If You Change Nothing - Nothing Will Change!

 This week on ‘Inside the Dog Trainer’s Head’

IF YOU CHANGE NOTHING – NOTHING WILL CHANGE.

Many of you may recognize the above saying from the signs on the walls in the training rooms at Front Range K9 Academy.

Some of you may have even had one of the trainers at Front Range K9 level you with a fixed gaze and ask you to read & ponder those signs.

But what do those words really have to do with dog training?

As it turns out – a lot.

Owners come to us with many different issues with their dogs – from simple puppy shenanigans, to anxiety disorders, to severe aggression.

And yet, no matter how unique each case is, we have one message: If you change nothing, nothing will change.

But what kind of change are we talking about here?

Every dog owner in the world knows, having a dog in your life changes things. At the very minimum, your routine now must include caring for another thinking, feeling being. Food has to be budgeted for, bought, and fed. Poop has to be scooped. Vet visits have to be scheduled. The list of needs is long.

And above the basic husbandry of caring for a dog? Well! As a nation we spend billions on our pets each year (a recent report by the American Pet Products Association reported $95.7 billion in 2019)…we buy them oodles of toys, and comfy bedding, and yummy treats, and sweet smelling shampoos, and designer foods, and personalized collars and leashes and, and, and…

And yet, with so many of our clients’ relationships with their dogs - something is missing.

What’s missing is change.

True change. Not on the dog’s part…but on the OWNER’S part.

This is incredibly frustrating for us as trainers, but also somewhat mystifying.

When we begin to suggest training exercises and techniques that we’ve used successfully with thousands of dogs, many dog owners’ eyes cloud over.

Even when they practice said techniques, and their dog clearly understands – is even excited (or calmed down) at the prospect of finally getting clear communication from their humans, with wagging tails, or focused eye contact – the human owners resist change.

“I can’t possibly make him sleep in his own bed instead of mine.” (Or <gasp > God forbid, a crate!)

“I don’t care if he barges out the door in front of me.”

“My schedule doesn’t allow me to set a feeding schedule for her. I just leave the food down all the time.”

“I believe muzzle training [my dog who bites] is cruel.”

“But I just love her so much!”

“But he’s really such a sweet dog!”

Newsflash: You can’t buy or love a dog out of dangerous behavior. Or obnoxious behavior. Or fearful behavior.

It’s time for some brutal honesty.

If what you have been doing was working, you wouldn’t be sitting in front of a professional dog trainer.

If all the toys and treats and snuggles and kisses and more were what your dog NEEDED, at his most base level, I wouldn’t be writing this.

Those signs saying “If you change nothing – nothing will change.” wouldn’t be hanging on the walls at the training studio.

It’s a simple concept. But change is difficult for us as humans.

Changing how you look at and live with your dogs is challenging.

We know. We hear you.

But if you change nothing…nothing will change.

If you’ve come to a dog trainer to be told you’re doing everything right, or that your dog itself will change…well, then I have a few bridges to sell you.

YOU are the one with thumbs in this relationship...the one calling the shots, and the one with the mental capacity to change. Your dog is, forgive me...well - a DOG.

Having a dog that is mannerly and controlled and pleasant to be around takes work. It takes double the work, if the dog has behavior problems.

The first step is the hardest.

What can YOU change about how you live with your dog today that will make life better for you both?

Jennifer Hime is the Owner & Training Director of Front Range K9 Academy. She can be reached at k9counselor.com