Dog Training – How We Show Up Matters

Michael Baugh CDBC

Let’s think about how we begin our dog training sessions. Are we scrambling around looking for that plastic bag of treats? Are we distracted by our phones, our spouses, our kids? Maybe we’re just caught up in our own heads, thinking about other stuff.

It is a disservice to both our dogs and ourselves to show up like a maniac on the run. Be honest, we wouldn’t tolerate that level of inattention from our dogs. We should do better.

And yes, I get it. We live in a fast-paced, everything all at once world. Life is hard. Things are changing, getting worse, rarely better. It’s a lot. Sometimes it’s too much.

That’s all the more reason to give yourself (and your dog) a nice, thoughtful time to learn together. Take a moment. Think it through. You deserve something good right now.

Here’s how I like to approach a structured training session with my dog.

Begin with wonder. You’ve heard me say this before. Our dogs are fantastic creatures. They are intelligent, emotional, athletic, and social. Begin training in awe of that. This is a sacred moment.

Come prepared. Have a proper treat bag — a fabric one that you can wear or attach to your clothing. Use healthful food. If you are training with props (e.g., a mat), have them neatly set to the side.

Be curious. Ask questions? Is now the right time to train? How does my dog look? Is he hungry, tired, excited? Should we burn off energy with active training? Do we need to play or take a walk first because we want to train relaxation? Your curiosity is a sign of awareness and your open mind.

Arrive. Take a few deep breaths. Let your shoulders drop. Smile. Look at your dog. We are here right now. Be present and joyful and relaxed. This is what our dog deserves: our full intelligence, our sharp attention, and our kind guidance.

Training is a conversation with a dear friend who will never speak a word to us. Consider that for a moment. Dog training is not a menu of commands. It’s not a list of problems to solve. It is a connection. Training is how we communicate with our dogs.

This is a gift — these morsels of time in a day or a week or a life that sometimes feels like it’s devouring us. How wonderful that we’ve set this time aside to teach and learn with our dog. How do we approach such a gift if not with humility and sincere joy? Show up. Time is slipping away. Show up like you wish everything else would stop and this one moment would last forever.

Michael Baugh specializes in aggressive dog training in Sedona, Arizona and Houston.

Change (The Nature of Dog Behavior)

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Our dogs’ behavior changes. That’s good news, and it is bad news. Behavior changes in ways we want it to. Think: training. Our dogs’ behavior changes in ways we don’t want it to as well. Think: why is he suddenly barking at visitors?

Our dogs are always learning from us, from others, and from their environment. Changing behavior is inevitable. It is part of nature, like gravity and the rising sun.

One of my favorite authors, Octavia Butler, wrote: “The only lasting truth is change. God is change.” (Parable of the Sower). That might not set well with some of my readers. So, think of it metaphorically. Change is the one constant, from animals to plants to the landscape itself. Everything changes. For believers, it would be hard to ignore the hand of God in all that. For nonbelievers, it is awe-inspiring nonetheless.

Change, specifically the promise of changing behavior, inspires my work with you and your dogs. Of course, change is frightening sometimes. (Why is this happening? It hasn’t happened before.) I choose to look at change with wonder. (Look at what is happening now. This is new. How cool.)

“All that you touch, you change. All that you change changes you.” That’s Octavia Butler, too. We influence change because we are part of this living world. We certainly influence changes in our dogs’ behavior. I see that every day in my work and in my own home. It’s a marvel if you think about it.

My dog Charlie is a champ at coming when called and he loves lying on his mat. He’s also taking on air travel, long road trips, and hikes up desert rocks (no small challenge for a three-legged dog).

On the surface, it looks like nothing more than cues and treats. That’s part of dog training, yes. But zoom out. Change begets change. The little ways we set up our dogs’ world can have huge positive effects. How can we change the settings we create for them? What slight changes can we make in our own behavior to make learning easier for our dogs? Where can we change things to ensure our dogs’ success?

Join me this new year in embracing change. Some of it is scary. I get it. Much of it, most certainly the behavior change work we do with our dogs, is waiting with joy and surprise. Teach. Love. Teach again. Love some more. Marvel at the change. Our dogs are changing. We, too, are changing.

“God is Change — Seed to tree, tree to forest; Rain to river, river to sea; Grubs to bees, bees to swarm. From one, many; from many, one; Forever uniting, growing, dissolving — forever changing. The universe is God’s self-portrait.” Octavia Butler.

Michael Baugh specializes in aggressive dog training in Houston, Texas.

Five Things to Know about Dog Resource Guarding

Michael Baugh CDBC CPDT-KSA

Many dogs hide, cower, freeze, stare, snarl, growl, snap or bite when they are guarding something. For the purposes of this blog post we will call that resource guarding, dogs who claim possession and guard a prized object, place, food related item, or food itself.

Resource guarding is normal dog behavior. This fact surprises a lot of people. We have a romanticized view of dogs including the idea that some are good and some are evil. Ascribing this kind of moral code is a disservice to them and to ourselves. They are animals, as are we. Animals protect valuable resources, as do we. Wanting to keep our stuff is hardwired into us. Yes, we can share. But, you might also have a few things to say to a random dude at a restaurant who pops one of your french fries in his mouth and walks off.

Normal does not mean acceptable. Some dogs do take it too far. I agree. Who among us really wants our dog’s scrap of stinky frayed fabric that used to be a stuffed toy? It doesn’t make sense that he bit Aunt Sally when she reached to pet him while he rested his head on that disgusting thing. Some dogs (and humans) can get weird about their prized places and things. It seems a bit out-of-context, a bit too much.

It can be dangerous. Dogs who guard a lot of things, including random stuff they find, can be hard to predict. Is he guarding that leaf, that remote control, his poop? It can get especially dangerous if the dog bites to protect his vast and changing collection of valued things. One mistake can turn bloody.

Dominance and conflict-based training can make it worse. From the dog’s point of view resource guarding is about a perceived conflict. He’s already gearing up for a fight. Training methods focused on dominance are conflict-based. This outdated training approach frames every interaction with our dog as a competition with a winner and a loser. We end up proving to our dog that his already-inflated sense of danger is in fact justified. That sock is very valuable. This is a challenge. Violence is possible if not inevitable. Every time we approach resource guarding from this skewed perspective we risk the dog escalating his response. We actually make the resource guarding and the intensity of our dog’s behavior worse.

There is hope. We humans have already won the evolutionary race. We have nothing to prove to our dogs other than this: I can help you. This is good news for dogs and for humans. We now have smart, simple, and effective aggressive dog training techniques for quelling resource guarding in dogs. These reinforcement-based methods work and (I promise) do not jeopardize our position as the dominant species on the planet. You can reach out to me or a similarly credentialed dog behavior consultant for help. Or, contact a veterinary behaviorist.

Bottom line: Resource guarding is normal but it is not okay. There is hope. You can have a long and enjoyable relationship with your dog.

Michael Baugh specializes in aggressive dog training in Houston TX.