I had a dog many years ago that my parents gave me as a 6 month old, out of control lab/retriever puppy we called Dylan. To be perfectly honest, he terrified me, and it took a long time before I could fully trust him. I attended dog training classes, him with a choker chain, me being taught dominance, force and a lot of other things that a 17 year old girl didn’t really understand. I was taught that if you just command and rule over the dog, it will listen and do everything you ask. If you are not strong enough (that meant physically as well as mentally) then the training simply wouldn’t work. So, my dad had to take the main part of being the dominant person in Dylan’s life. He was dragged around, shouted at, we told him off when he didn’t come back, he was pinned down…the list goes on. The really sad part about this story, is that Dylan never changed the main things we wanted him to. He used to hate other dogs, and it got gradually worse as he got older to the point where I we had to avoid all dogs.
We all look back on how we treated Dylan and tend to feel shame. Now I use this analogy with my clients about shame – “you didn’t know at the time that you were doing something that was harmful and would never work. You where just trying to do your best and you learned everything from your piers…family, friends, dog trainers…people you trusted to only tell you the truth about how to train your dog”.
I moved to Spain 20 years ago and started to rescue almost immediately, with the first dog following me home after just one month. This dog, Whiskey was a stray, she was shy and slightly nervous of humans, but she also had a quiet strength. This meant that you really had to deal with her in a different way to how I had been taught. We knew quickly that although she had a determined character, she was never going to respond to us unless we learnt from her. In the end, I had to change my thoughts on dogs because of her. She taught me to step back and observe her first and to take note of her body language. This was mainly caused by the fact that she only knew the Spanish words for things and at the time I did not. Everything was at her pace and with her permission. I owe a massive debt to Whiskey as she was the first dog to stop me in my tracks and make me think about how to help her adjust to a new life with us.
Since then, over the years, I have rescued many dogs and puppies and always used the same theory. Then, I discovered that I could use this knowledge to help other dogs acclimate to new environments. I try my best to steer clear of the idea that training dogs is anything other than training humans and when I talk to my clients about this, they generally understand.
So, after all of that I find myself dealing with clients more than their dogs and this leans more towards behaviour rather than training. It means that I can work from home, offering online sessions to people all over the world. The ones who live in my region of Spain, can get a home visit if they wish and this includes an evaluation session, training sessions, videos, and ongoing support.
Dylan and Whiskey’s legacy’s live on every time I help a dog and their carers, come to an understanding about their behaviour. I want the carers to learn dog body language, to try and work out why the dog is acting in a certain way, and to understand the frustrations a modern dog has on a daily basis. Once I teach this, they become mini dog experts and can usually deal with situations that happen in the future. However, the main thing is that they become the advocate for positive training, and this means that the next 17 year old girl with her unruly lab cross puppy will get really good advice on how best to train him.
To train your dog successfully you only need knowledge, understanding, respect, love and to leave the guilt behind, just like I did.
Lisa's Business
Posidog Training
Murcia
Spain
+3 (472) 212-5558
[email protected]
Services Offered
- In-Home Training
- Virtual Training