Why did I become a dog trainer?

Baby Pippa

Why did I become a dog trainer? Because the training information most available to me as a young dog owner did not work for my dogs, and actually damaged our progress and relationship. I had to really dive deep to find the right approach with my dogs, and weed out lots of misinformation. I want to be a part of changing this trend moving forward, and really give dog owners a chance to get it right!

To be clear, when I say the training information most available to me, I am referring to the advice of my vet, my groomer, free videos I found online (the ones that pop up first and appear most popular)... I did not really know that I needed to dig deeper, and I truly could not afford much more than that at the time even if I had known better. I remember seeing a certain famous “dog trainer” transform a wild crazy dog into a calm dog in moments, and I thought wow he really knows what he is doing I should listen to him! When I tried to copy him with my dogs, nothing worked, and guess what? It actually made things ten times worse. How was I supposed to know he was really just good at television?

And then there is the advice of our friends, family, and of course, the pet professionals. When my dog Pippa was 7 months, she would still have occasional accidents in the house. I asked her vet at the time, who was well regarded and had been practicing for decades, if this was normal. He said absolutely not, she should know better by now, you must not be training it clearly enough, have you been shoving her face in it when she has an accident? I said no I hadn’t, and he said oh you need to do that so she understands it’s wrong, she probably knows she shouldn’t but is doing it anyway to be naughty… SHOVE her face in her pee or poop accident and hold it there for a few seconds so she really understands. That advice felt really weird to me and did not sit right, but you know what is horrible? I did it, because the vet told me to, and I thought he was a professional so he knew best. He didn’t ask any other questions about her or her behavior, just said 7 months is too old for accidents she doesn’t understand that it is wrong, so make her feel awful about it and she will stop.

What we didn’t talk about was how sensitive Pippa was, truly anxious at times, her excitement/submissive peeing, her over arousal, her struggle to regulate her delicate little emotions, all these factors that might affect her ability to learn, to control her bladder, and to feel safe. I know that vet was not a trainer, but I also did not know better, and I can't imagine I am the only one. My poor sweet sensitive Pippa, the most beautiful girl that has ever existed, it breaks my heart knowing I treated her that way, but somehow she still loves me despite that (because she is the most perfect angel). She did eventually get the hang of the whole potty training thing, once we looked at the whole picture and factored in who she truly was, a sensitive girl overflowing with feelings (and sometimes pee).

The most important thing about training all dogs, but especially sensitive dogs? TRAIN THE DOG IN FRONT OF YOU! So many people, including pet professionals, want to put dogs into categories, give them milestones, the 3-3-3 rule, say if you see X behavior you must follow Z protocol, etc. The reality is, there really is no one size fits all option for dogs, training must be individualized, and please think twice before believing someone who says otherwise. Nobody knows your dog better than you, so please, trust your gut, and search for training support that looks at who your dog is as an individual, inside and out. Techniques that are humane, kind, and evidenced-based, will yield the best results when looking holistically at the dog/human team. Training done right is just play time with your best friend :)

Young Teenage Pippa