Typist: Bethany
In all honesty, I sometimes get mad at my pets. I'm not perfect. I am not a perfect companion to my pets, a perfect pet trainer or a perfect person. My pets aren't perfect either. However, when the dogs, cat or cockatoo exhibit a behavior that annoys me or makes me angry, I know that I am always responsible for my pets behavior. Anything undesirable that the pets do is, in fact, my fault. As their trainer, it is my responsibility to teach them how to behave in a way that fits in society and our lifestyle. I should also train away behaviors the pets have that make me mad. So when I get mad at them, I am actually mad at myself. Such is the life of a truly responsible pet owner. I see my responsibility as a positive pet trainer to take the negative, like a behavior I don't like, and turn it into a constructive bonding experience for the pets and I. This is the wonder of positive reinforcement training.
In all honesty, I sometimes get mad at my pets. I'm not perfect. I am not a perfect companion to my pets, a perfect pet trainer or a perfect person. My pets aren't perfect either. However, when the dogs, cat or cockatoo exhibit a behavior that annoys me or makes me angry, I know that I am always responsible for my pets behavior. Anything undesirable that the pets do is, in fact, my fault. As their trainer, it is my responsibility to teach them how to behave in a way that fits in society and our lifestyle. I should also train away behaviors the pets have that make me mad. So when I get mad at them, I am actually mad at myself. Such is the life of a truly responsible pet owner. I see my responsibility as a positive pet trainer to take the negative, like a behavior I don't like, and turn it into a constructive bonding experience for the pets and I. This is the wonder of positive reinforcement training.
| There is a long list of reasons why my pets exhibit undesirable behavior but it always comes down to being my responsibility. Eighty-five pound Huxley continuing to jump on people is a great example of an anti-social behavior that continues to occur because of my imperfections. I like Huxley to jump on me, when invited for a "hug." However, I am definitely guilty of laughing or otherwise encouraging many a Huxley jump it was not invited. I know better. I am horrified every time he attempts to jump on a stranger. I am responsible for this annoying and often dangerous bad dog habit. Accepting that Huxley's jumping on people is my fault is the first step in fixing it. Now all I need to do is perfect my own constancy in counter conditioning his jump. I make it sound so easy! |  Who wouldn't want an uninvited hug from Huxley? |
Training away a bad habit with positive reinforcement can actually be that simple. Fixing a negative behavior is just a matter of knowing how to train it away using a positive reinforcement method that will work for both trainer and pet. Resources abound: books, DVD's, classes and, of course, the internet. There isn't a single negative pet behavior I can think of that I can't also name at least three different ways of solving the problem. Sometimes it takes trial and error to find the positive reinforcement training method that works for each pet or each behavior. Beginning with accepting responsibility and trying something is always better than living with frustration. Best of all, there is no better feeling than being responsible for wonderfully behaved pets.
How cool is it that Amelia, Brychwyn, Huxley and Wilhelm can do this? Their trainer is also responsible for that.
I learned a fabulous positive pet training lesson with Wilhelm and his all important, yet often ignored by him, recall. My skirting responsibility excuse list of why Wilhelm had a terrible recall was very long. When I finally accepted that a dachshund ignoring a recall is not exclusively because he of his instincts as a hound or that he is just stubborn, I started to actively work on solving the problem. With surprising haste, Wilhelm's recall improved. I firmly believe that a huge element in enhancing recall training with Wilhelm was simply that in taking responsibility for my dogs bad habit, I became notciably confident in doing better at training more desirable skills. I am in charge of whether Wilhelm or any of my pets, fail or succeed. Me and me alone. If what I do with any of my pets doesn't work, it's my fault and I have to fix it. This is my responsibility to my pets and in the end, to myself. If I consistently accept responsibility for the bad pet behaviors as well as the good, maybe I can get closer to being perfect after all.
What good and bad pet behaviors are you responsible for?
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| Welcome to First Mondays Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin Monday, March 2nd. |  |
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