Mary Allen
The acute pressure to perform in our society is no longer reflected exclusively in our professional careers but has long since found its place in a completely different discipline: dog training. It is not uncommon to see desperate dog owners at the dog training ground or on a walk who simply cannot understand why their own dog cannot perform the desired behavior as reliably as the dog of the oncoming owner. We quickly tend to put ourselves under pressure, take on a pessimistic attitude, and then ask ourselves why the training was not successful.
In the following, we would like to take this pressure off of you as the owner, encourage you not to look left and right, and give you some tips on how you can concentrate on yourself and your dog as a team again.
Set the Right Focus
First and foremost, you should realize that every human-dog team is individual. Every person, every dog, and every animal is unique, has different strengths and talents that should be encouraged. Is your dog super active and always excited? Then he can burn off some energy with a dog frisbee. Is your four-legged friend more of a quiet nature? Surely he can then concentrate very well on cognitive work and impress you with his clever mind. As you can see, there is no advantage in copying another human-canine team. On the one hand, this is not possible at all, since the other team may have other interests, strengths, and weaknesses than you have anticipated. On the other hand, you miss the chance to use the topics that your dog brings with him in a very natural way through his very own, personal character.
In addition, the question arises: Who actually says that other dogs and dog owners do not have problems in everyday life? When you go for a walk or at the dog park, you always only see a small part of the life of others. Of course, if the recall and leash handling work wonderfully for this team, the performance outside is a home game. But how is it at home? Is the furniture maybe all gnawed because the dog has problems staying alone? Or maybe the owner can’t receive visitors without his dog barking incessantly? You can’t tell by looking at another human-canine team. But what can be said is that everyone has their own baggage to carry in some way.
Focusing on other dogs and their owners is counterproductive to progress in your training. For example, if you only get angry at the dog training ground because you marvel at the great achievements of others that don’t work for you, then you are in a negative mood. Feelings of frustration and lack are like poison for your training and prevent you from achieving your goals yourself. It is more promising if you stay with your thoughts and your focus on you and your dog and measure every progress – no matter how small – on you and your dog, regardless of what the progress may be in other teams.
It Doesn’t Need Perfection
If you tend towards perfection, try to block it out for a moment. Every human and every dog makes mistakes. They help you learn from your actions, grow from them, and do better next time.
So ask yourself what you really value. Is it being on a leash, being called back, or just being alone? Are there signals that you only learn because you were told in dog school or on forums that every dog should master them? Don’t let yourself be distracted from your goal and concentrate on the essentials. Don’t try to work on different job sites at the same time. You can also tackle these step by step one after the other.
With Positivity to Success
You only see in all other human-dog teams how happy they are and how well everything is going? Also, try to discover the positive in you and your dog! Concentrate on what your dog can already do and remind yourself of this during training or in stressful situations. It makes you feel good and fills you with pride. If negative thoughts or doubts arise, consciously perceive them and ask yourself: Do these views help me further? It’s okay if your inner critic pops up every once in a while. You’re already on the right path if you perceive it and realize that you’re wandering off into negative thoughts again. It is only important that you first change your inner being, your way of thinking, because only then can external circumstances, such as success in training and everyday life, arise.
Dealing with Each Other
Instead of comparing yourself to other dog owners, you should look at other human-dog teams for themselves and celebrate their successes. Exchange with them. Maybe you even have a word of praise, can pass on a tip or two, or even get some useful advice yourself. The respectful exchange with other dog owners can give you an incredible amount of strength and encouragement for your own topics. You don’t feel left alone, but rather strong and motivated to stay on the ball.
Instead of directing attention towards other human-dog teams, it is worthwhile to exchange ideas and use the strengths of the others for you instead of against you.
Your personal dog happiness
Finally, we encourage you to remember why you brought a dog into your life. The reasons probably lie somewhere else than to impress other human-dog teams or to be the best and fastest on the dog training ground. Your dog is with you to enrich your life, to show you that you should live in the here and now, be happy, and sometimes not take life too seriously.