How to take your dog from shy and unsure, to confident and thriving… Robert and Maggie's story.

It makes me so sad when I see a dog that is afraid of the world. The thing is, this doesn’t always happen because of past abuse or trauma, some dogs (through owner mistakes) simply haven’t been SHOWN how to be confident.

This was the case with Maggie the Bernadoodle and her owner Robert.

In my 10 years of training, I’ve come to firmly believe that all dogs should be able to experience the world fully and freely, without fear or anxiety.

This was Maggies problem. She couldn’t even go outside without wanting to run back in the house. She was in an extreme fear period - in fact, one of the worst cases I’ve seen.

She was highly unstable in her environment - cars, trucks, loud sounds, even strangers - all caused her a lot of discomfort and anxiety.

This also affected Robert. He had ended up sleeping on the couch to comfort Maggie at night because she couldn’t sleep alone for long periods in her crate without crying and breaking down for most of the night.

Robert decided things had to change, because he really wanted his dog to thrive, but these problems were starting to affect his personal life.

He contactedmeand a few days later we began working together.

There’s a few lessons here that everyone can learn from.

The first change we made (you can use these solutions as you train your own dog as well), was teaching Maggie how to be comfortable with taking food outside.

Food acted as a focus point, and as an indicator that she was growing comfortable in an outside - “higher energy” environment.

Eventually (although it wasn’t easy), she started taking food outside. Consistency was key for this.

Then I taught Robert how to reward her and literally PAY her for staying outside. This was the turning point for both of them. 

Robert learned how to communicate with her properly, and she developed a new confidence and trust in her owner's leadership.

Instead of just letting her escape and go home whenever she wanted, he associated good with outside.

The result?

In just a few short weeks Maggie could walk without pulling back to go home. She could go down main streets confidently and calmly.

Robert was so happy with the transformation Maggie had from scared, unsure, and lacking confidence, to happy, excited, and secure that he decided to get a second dog!

(Which I ended up training as well).

Taking your dog from no confidence to being confident, happier, and fearless starts with understanding her body language and setting the right boundaries.

If you want to speak your dogs language like a pro, I’ve created a guide (it’s totally free) called “The No B.S. Guide To Speaking Your Dogs Language”. It’s a simple step by step framework to help you understand exactly how to know what your dog needs and give her the support and training to help you and her be successful together.

If you’d like it, feel free to comment “guide” below, or send me a private message if you’re feeling shy today. 

Donald “Master Trainer” Hutcherson

Do this 1 thing before you train any behaviors

You go to any Petsmart class or most group classes and what will they teach your dog?

How to sit, down and come and stay. These behaviors are good, but not without something to power them. What I mean by power them is purpose. We as humans are motivated to do things. We never do things for no reason unless its out of habit. We are motivated to do things by getting a reward for our actions. The same is true for dogs.

Let me tell you about when I first discovered this 1 thing was so important.

It was at my time that I spent at Michael Ellis school for dog trainers. I had just arrived in California and I was excited. It was my first time there and I was going to be surrounded by people who also shared a passion like I did for dog training.

Since I traveled from New York I didn’t have a dog to bring as my dog was too old. I also didn’t want to pay to ship him over there. So Michael offered me a loner dog.

This was a sweet malinois by the name of Phoeby. She was a sweet dog and a bit socially sensitive. I started bonding with her on that day. I would take her out at night and first thing in the morning. We would also work on the exercises that we learned in class on the training field.

One day in class we were focusing on luring and getting our dog to commit. This is when I discovered this 1 thing you have to do before teaching behaviors. This had to be day 7 or 8 and we were working on the focus heel with our dogs.

This can be a difficult exercise since the dog has to lift their heads up for an extended periods of time. Phoeby was not willing to do this. She would walk a little bit with her head up then drop it.

I was getting frustrated and annoyed. Not because of the dog but because I couldn’t figure it out.

All through that week I worked on the exercises and tried to build a bond with Phoeby. I focused on keeping her engaged with me instead of doing the exercises. I would play with her and she would bring the toy back to me. Something was different about her energy. I saw an immediate change in her attitude and focus towards me. She was ready to work.

Engagement

Phoeby like many dogs easily learned the exercises or behaviors we want to teach them. Its not hard to teach a dog to sit or to down. What is more difficult is to teach a dog to have a positive attitude about training. They need to want to do it. I receive so many phone calls about a dog not listening, not about how the dog doesn’t understand. Most dogs know the exercises, but it takes time and skill to encourage a dog to want to train.

Before you focus on behaviors try this first. Take your dog to as many environments as possible and see if you can get them physically focused on you. They should be looking into your eyes with the “what do you want me to do now” face.

This is very simple and often overlooked. Remember that dog training is just big pieces broken down. Take your time with training and do the ground work.

One way to accomplish this is through playing with your dog. Remember that all good things must come from you. Don’t allow your dog to play with their toys on their own if you want them to focus on you. Throw a ball or play tug. Do something your dog likes.

Then once they are playing with energy start to ask the for behavior before you give them the ball or tug. Since they really want the toy, you will see how much energy they put into getting what they want.

Dog training is boring and exciting

I know what a contradiction. But truth is I personally find this in most disciplined arts. Dog training is no different. I mentioned in a previous post that I box and enjoy forever learning the sweet science. Boxing at first was very boring and robotic.

My coach would also explain concepts to me that made little practical sense when I was first starting out. Now a couple years later in my journey these concepts make more sense. I spent day in and day out working on the same steps. After a while it became boring and I wanted to work on new moves. I didnt realize how important it was to work on the basics.

This idea of doing the basic boring moves over and over transfers over to dog training. When Im talking with a client they always have a end goal in mind, but many don’t know how the road is to get there. It takes a lot of patience and practice. The fundamentals are very important. A lot of the fancy stuff people see dogs do are broken down in basic steps.

Focus heeling for instance has multiple components. You have to teach the dog to hold its head straight up, then teach them how to focus on you while they hold their head up. Next you have to introduce turning to the dog and the heel finish. All these exercises by themselves are not very complicated but together they paint a beautiful picture of the dog. (If you dont know what focused heel looks like go on youtube to see what Im talking about.)

The exciting part of dog training doesnt come until you have mastered those boring moves and you are able to connect the dots between them. A down is very basic. But it looks much fancier when a dog can stay down while 8 people stand around the dog enticing them to get up.

Im always excited when Im training a new dog to do more complicated obedience. Not only is it fun to me to teach it, I love knowing the possibility of what this dog will be able to do when Im done with them. Im guessing thats how coaches feel when their players do great things. I feel like a dog’s coach. I work him/her through any problems they might have, whether its insecurity or uncertainty. This is why its exciting to me. I set up the roadmap for the journey I want to take the dog on and just fall in love with the process.

The process can be lenthy depending on what you want to do. Many dog owners are unfamiliar with how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to dog training. It goes deep! You can become a service dog trainer, pet dog trainer, police k9 dog trainer, personal protection dog trainer. Its like being a doctor with training dogs . You can be a pediatrician, a primary care physician, or a specialist like a surgeon or cardiologist. There is certainly levels to this dog training stuff and just like any discipline, the details make all the difference. Thats what makes it exciting and boring.

My #1 favorite command

I love a lot of commands- when a dog comes to heel, down from a distance, come. But there's one command I love the most. This is the place command and I will tell you why.

What does the place command do?

I use it with most dogs I train. Whether an aggressive dog or a well behaved dog. The reason being is because place has several benefits

1. It gives a dog a place to go in the house so they don't get into trouble

   Many hyper and unruly dogs have a lot of energy and lack of boundaries. They have no place to go and it shows. They are the dogs that when everyone else is still, they are still moving around. Whether its sniffing the ground or just looking around looking for some mischief to get into like a bored kid. When you teach your dog place and get her to stay on place you will notice something. Your dog might start shaking like its going through withdrawal symtoms. This is your dog learning impulse control.

2. They give a dog there own space

   Dogs don’t like to be underneath us all the time. Even the dogs that do, you need to know that this is not healthy. You have to teach your dog to not panic while you are away from them. Some dogs develop seperation anxiety because they can’t stand when their owner leaves them. Believe me, if you incorporate the place command you are minimizing this problem. The bed is also like the their crate-a safe space.

3. They help a reactive dog learn how to be a passenger in the world

   This command is especially useful for reactive dogs. Once they learn the 4 steps to the place command you teach your dog to ignore the world around them and just relax. For example once the dog learns to stay on their place bed then I can add distraction like kids shouting from 20 feet away and have the dog remain on the place bed.

   Now comes the steps to the place command

   it seems so simple yet to achieve great results you have to put in effort.

   Step 1

   Send the dog to place

   Lure dog onto place bed with a piece of food. Get them comfortable going on the place bed. Then walk up to place bed and stop abruptly a foot away from the place bed. Remember to pull the dog back as they are likely to just keep walking due to forward momentum. Next say PLACE, then guide the dog onto the place bed.

   Step 2

   Distance

   Same as step 1 but you increase the distance where you stop

   Step 3

Get the dog to stay on the place bed.

Once your dog is on the place bed move around them in a circle. If they try to get off, Say uhuh or nope and repeat PLACE.

Step 4

Correction

Once your dog understand how to stay on the place bed then its time to add correction for failure to comply. Be careful not to move to fast to this command. Make sure that your dog understands the command. You will know your dog knows because you would have performed it hundreds of times correctly.

Thats it!!! My favorite command in a nutshell. Its many used and benefits and how to implement it.

Thanks for reading and comment to let me know what dog training question are giving you problems or if you’re just curious .