Dog trainer Suzanne Clothier is internationally known for her approach to relationship based training. In order to maintain a balanced relationship based on mutual trust and respect, she asks us to ask our dogs, “How is this for you?”
You may love taking a stroll down main street, but how is walking down a crowded sidewalk really feeling to your dog? You pride yourself on hosting the best parties, but how does your dog feel about greeting crowds of guests entering your home? You chose your dog specifically to become your next agility champion, but is your dog truly comfortable doing agility runs in new, noisy venues? Is she comfortable doing agility at all?
Once you start asking the question, “How is this for you?”, your dog’s answers may surprise you. And when you have the answers, the choice is up to you: do you honor what your dog is saying, and make changes to keep your relationship balanced, or do you pretend you never asked the question at all?
You must be logged in to post a comment.