I worked hard to earn Monty’s trust. When I first got him, he didn’t know me from a hole in the ground, and I didn’t know him. Neither one of us had reason to trust each other. So that’s step 1, get to know each other, start building that friendship. We got out right away and we explored a few pet stores. This big part of this is building his trust cause trust is everything. You can read his case study in my blogs.
Like him or not, Cesar Millan has been talking about “rules, boundaries and limitations” for 30 years and I swear that’s all people heard. Cesar also spoke that it’s trust and respect that builds confidence – and that is so true. Trust is paramount, but it has to be earned – if trust doesn’t exist, there is no relationship. How many owners out there say “I don’t trust my dog”, it breaks my heart because your relationship is broken for some reason. Question is, why? And you’re being told to train that.
I trust Monty everywhere. Anywhere we go, he’s pretty happy go lucky. People love him, he’s wonderful around children, great around dogs. I can walk him through the neighborhood off leash and he’s not going to run away. He stays fairly close, and if he stops, I stop. When we go to a dog park, it’s his time, get out and be a dog. I follow him and we move at the speed of Monty. He likes to meet dogs and people, and it’s all his choice. I’m enjoying the time and making sure he doesn’t fall into harms way. He trusts that I have his back and that’s what gives him the confidence to be here in the first place. He’s getting older, and when he starts heading for the parking lot, it’s time to go. There are times he likes to sit on the bank and soak up the sun I’m all for it. I know that may sound weird to some people but I feel that dogs should have choices and we should be allowing it. It should be about cooperation, not control. Getting back to trust.
A dog will never be able to gain your trust if you don’t allow it to make choices. You need to see them make the right choices in order to trust – but will you ever see it? Unfortunately, you’re trying to train your dog using a system that dictates that you take their brain away. Take away choices. “Free will is an illusion”. As long as your dog thinks it’s making a choice – then it is. People are punishing their dogs – the ones that never got the choice in the first place. If you raised your child like that, society would call it abuse. But, it’s only a dog right?
Monty is my best friend. I trust him. I respect him. And I am confident with them. I could not imaging making him do things for food. I couldn’t imagine locking my best friend in a crate. I couldn’t imagine wrapping a prong around his neck. I couldn’t imagine shocking my dog for any bloody reason. That would be unforgivable.
People are reaching for tools of punishment out of frustration because the system you are being told to use is broken. It was built broken 40 years ago. And I’m watching it break more as time goes on. What has been normalize toward dogs is frightening. Make them work for every morsel of food? Are you kidding me? Starve the dog to food motivate it? How is that positive when done to a thinking sentient animal? I hold the motto that if I wouldn’t do it to a child, I wouldn’t do it to a dog. That divide has gotten so wide now, I don’t know if it’s recoverable.
Dog training has thrown “mans best friend” in the garbage and replaced it with protocols that were never meant to be used on dogs. Humans are coming up with ideas of dog training – and normalizing it.
We need to get back to mans best friend.