The Rational Dog

Accurate

What about your dog?😂
Pict credit

Joy.

I wanted to share this photo, though since it's one of my favorite pics of me and my Horton, I've probably shared it here before. But it just absolutely embodies what I want to share with you. With everyone. With the whole world.

Joy.

My vision for you, through our membership, our courses, our classes, or our training programs, is for you AND YOUR DOG to achieve joy. You don't get there by just suppressing your dog's behaviors and MAKING them be still and quiet.

You might get compliance, but you won't get joy. You won't get the massive smiles, the dog who knows who he is, who you are, and who WANTS to be your best friend. You'll get someone who is stressed to the max, even when he is "behaving," and I know you don't want that.

So when I talk about training, and what I want for you and your dog, the goals I want you to reach, think about this photo right here. Two friends, ridiculously happy to be taking a selfie together. THAT'S what The Rational Dog is about.

www.therationaldog.com

Start 'em early, I say.

Is training enough?

This is a question that I was asked today by one of my absolutely brilliant class-members. Her dog is an only dog, no buddies in the house with her. She does agility training, and she does my obedience class, and her dog is always out and about with her, seeing the world.

But is it enough, she asked? Or does she need a play-mate?

And my answer is this - A dog who has only playmates, but never any training fun with his owner will often be under-stimulated and unhappy. A dog who has only training, but does not have free time with playmates will often be just fine.

Ideally, yes, your dog would absolutely benefit from both as long as he does not have behavioral issues that prevent him from interacting socially with other dogs.

But if you have to make a choice between the two? I'd recommend training and adventures together every time.

How to earn your dog's respect:

Set and enforce boundaries and limits.

Have integrity in your interactions.

Be trustworthy.

Bring joy to your dog's life.

Respect is not the same thing as fear. But it takes a lot more personal development to inspire in your animal.

Great words 🥰
credits: Horse Tricks 101

Hard truths right there. But important ones!

Creating new habits is hard. Especially for us humans. It takes time and repetition. The point is to practice, practice, practice, and to be committed. Implementing new boundaries is also a new thing for your dog. They were used to doing things a certain way, and now you’ve decided that you’re going to do them differently. So naturally, they will test and challenge you. Are you consistent? Are you serious about the change? They want to figure out what they can expect from you. A little bit of “protest” in the beginning is very normal because this is also a big change for your dog. If you can hold the boundary, it’ll get easier and easier.

One very important thing is that you should feel good about the changes you’re making. The second you start feeling bad about giving your dog new rules or you think it’s not “fun” anymore you’ll bring that sad/negative energy into the mix and your dog will pick up on it. They’re the best at reading energy. So keep the big picture in mind as far as what you want to accomplish. We create these rules and boundaries to be able to have more fun and less stress, not the other way around.

Wisdom once again :)

Should You Have Multiple Dogs? - The Rational Dog This is a question that I get asked fairly regularly, and one that I have the most annoying answer to:…

Oh, dogs. ❤️

I don't know if you knew this, but we offer a TON of free resources on our website! Come check it out!

Free Resources! - The Rational Dog Hey you! I bet you’re wondering what all this is about! I’m here to share with you some of the…