Speaking your dog's language. It needs to take priority guys. Every day, I work with clients either in the world of private training or at the vet's office, who are so well-intentioned and love their dog more than anything but just can't understand them when their dog is speaking to them loud and clear.

... Oh wait (here comes the sass)... did you think your dog yawning meant he was tired or bored? Not likely. Did you think that when you told your dog to do something and he looked int he other direction, he was ignoring you? Not likely. When he didn't respond to a cue he knows beautifully at home but he instead chose to suddenly start smelling what was happening below him... was he being disobedient? Maybe. But ... can you guess? Likely not.

These are all clear cues that your dog is intentionally trying to disengage. But guess what?
​

So why is she wearing a muzzle?
Because I can't trust others to have their dogs always under control. Because I wanted to take her for a walk, safely, in an area that sometimes has a reputation for dogs on the loose, despite all the signs that tell you to leash your dog. Because she fought with my other dog in the past, to the point of injury. Because she doesn't always make safe choices. But most of all, because it GIVES HER FREEDOM. Yes, her muzzle offers her freedom. It gives me confidence in knowing that she won't be able to make a impulsive poor choice and injure anyone with her teeth, so I'm much more willing to take her out and about. 
​Do you know what other freedom it gives her? ​

When we speak to our dog, what do they hear? What do they see? 
How often do you talk to your dog? How often do you talk near your dog?

Dogs are visual first. If you're anything like me, you talk to and around your dog often. Your words go in one ear and out another because it's noise. White noise. White noise is the stuff that your dog hears that doesn't register as being significant. Why doesn't it register as being significant? Well, because we have big vocabularies and are often very inconsistent in our words, our tone, and our follow-through when we are using cues and commands with our dogs. So what do dogs do? They watch our body language. They watch our every move. They anticipate the release from "stay" when they watch our facial expressions and see us take that breath in right before we verbally release them. This was pointed out to me when I was training my own dog, Willow, to try the sport of dock diving. 

When you think of a dog trainer, what is it you picture? When someone tells you they hired a dog trainer, what do you see? Do you see a dog showing obedience? Do you see a dog performing tricks? Do you see treats, a treat bag? Maybe you picture the "Dog Whisperer", an "alpha roll" to assert dominance. I hope you don't picture a prong collar, a choke collar, a shock collar - but hey, this is your picture in your mind, not mine. Those trainers do exist (this is where I struggle to stay off the soapbox). 

​