1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,320 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Foundation's podcast. I'm your host, 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about the little 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: things we can all do to be better at training 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: our dogs. Now. I know, I know you don't think 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: of yourself as a dog trainer, right is it because 6 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: you don't get paid to mold wild puffs into something 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: manageable or maybe take a well bred dog to the 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: level in which it can compete in field trials or 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: hunt tests and maybe win. Look, the truth is, if 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: you own a dog, you are a dog trainer, and 11 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: with that comes to the responsibility of trying to do 12 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: things the right way, which is what this episode is 13 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: all about. A few weeks ago, I dropped a podcast 14 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: about how to find training opportunities wherever, and about how 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: to look at many of our little interactions with our 16 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: dogs as tiny windows in which we can mold our 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: four legged besties into something a little better. In that episode, 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: I talked about how one of my daughters trained our 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: four year old lab to yon on command. I mentioned 20 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: that it was sort of a no harm fun thing 21 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: to get Sadie to do. Well. I'm here to tell 22 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: you now that you should not train your dog to 23 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: yon on command, or at the very least, not treat 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: train a four year old Labrador Retriever to yon on command. 25 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,119 Speaker 1: Now that frickin' dog begs more than any dog I've 26 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: ever had, and while she is begging like a seventeenth 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: century popper who hasn't eaten for days, she will obsessively 28 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: snap her jaws together in a half ass attempt to yon. 29 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of pro trainers listen to these shows, 30 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: and many of them probably slap their foreheads so hard 31 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: at that that you might be able to listen closely 32 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: and hear their collective palms whacking into their skulls. It 33 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: probably spoot flocks of songbirds and cause wintering deer to 34 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: raise their heads in alarm. My wife and daughters think 35 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: it's hilarious, like honestly the funniest thing they've ever seen, 36 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: because it bothers me so much. Now I have to 37 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: unwind that not which is the tax I pay for 38 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: not having the foresight to see that obvious result barreling 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: toward me when my daughter decided this was her new 40 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: mission with my bird dog. Seeing into the future is 41 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: what good dog trainers do, and it's what you and 42 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: I should do to be better at dog training. If 43 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: you think that's me being facetious, I'm not. I've had 44 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: the good fortune to hunt and train with a handful 45 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: of amazing professional trainers, and they can all see into 46 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: the future when it comes to dog behavior. This is 47 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: because dogs are generally predictable, even if we focus solely 48 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: on their individual traits. The differences between us and pros 49 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: are many, but the truth is that when people get 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: their hands on enough dogs, they start to understand all dogs, 51 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,920 Speaker 1: and honestly, all of us idiots who do things like 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: train our dogs yawn. They see actual problems or the 53 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: first whispers, the first hints of problems, and they know 54 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,200 Speaker 1: where those are going to lead. They work to head 55 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: them off, and that is a billion times better than 56 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: having to diagnose problems in dogs that were put there 57 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: by the owners and then untangle the mess before they 58 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: can really usher the dog in the right direction. In 59 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: this way, pro trainers are a lot like veterinarians. They 60 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: get into their field because they want to work with dogs, 61 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,079 Speaker 1: but a huge amount of their mental and physical resources 62 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: go toward managing the people who own the dogs, which 63 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: is you and I. But we can take away lessons 64 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: from the pros and from our dogs themselves, so that 65 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: we can level up how we deal with our dogs. 66 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: The best way to start this is to think about 67 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: the type of dog you have, and to think about 68 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: your dog specifically. Let's say you have a German short 69 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: hair pointer. You know their traits as a breed. They're 70 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: often high energy, high drive bird hunting machine. They love 71 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: love and will gladly take as much as you will give, 72 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: but not while there are birds to be pointed. When 73 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: the big show is on, they are often engaged with 74 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: that world. But when it's time to snuggle up on 75 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: the couch, it's a different story. There's a lot there 76 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 1: to work with. But what about your individual dog. Is 77 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: your GSP a big softy where if you raise your 78 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: voice even slightly she might pee on the floor. Maybe 79 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: you have a barrel chested mail that signals not so 80 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: subtly that he would take the alpha roll from you 81 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: if you gave him half a chance. There's a lot 82 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: to work with there too. Understanding what makes your dog 83 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: really tick is important for the big training goals. It's 84 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: one of the reasons that people both love Labrador Retrievers 85 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: and also shit on them for being so common and predictable. 86 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: I ran into this quite a bit recently while attending 87 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: the Southeastern Wildife Expo down in Charleston, South Carolina. While 88 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: there were way more labs there than I expected, there 89 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: were also so many dogs, so many different It was 90 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: pretty incredible really, But as you can imagine hanging around 91 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: that crowd, especially when the drinks were really flowing, that 92 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: resulted in a lot of shit talking about different dog breeds, 93 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: and the labs a prime target for many folks. Maybe 94 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm a touch too close to the subject, but it's 95 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: wild to me to look down on a breed because 96 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: it's too eager to please. I mean, shouldn't most folks 97 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: go with a breed that is highly trainable. How often 98 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: do we buy a product that is more difficult to 99 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 1: use than a comparable product that is intuitive and easy. 100 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: Not very often. But dog breed loyalty often comes with 101 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: the caveat that our choices are mostly about us and 102 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: how we want to identify in the community, then being 103 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: honest about what would really work well for us dogwise. 104 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 1: But I digress, because even those blockheaded labs that draw 105 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: the ira of folks whose dogs have beers or docktails, 106 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: they can be a real pain and they ask to 107 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: train too. All dogs can, and most of it isn't 108 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,559 Speaker 1: because the dog is a pain in the ass to train. 109 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: It's because we don't know what to do with that dog. 110 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: So let's start with a big one. You want to 111 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: help your dog level up on some skill anything really, steadiness, recall, healing, whatever. 112 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: Do you know what pro trainers often have that most 113 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: amateurs don't, besides a better equipped toolbox overall patience? Scratch that, 114 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: patience and confidence. You know both of those things walk 115 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: in lockstep, honestly, But you won't be a confident dog 116 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: trainer until you learn to be a patient dog trainer. 117 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: Think about it this way. If you go get a 118 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: puppy this spring and you bring home that little pupsterra 119 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: at eight weeks, you're going to have to put in 120 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: a couple of years of real, dedicated training to make 121 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: that dog something special. And it's not like when the 122 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: dog turns three the training suddenly stops. But when you're 123 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: sitting at home, drinking a cup of purple Slizzer and 124 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: thinking about getting a puppy, it's pretty easy to be 125 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: dismissive of a two year time frame. But two years 126 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: is a long long time. It's also an investment into 127 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 1: something pretty special, and you really don't have much of 128 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: a choice if you want an awesome dog. Sure, you 129 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: can offshore some of the training duties to a pro 130 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: in exchange for cold hard cashish, but that doesn't relieve 131 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: you of your day to day responsibilities with your dog. 132 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: You still have to do your part. Maybe the easiest 133 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: way to learn to be patient is to think about 134 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: the moments that you are impatient with your dog. I 135 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: can think of a couple in my life with Sadie, 136 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: and I'm not super proud of them, but I'll tell 137 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: you anyways, because maybe you can learn something from my 138 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: dumb assery. A big one that brings me great shame 139 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: is something I've talked about on here before, which was 140 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: the maddening time I had trying to get Sadie to swim. 141 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: I'd never met a lab that wouldn't take to water, 142 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: so I was ill equipped to deal with that task. 143 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: It would be kind of like, I don't know if 144 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: my next wife just bought a microwave when ours broke, 145 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: and instead of nominating me to suddenly be a skilled 146 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: microwave repair guy, and then looking down on me when 147 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: I couldn't fix a broken fricking microwave and we had 148 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: to go buy a new one. Anyway, I lost my 149 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: patience with Sadie more than once because I didn't like 150 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: the thought of my duck dog being terrified of water. 151 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: That's really a bad combo in my unprofessional opinion. I 152 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: tried everything I could think of, and it got to 153 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: me bad. But it took one five minute phone call 154 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: with Tom doc And to set the whole thing straight 155 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: and fix a problem that I thought might never get fixed. 156 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 1: The issue there was that my impatience stemmed from my 157 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: ego and it bled into our water introduction sessions because 158 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: they didn't go the way I wanted from the jump. 159 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: I wanted Sadie to follow my schedule, but she wasn't 160 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: built for it. It was dumb. It was also dumb 161 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:57,719 Speaker 1: when I lost my cool while pheasant hunting with her 162 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: two seasons ago. After I most retired the old dog, 163 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: I thought we had the hunt dead thing down, but 164 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: that was because the old dog was doing most of 165 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: the recovery missions on the roosters when they hit the 166 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 1: cat tails. But without that crutch, it became clear that 167 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: my young dog wasn't as sharp as I thought. It 168 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: took a dedicated effort in the off season and a 169 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: much different approach this season to help her truly level 170 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: up on that part. And boy is that part important. 171 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: Was it her fault? Absolutely not. Was it fair that 172 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: I lost my patience with her out here, you know, 173 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: in the arctic slews where the roosters live. It was not. 174 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: If there is a lesson there for all dog owners, 175 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: there is absolutely patients, And those two instances where I 176 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: lost my cool, they were my fault, not hers. She 177 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: didn't know what to do, at least not fully, and 178 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: she had issues of her own. Instead of figuring out 179 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 1: a way to help her work through them slowly, methodically 180 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: and in a way that would foster lifelong confidence, I 181 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: put her in situations where she was bound to fail. 182 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: This happens a lot when we move our dogs too 183 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: quickly through various stages of training. You might get some 184 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: positives out of their performance, but they might be false 185 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: positives that could disappear on any given day or with 186 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: one new distraction, or because going from a controlled spot 187 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: like your backyard to a wonderland of new sense and 188 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: excitement like the grouse woods is bound to unravel a 189 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: bit of your dog's composure. There is a balance between 190 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: asking too much of a dog and not asking enough. 191 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,679 Speaker 1: You are very unlikely to meet too many dogs in 192 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: your life that have been generally overtrained. The opposite is 193 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 1: far more likely. This is an issue many of us 194 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: have where we just don't ask enough of our dogs. 195 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: If you go out and get a sporting dog, you 196 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: are saying that I'm getting a dog that needs a job, 197 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,559 Speaker 1: or lots of jobs. They thrive on tasks they have 198 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: twenty or twenty five centuries or working with us on tasks. 199 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: It's literally coded in their DNA. And if you think 200 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: you can escape that, you can't. Neither can they. We 201 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: are the same way, but given the chance to be lazy, 202 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: we will often choose it. So will they, especially if 203 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: they have no choice but to lay around and be lazy. 204 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: A working dog needs to work, and when they don't, 205 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: they won't be as good at working or in this 206 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: case learning. Even though I don't shed hunt much with 207 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: my dogs, I train all of them to shed hunt 208 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: for this very reason. When the dogs don't get enough 209 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 1: exercise outside for whatever reason, or we are just in 210 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: a winter funk where it's eighteen below, which is what 211 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: it was not that long ago. Here in this frozen 212 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: wasteland where I live, the girls and I will set 213 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 1: up a find the bone game for the dogs in 214 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: the house. We will make them stay. Sometimes one of 215 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: the girls will cover their eyes and ears so they 216 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: can't cheat, and then we'll hide antlers in the house. 217 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: The dogs absolutely love it. I suppose I could try 218 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,160 Speaker 1: that with rooster carcasses or something, but I'm guessing my 219 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: bride would have some unfavorable opinions on that. It's really 220 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: kind of like practicing anything. If you want to play guitar, 221 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: you're never going to get anywhere if you only pick 222 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: up your six string like once a week. It's just 223 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: not enough. We need to condition ourselves to tasks and 224 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: then work on them until they become muscle memory and 225 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: we are in the space where we can stack extra 226 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,840 Speaker 1: skills on top of the base. Dogs are the same way. 227 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: They have simple but important needs, and training is actually 228 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: one of them. They won't train if we don't ask them, 229 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 1: because they don't have a choice. But when we do that, 230 00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: we are denying them not only what they need, but 231 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: any chance to be easily trainable. In the future should 232 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: we suddenly realize that we want some type of behavior 233 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: out of them. And this is also a key component 234 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: in getting a dog to work for you and bond 235 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: to you. And I know your dog loves you because duh, 236 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: that's what they do. But if you want the dog 237 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: to really want to work for you, and I think 238 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: you do, then you have to lean into what they 239 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: need and figure out how to ask them the right 240 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,559 Speaker 1: questions over and over and over again so that they 241 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: can keep building skills while having their needs met. It's 242 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: honestly win win if you look at it this way. 243 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: But that's not the only thing you have to do 244 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: to be a better trainer. Just like going from clumsily 245 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: trying to play Happy Birthday on the acoustic to putting 246 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: on a show in front of a couple thousand fans, 247 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: you have to have discipline with dog training. I know 248 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 1: people hate that word, but the good news is that 249 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: it's not that big of a commitment overall. You don't 250 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: have to take your dog out to the park to 251 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: run super advanced drills for four hours every day to 252 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: become a better trainer. It's a pretty minimal investment mostly, 253 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,000 Speaker 1: but it's not some thing that can be super inconsistent. 254 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 1: Just like if you want to lose weight through diet alone, 255 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,439 Speaker 1: you don't get to eat clean just on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 256 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: while the rest of the week you gobble up gummy 257 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: nerd clusters and chug mountain doo. Non stop. Dog training 258 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 1: is an exercise in consistency if it's nothing else, And 259 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: consistency means you have to look at your life and 260 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: then figure out where the moments are to train. You 261 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,440 Speaker 1: gotta be disciplined with that. Now, maybe you've gotten in 262 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: the habit of taking the dogs for a walk after work. 263 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: That's great, But can you bring along a bumper or 264 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 1: two and do some training in between letting them sniff 265 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: around and piss on all the fence posts? Do you 266 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: have a time window before work to stand in the 267 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: yard and do ten minutes of placeboard training? How many 268 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: days in a row do you think you need to 269 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: do that before your dog is really good at getting 270 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 1: to its place and waiting for your next command. Hell, 271 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: you can work on that one in the house if 272 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: you need to. The thing is it just has to 273 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: be built into your life. It has to be a 274 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: part of your life so that not only will your 275 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: your dog get better at the behaviors you want out 276 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: of them, but you'll also get better at training them. 277 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: The more time you spend, even if it's not much 278 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 1: time on any given day, the more you'll be able 279 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: to read your dog, and you'll develop an amazing working relationship. 280 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: You condition your dog to look to you for guidance 281 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: while you give it what it needs, and in turn, 282 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 1: you learn to read your dog in a way that 283 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: most owners won't even understand. This ability to instantly recognize 284 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: their body language, or just to quickly understand when something 285 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: is wrong, or they are just primed to learn, and 286 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: so you might be able to level up a lesson. 287 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 1: It's all huge. It's the secret that most pro trainers 288 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: have over dog owners in general, but one that you 289 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: can foster more specifically with your individual dog, because no 290 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: one has the opportunity to work with your dog more 291 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: than you. The strategy not only allows you to ask 292 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: more of your dog, which is good for you and them, 293 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: but it will keep you learning about training tools and 294 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: the value of working in new locations and just getting 295 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: better at your part of this relationship. In return, you'll 296 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: get a dog that grows more confident by the day 297 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 1: and is one that is literally primed to learn more 298 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: commands and more difficult tasks, and it's going to be 299 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: better behave today than it was yesterday. Every one of 300 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: us wants that, but we often don't really understand how 301 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: to get there. It's one of those things that's, you know, 302 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: actually pretty easy to understand, but take some real work 303 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: to make it a part of your daily life, which 304 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: is just discipline in general. Once you do, though, you'll 305 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: unlock a world of dog ownership that is freaking awesome, 306 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: and not coincidentally, you'll have a better dog and be 307 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: a better trainer for it. So think about that and 308 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: think about coming back in two weeks, because I'm going 309 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit about what I touched on 310 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: here about dogs getting a little bit lazy and how 311 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: we can anticipate that and what we can do to 312 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: keep our dogs honest and learning even when they have 313 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: the opportunity to phone it in. That's it for this week. 314 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: I'm Tony Peterson and this has been The Houndation's podcast. 315 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: As always, thank you so much for listening and for 316 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: all your support, Cal and I really appreciate it. Hell, 317 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 1: everybody here at Meat Eater truly appreciates it. Without you, 318 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: guys and your loyalty, we wouldn't have anything, so truly 319 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: thank you for that. If you need some more dog content, 320 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: maybe you want some white tail content, maybe a recipe 321 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: to cook up some roosters or something, or you just 322 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: want to kill some time, listen to some podcasts, watch 323 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: a hunting video or two. Go to themeadeater dot com 324 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 1: check out all the stuff. We put up new content 325 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: literally every day, and there's so much good stuff up there. 326 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: Go check it out.