Don't Forget the Human!
So often in dog training we forget how to use positive reinforcement with the human holding the lead, and mainly focus on the dog. This can create an uncomfortable environment for the human, and cause them to shut down, take out their frustration on the dog, or even stop training all together.
So how do we include the human in the training, and make it fun for both the guardian and the dog?
We like to know just as much about the humans life as we do the dogs life. This includes their daily routine, their morning rituals, daily responsibilities, how they speak to themselves, their love language, their communication style, and more. This allows us to have a better understanding about the individual we are working with, and better understand the whole picture.
Gaining intel on the humans daily routine gives us insight into what their day is like, how busy it may be, and the times that they have available for training and homework. Not all the humans have a lot of time for training, so it is important to know these things.
The humans morning rituals is vital, and sets them up for their day. A morning ritual is something that the human does for themselves in the morning. If they dont not have one, we discuss creating one where they are able to practice filling their cup up for the day before they give their energy to someone or something else. This way they are not working in a deficit.
Daily responsibilities and daily routines are different, and this can become added stress for people. Leaning their daily responsibilities gives us a deeper dive into their life and the extras they have to do daily. This is imperative, if I give my client 20 minutes of homework and they aren't even getting 6 hours of sleep, or any alone time then the homework will not be implemented.
By knowing how our client talks to themselves we can learn about why they are seeking training, how to better support them, and build their confidence. For instance: If a client says that they have negative self talk, I know that they may be seeking training because they are having a hard time with their daily routine and are looking support and loving encouragement to help them collaborate with their dog. While also building their confidence along the way.
Understanding people's love language gives us insight on how they like to receive feedback and how to encourage them. For example: If their love language is words of affirmation I can then use that to build their confidence by complementing the great things they are doing in training.
Next we learn their communication style, this is how people interact and exchange information with others. Some people want videos only, while other people like text. knowing these things gives us the ability to tailor our work to their communication.
By gaining all this information, we are then able to see why people do the things they are doing with their dog, and are able to relate to them in a way that is personal and in their best interest.