Four Legged Scholars LLC – Hiram – Dog Training and Surrounding Areas

Do you wish that your dog would listen to you? We assure you that you can get your dog to listen. In fact, we are going to let you in a little secret that will help create success in your dog training. Hiram is near Garrettsville where I grew up.

As a child, I trained my dog often and would constantly receive interruptions that would break my focus. When this happened, I wasn’t present with my dog.  When I wasn’t present I wasn’t able to get my dog to listen to me.

This post is about boundaries and presence. Imagine working and constantly getting interrupted at work by phone calls, random questions that people have, etc.

By the end of the day you would probably be exhausted from constantly having to switch from one activity to the next and from constantly having to regain your focus back on work after the focus was broke by an interruption.

Your quality of work would definitely fail, and I am sure your emotions would begin to spiral everywhere due to constant frustrating interruptions.

The same is true when you are training your dog. If you are performing dog training, and you are multi-tasking you are not dedicating the appropriate amount of presence toward your dog  to create success in your dog training. Hiram dog owners will definitely benefit from knowing this knowledge.

When you are training your dog, it is time to shut off your phone or let your answering machine take the message. It is time to spend time with just your dog. If other people are around let them know that they should not interrupt you.

Being clear on boundaries is important. If you try to multi-task you won’t get your dog to listen as quickly. You may miss rewarding or clicking at the correct time for “good” behavior.

You may ask your dog to perform a command too late. You will also be more likely to project any frustration you have on your dog through yelling, hitting, etc.

Yes eventually, you want your to listen to you when you are multi tasking, but this will come later. When you are new to training or training a new behavior / command with your dog, you will get more success if you allow yourself the time and space to be present.

When I was a child, I asked my parents to take a phone message if I was performing dog training. Hiram friends had to wait to chat with me on the phone. Sometimes it was hard for me to allow this, but I knew it would create better obedience for my dog.

I hope this helps you too!

Tell us about your dog.

Johanna Teresi, Professional Hiram Dog Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Hiram Ohio and surrounding areas