Darcie Jennings's blog

I know how important it is to you to be able to give your dog(s) off leash freedom. And as a trainer, I want nothing more than to help you teach them to listen reliably when they are off leash.

My first dog was a black and white Springer Spaniel. A very regal and handsome looking boy who was more like a stately gentleman than a dog.

No, I’m not talking about the 80’s TV show. I’m talking about the question I regularly get asked by my clients about my dogs’ relationships to one another.

My answer? All of them are.

I was talking to a client after class the other night about some of the challenges he’d been having with his young pup, the biggest of which being that she wouldn’t come when he called her. He mentioned that he'd been spending 1 to 2 hours every day training her and couldn't understand why he couldn't get her to listen, despite all of the practice.

Imagine taking your dog to the park or on a hike, letting him off leash and trusting him to come back when you call him? Or bringing him on your next family trip with the confidence that he will be an appropriate guest in your relatives’ home? That’s what training your dog will do for you.

When we raise our children from babies, it is understood and expected that they won’t understand our language or know our rules. We know that it will be our job to teach them, step by step, and then to remind them of these lessons daily as they get older.

Some days when I am out with my dog, Cricket, I act like anything BUT a dog trainer. I repeat commands, I get angry and irritated and I lose all sense and reason.There have even been days when I’ve felt like re-homing the little beast and questioned why I kept her!

As a society, we are usually taught to follow what others tell us. Following the rules as they are laid out is favoured to critical thinking. When we're told that drinking two cups of milk every day is necessary for good health, we do it. And then 6 months later, when a new study comes out that says dairy is bad, drinking wine is good, we drop dairy and pick up wine.

I used to be one of the many trainers who taught using dominance as my base for all behaviour. Even after I transitioned into positive training, when a dog would act up I would still use that as my behavioural model, pulling out the standard "he's trying to be alpha and you need to be more assertive with him" or some line like that.

If a dog a dog sleeping on the couch growled at someone that walked by and pet it, I would say, "He's really challenging you. You need to be more assertive, a better leader. He doesn't respect your authority."