
- Time is a human-made concept and unlike humans, our dogs spend their lives living only “in the now.”
- In dog training, trying to apply “training time” and “play time” creates inconsistent behavior.
- When you have “designated” training times and “times when you are not training”, that teaches your dog there are times when they have to listen/obey/follow, and then there are times when they don’t.
How do we solve this problem?
The Train as you Live® program looks at the whole life of the family unit to figure out needed behaviors for the dog to maximize safety and fun based on real-life scenarios.
A family with 5 children that enjoy camping or boating likely would need a different set of behaviors than someone who lives on 10th-floor studio apartment alone with her dog.
By concentrating first on goals or desired/needed actions we develop a list of useful commands to achieve your families goals. We can then start teaching a dog.
Because dogs learn by pictures, we start by teaching a dog the meaning of the commands in a controlled environment so he or she can see and understand exactly what a specific command means (i.e. Come = come close enough for me to touch you.) Once the dog begins demonstrating he/she understands the command by performing the correct action (90% of the time on the first command) then and only then can we begin integrating them into real life places/situations… hence the philosophy, Train as you Live®. Continuing on the “Come” example, once a dog learns what “Come” means at home or in the backyard, then the next step is to work on this exercise in the front yard while neighbors are walking their dogs and there are various distractions, once that is done then we move on to other places that are in line with the family’s lifestyle.
