Today, let's talk about the practice of accommodating different types of dogs.
It’s something we’re involved in quite a lot, and we see that sometimes there is a bit of a disconnect on the part of the owner or someone else who seems to think that there are a lot of artificial limits to what you can do with dog behavior.
One of the common scenarios goes like this – someone owns a particular breed or size of dog, and they feel like they're never going to get a solution. They just say, “well, I know there’s nothing that anybody can do,” and they put up with the poor behavior with any workaround they can muster.
Why is that? Well, sometimes they convince themselves of that futility, and sometimes someone else convinced them. For example, if they reached out for help and were just told ‘there's nothing to do for your dog,’ that sets that pessimistic chain in motion. Or maybe they just talked informally with family members who did not have an incentive to be reasonable and objective. Some people just have a thing about negativity: an infamous politician once called them the “nattering nabobs of negativism.” We wouldn’t go that far, necessarily, but really, optimism is a part of enhancing your quality of life, in general.
Anyway - it sort of depends on how you frame these kinds of things but in general, we'd say that there is almost always a solution for every dog. That's not necessarily just a Pollyanna statement. It makes sense when you think about and learn more about what's behind canine psychology.
Dogs have certain behaviors in common. It's not that the animal is a machine or something that comes with a manual. But knowing those commonalities and knowing those processes help the trainer to do more, and get further on the path toward goals and objectives set in consultation.
With that in mind, we try to help dog owners reframe their expectations to find positive resolutions. Sometimes it's harder than you would think, but many times, it's quite a lot easier. And that’s a big comfort to our clients because they darkened our door for a reason.
Take a look through the testimonials and other resources on our website to learn more about how this type of dog training works. It might be just what you need to benefit from a better relationship with your furry friend!