There’s an unfortunate chicken ’n’ egg piece of misinformation about
- commands
- the intrinsic value of commands
- the importance of the learning of the commands and
- the essential need for owners to put their dogs through the paces of learning commands
That misinformation that’s so prevalent:
- it won’t go away
- it has no basis
- it keeps repeating itself
but it needs to be examined and discussed so that owners can see if for what it is, let it go, and move on to something more important.
Where is it decided that commands must be learned by dogs?
What is the value in having a dog that learns commands?
Who decided that commands were important, or that the learning of commands is the be-all and end-all of this thing everyone calls “dog training?”
Learning commands provides a short term ability for the dog to repeat things, but it doesn’t do long term increases of the dog’s Quality of Life.
If owners want to genuinely have their dogs at a relaxed, voluntarily submissive level, learn to follow Nature. Learn about Nature’s triggers. Learn what it is that makes dogs and wild animals live in the wild, apply that to the domestic situation, and watch the dog’s high energy level go away, watch their nose get cold and wet, watch their relaxed, open mouth breathing appear, and know—even though you can’t see it—know that your dog’s stress level has been relieved to be at the lowest point ever.
Then, because their stress levels are low, they’ll live longer.
Respectfully submitted.
The DOuGTrainer