Can you really tell the difference between a dog that is trained and not trained?
Ziggy was my first dog ever and my mom kept telling me take her to training. First I thought, Pffffff training is for the birds. In my head Ziggy was perfectly fine and being that she was my dog, my dog didn’t need training (plus, I wasn’t ready to drop $120 at PetSmart to find out hours in it wasn’t working) she’d grow out of her bully ways. No offense. I’m sure there are plenty of amazing trainers there) I could never have been wrong in my life. Hands down getting Ziggy trained and becoming obedient changed my life. Believe it! It turned heart ache and frustration into a complete relaxing joy to having her. L
ucky enough, I met a great trainer at a bulldog event that was knowledgeable about helping with behavioral issues and the basics. His cost was a little bit more but he was perfect fit to understanding our training needs it definitely panned out making its worth. He taught the basics of sit, stay, heal, down, and most importantly for Ziggy, distractions. He not only taught Ziggy but he taught me how to be a better owner and how to have my dog respect me. Ziggy is a very strong little ball of muscles. I don’t get amped lifting 5 lbs at all, any part of the day where a mild current in the river can sweep me away A.K.A petite. Ziggy knew she could drag me through a lawn and took advantage because she knew she could run and I’d be flying like a kite. Alex taught me that I was the alpha and she needed to listen to what I wanted. Kite no more. Honestly after the first training session she was already a little better. I knew if she was already well behaved after the first session she was going to be a gem after the 6 weeks of training. At the end of the 6 week training Ziggy wasn’t pulling me by the leash, she would sit on command and stay without running. I was so pleased with how Ziggy’s training went, I signed up to do an advanced class with Alex.
What I liked about Alex’s training techniques was that he pushed positive enforcement and then treats. By putting treats second we are able to slowly take away treats and base Ziggy’s training on perfecting command only. We’re still training and practicing every day. With repetition, it only gets better. if you stop it can get rusty just like with anything. If you don’t practice, you can’t expect your dog to do it and get it right. I am very thankful to having a great dog trainer like Alex, and extremely proud of Ziggy and myself because we’ve come a long way. =)
