Old nagging, I know. But you have to live with it. 😀 I came to think of an event a few years ago, and that started a chain of thought I want to write down. Boyo wasn't that old, and I had an appointment I needed to leave at. I was helped by an acquaintance who came and took Boyo for a walk while I was busy. And this is where the discussion of training versus leadership comes in.
Everyone has a dog differently. Everyone has different methods of how to communicate, handles and trains his dog. Everyone has a different approach to dogs as a concept. It's like having your own dog culture in your own home – I think we can probably agree there.
The person who helped I am a positive reinforcement dog trainer. We had quite a few interesting discussions, where our opinions diverged widely. I think our basic thought has roughly the same goal, but the way there is quite different.
At just that this occasion – and long after that (he's still not perfect, but he doesn't have to be either), Boyo had enormous separation anxiety. That can be handled in a number of different ways, and I have – of course, my personal view on how at least I would handle a super stressed dog.
In my world There are things we cannot train a dog to remove. Not as I interpret the word “train”, in all cases. For me means “train” to teach a behavior, not to give the dog room to go through a feeling and come out the other side.
And that is where, good people, one of the biggest differences lies between dog training and leadership.
That's really good to be able to train your dog. Of course, you need to be able to train your dog, at least in everyday obedience. But exercise has nothing to do with the dog's stress level, the dog's energy level, whether it is reachable, and so on. Not a piece of shit.
There are some things where positive reinforcement is really great. I have never denied it. It's a great tool to have in your toolbox when it comes to dogs. Note that I wrote one tool. Not that end the tool.
For the leadership has to do with the ability to manage your dog's emotions. Especially when there are feelings that are a bit troublesome.
Stress. Fear. Uncertainty. Shade. Intensity. And so on, for all eternity…
I have rather a dog that is perceived as ill-mannered, but is mentally stable and balanced, who hears what I say and can follow directives, who can relax and enjoy life, than a dog that is certainly well trained and obedient, but the whole time is tense, who is noticeably stressed, easily startled, marking towards other dogs or people, and so on.
And I believe that there are certain things we cannot train away. We can teach the dog a different behavior, men behavior and state of mind are not the same thing. And it is the state of mind that is interesting – At least for me.
You might be wondering why I think the state of mind is more important than the behavior?
I think that the state of mind is more important than the behavior, because a dog that is calm and collected is easier to reach, and therefore listens to what I have to say in any situation. Plus the dog feels much better from being safe and stable, than walking around and being warmed up, stressed, not knowing what it relates to, take on more responsibility than it needs, and so on.
It is not nice to the dog to teach it a lot of things, but not being a leader enough to be able to take it through unpleasant feelings. Discomfort is a part of life, and the only thing that makes a difference – regardless of whether you are human or dog, is whether one has learned to get through it in a sensible way. And because we sort of act like the dog's “parents” I believe it is our duty and obligation to support them if and when needed, don't teach them to mask the behavior that results from the feeling.
It's not possible to compare dog training with leadership. Those are two completely different things. Positive reinforcement can absolutely be used in dog training, but life consists of more than dog training. I know that both dominance and leadership are concepts that sound bad in the dog world, and I think that's a shame. To me, leadership has nothing to do with being mean to your dog, to use violence or otherwise cause harm. In my world, leadership is about being clear, safe, stable and balanced as far as possible.
And I say “as far as possible”, because we are all human and no one is perfect. I'd be lying if I said I am. I generally have short patience and can be easy-going and grumpy when Boyo realizes that it's his ideas that count. But I can also be very patient and wait him out if and when needed.
And to feed back to handling a dog that is stressed or going through some other kind of unpleasant feeling – what would i have done?
I don't give any options. If the dog is so affected by his own negative feeling, I take the leash and just walk. I don't give it the space to drown in its own feeling. If I walk, it must at least start to relate to the leash, where we are going, their own legs, where i am somewhere, and so on. Of course, it depends on how stressed you are (or what else) the dog is, but if you do, you instead give the dog the opportunity to lean against a stable base. It provides security, and the dog gets the opportunity to exhale and get through that unpleasant feeling and come out the other side.
I want to support a stressed one, nervous, timid, insecure or scared dog, is it not – in my world, should be added, träning jag bör ha som första åtgärd. Vill jag stötta en sådan hund gör jag det bäst genom att vara den där lugna, trygga, stabila och balanserade personen som tar kommandot och säger att nu ska vi göra si eller så. Om jag själv befinner mig i ett sådant tillstånd skulle jag föredra att ha någon bredvid mig som har just de egenskaperna, i stället för någon som envisas med att vilja att jag ska bete mig på ett annat sätt.
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This is mitt sätt att se på det. Du får gärna tycka annorlunda. Jag har inte ensamrätt på förhållningssätt till hund. Jag har inte heller något facit eller sanning. However, this is a way of working that works for me. I buy straight out that it doesn't work for everyone. After all, we are different.
But if you is curious, there are many interesting people to follow. Some of them are distinct dog trainers, but have a way of being that makes it interesting to see how they behave around and with dogs. Then there are others who devote themselves more to what I think is important.