(Swink, CO) -- Who's a good boy?
If you answered, "Not my fresh idiot hound!" you're not alone.
In fact, most training of a dog actually starts NOT with the dog but with the owner.
Brandie Jackson of Pawsitive K9 Solutions in Swink says consistency is key. It's important to remember to always give your dog the same command. When I went in to talk to Brandie I took, Ruger Silas Standard Poodle. He's naturally expected to be smart because of his breed but even I admitted that sometimes I tell him, "come" and sometimes I say "come over here." To a human, that makes sense but a dog really needs something black and white. Commands that stay the same ensure success with obedience.
Brandie tells us that's hard for a lot of people because they often stay away from dog training because they think their dog is beyond help.
"I think it can be kinda intimidating for people initially because they think I can't go to dog training because my dog's not well behaved, um we like the dogs who aren't well behaved, if they come to us not well behaved, our goal is to help owners to learn how to communicate, so they walk out feeling more confident about having their dog out in public."
Brandie says working with dogs and their owners, there's some training for the two-legged creatures.
"What we like to do is teach owners how to speak dog, just a little bit better."
It's also working to become a strong leader with the dog. The dog will trust the human when they know what to expect and will in turn want to please them.
She says also it's important to understand that each dog is different, just like kids. Some are good in math and some are good in reading. It's important to get to know your dog.
Posted on the wall at the training center are the cardinal rules of dog training.
Three rules:
Patience, he's totally going to try you so breathe deeply and work on what you can
Consistency. use same word commands....always.
Love your dog! Yep, the easy one
And if you've picked up a shelter dog and he or she is trying your patience, there's hope.
Brandie says that some shelter dogs needs a little more TLC when socializing them. She works in a program to help shelter dogs become relaxed, friendly and adoptable.
Again, those three rules will help here.
Finally, if you just don't want to go it alone, Brandie says they have classes to help.
The number to the training center is (719) 251-9746. And if you'd like to listen to the entire interview we did with Brandie, which has a lot more information, click here. Scroll to find the interview.
Just for fun, here's a little video and a few photos of our trip into the training center with my dog, Ruger Silas.
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Anne Boswell,
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