We Don’t Train Kids. We Raise Them.
Raising your dog is not much different than raising children. When raising your kids there is no “off switch”. You. Are. Always. Parenting.
I never set aside time to specifically “train” my son. I’m always training him in some way because he’s always paying attention to what we’re doing. And he’s always looking for the rules, boundaries, and limitations of our home/family.
Sound familiar?
Our dogs, much like our children, need to be able to understand and trust the order, structure, social dynamics, rules, boundaries, and limitations of their environment. Without a leader clearly and consistently explaining (and modeling) those things, there will be confusion and insecurity.
Confusion and insecurity is where the problems start. Both kids and dogs will start to look for the boundaries.
Ask any teacher! They will tell you that the kids who are struggling behaviorally are often times screaming out for rules, boundaries, and limitations. They WANT to be shown how to live. There is comfort in order.
@cesarsway teaches us that home should represent safety, peace, and love. If we want to accomplish that, we have to be clear, consistent, and fair in how we want our homes to function.
So remove the idea of training your dog and start using the word “raising”. I’m not saying “don’t teach your dog to do things”. I’m saying, you’re ALWAYS teaching your dog to do things. Be more aware of that!
