When the doorbell rang, all chaos broke loose, which included barking and jumping on guests at the front door. This seems to be a theme among dog owners. I love my sweet dogs, all three of them, but they were lacking in manners. The pleasure they gave me was being overshadowed by the irritation I felt. Georgia, our 10-year-old Golden Retriever, was trainable… or so I thought. Bleu, our 7-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was a sweet, docile, lovable dog who never listened to a word I said. For some crazy reason after several years with two misbehaving dogs I thought it would make sense to buy a 3rd dog and add to the madness. Her name is Winnie, a CKC like Bleu. After Winnie came and the doorbell rang, it turned the entire household into a circus. We’re probably to blame for that since we treated her like a baby from day one, carrying her around and pampering her. As a result, she grew to demand constant attention. She started the “pack’s” downward spiral of bad behavior. Fortunately, our dog groomer told us about a dog trainer named Lorenzo and I can’t thank her enough for sending us to him.
After contacting Lorenzo he sent us Becca, one of his trained professionals. She came to our home for an evaluation and spent nearly two hours with us. She took the time to know our best friends and what our family needed. Lorenzo has a process that starts with the fundamentals.
A few beginner training tips straight from Lorenzo’s lips:
1.) Importance of crate training:
Crate training is the foundation for boundary work. This promotes the concept that it is NOT SAFE for a dog to run out of places such as exiting a car or leaving a yard.
2.) Importance of always having a leash on at the start of training in the home as well as outside:
Having a leash on one’s dog promotes an INFLUENCE over that dog so that an owner can communicate what he/she wants the dog to do.
3.) Importance of praising your dog CORRECTLY:
If your dog is engaged in bad behavior such as jumping up, DO NOT physically praise them in ways such as petting. Such acts will further ingrain into the dog’s thinking that it is acceptable to misbehave.
These are just a few of the many lessons we learned. You can find out more about Lorenzo, his team and training options here: Lorenzo’s Dog Training Team
Now I can say that our best friends are happy, healthy and well trained!
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