A dog owner’s mindset can be a roadblock for making gains in training. I have heard many new students tell me that their dog “knows” this or that. Or they say that their dog doesn’t need to learn this or that. And then, right after that, they are describing situations where the dog doesn’t know this or that. What’s that all about?
For example, I’ve heard people tell me how their dog “knows” how to Sit/ Stay. And then they recount a recent incident where the dog was in public, saw some kind of distraction, and ran off. The owner can’t see the contradiction in that.
Or the owner that loves their dog, but the dog doesn’t see that love as being pleasant. Countless times I’ve had to explain and show owners that their dogs aren’t liking what is happening to them. For example, the dog owner who, daily, bathed, brushed, perfumed, and caged her teacup Pomeranian. When she called the dog to come to her, it would instead go the other way. If I called the dog, it came right over, and if I sat on the floor, she would climb up onto my lap and just hang out and give me kisses. The owner had a hard time understanding that she was messing with her dog so much, in such an abnormal way, that the dog didn’t like all that smothering.
So, maybe the problem with your dog’s behavior or skills, it is a problem with your perspective. What you think you are seeing isn’t what is really happening. This is where a dog trainer can help you unravel what is going on. Someone needs to see, from the outside, what is playing out and give you some honest advice to cure the problems.