Last night I drove an hour and a half to help out a dog.
This dog was adopted from a rescue that is run by a friend of mine which is why I made the trip.
The dog was about to be returned to the rescue because of some behaviors he was doing.
He was jumping, humping, very mouthy and would not come back when called.
The family had two young children and were concerned that he was becoming aggressive.
After the first ten minutes listening to couple, I held up my hand and told them that I knew what their problem was. I told them that their biggest problem was…
…confusion.
They had talked to so many people, had heard so many opinions, had read so much off the internet and had watched two different TV dog trainers and did not know what to do.
That’s how business owners feel today. If you have a business you’re advised to do Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest, Periscope, Linkedin, Reddit, Vine, Instagram, Google+, Whatsapp and more.
What does the average business owner like me do when faced with this many choices, when we’re told that we have to use all of these? We get confused and don’t do any of them.
I do Facebook and YouTube because they were the first ones I became familiar with but the rest… forget it. I’m still trying to really figure out Facebook and YouTube.
Sheesh.
Onward.
So I know how you feel. Which is why I always, always try to scale things down and I am always only interested in RESULTS!
So my advice to the nice couple was this:
“Your dog only does two different behaviors. Your dog does behaviors you like and behaviors you don’t like. Once you understand this you’re dog has to learn two words.
(And for you technical folks there are really three behaviors: acceptable, unacceptable and neutral. And for you real technical people this changes from person to person. What is acceptable to one person is unacceptable to the next. I have a friend that loves that his dog jumps and could care less if he jumps on anyone that visits.)
Your dog has to learn the word “YES” and the word “NO.”
You pair the word “YES” with a positive consequence like food and pair the word “NO” with a negative consequence.
When your dog does a behavior you like (sit, down, stand, stay) you say “YES” and reward.
When your dog does a behavior you don’t like (jumping, humping, biting) you say “NO” and pair it with a negative consequence.
There is obviously some more to it but this is the basic knowledge you need to understand the dog training process.
Trust me on this. I wouldn’t steer you in the wrong direction because I am only interested in one thing. Helping you train your dog.
Which is what I do over at The Dog Training Inner Circle and you can join for just $1.00!
Details here:
Best,
Eric