Diva Dog Training

Why Dog Commands?

That’s a good question. I heard Cesar Milan make reference to the fact that dog training per se is a human thing. That’s so true! Humans developed training methods in order to live with dogs and to bring them into our environment as pets. These methods have changed almost as often as the teaching methods used by our own schools.

I have four dogs and I’ve never witnessed them conducting school where a fellow pack member is up in front teaching everyone how to sit and stay. (That would be wonderful!) Obviously, dogs learn from each other in different ways and when we can closely emulate that, we have success.

So, we bring dogs into our homes and practice our methods of teaching things like sit and stay. Amazingly, the dogs get it. They even like it! I don’t suggest that you just let your dogs be dogs without leadership, structure, and training. I do however, think it’s important to remember that we think differently than them and when we forget that, no one pays attention.

The basics of good communication with dogs is really no different than how we communicate with the people in our lives – some are difficult, some don’t seem to listen, some are hard to understand, some don’t care what we have to say, and some would do better with a different form of teaching.

Be willing to listen and to try a new approach if needed – with your dogs and you can try it on your humans too.