Dog Training Mistakes

Have you ever committed a dog training or ownership mistake? If you haven't done it yet, you will. 

For some dogs, that is no big deal. For others, it is a setback that you have to remedy. 

I had a student accidentally do this with his Jack Russell Terrier. He was showing off how well his dog would come when called. He put the dog on a Sit/ Stay, walked about 100 feet away, and called his dog. Normally the dog came like a rocket all the way to him into a perfect Sit in front of the owner. But this time, his friend accidentally stepped on the long line as the dog was in a full run. 

After that one time, the dog would come any more. The owner was devastated, called me distraught, not knowing what to do. 

We had to start the Come command all over again, starting from just a foot away. Within a couple of days, the dog was back to normal. 

Another student was feeding her dog, using a decorative, cast iron, elevated dog bowl platform. Water bowl. Food bowl. In the stand. The dog had lowered her face to drink water, her dog tags got caught in the platform, she lifted her head, the platform had her trapped, she panicked and ran until the thing fell off. After that, the dog wouldn't eat in the kitchen, or out of the bowl, or eat that dog food. 

So, when I arrived, we started by putting small piles of food on the floor across the room. A little bit closer to the eating area and bowls each time. It took a few days, but eventually I had the dog eating out of the bowls again. But I did have her replace that platform monstrosity with something of a different design. 

I had a friend who accidentally knocked her young daughter out. The child tripped as she was rushing with her back to her car. She was devastated. It brought up all kinds of childhood memories, and she condemned herself as being a terrible parent. But, she was a good parent. 

Mistakes happen. If you have trained dogs long enough, you'll make them, too. The key is knowing how to turn things around and help the dog recover. Yes, you will probably beat yourself up because you never wanted something bad to happen to that dog, and you know that it was your fault regardless of the situation. 

Plan accordingly.