Teach dogs life skills, not how to sit, says Crufts trainer

DOGS should be taught life skills rather than simply how to sit, stay and hand over their paws, a pet mindfulness coach has said.

Carolyn Menteith, a leading dog behaviour expert, said dog owners should end their fixation with teaching traditional obedience exercises and instead focus on their pet’s natural skills.

“It doesn’t matter if your dog sits the moment you say ‘sit’ if it goes and rips up the curtains and knocks over granny,” she said.

“We should be teaching life skills instead of behaviour commands – how to settle when people are watching television and how to enjoy being handled.”

Ms Menteith, who was the trainer for the Crufts 2018 Channel 4 programmes and has won the Kennel Club Accredited Instructor of the Year award, said training should be about building a relationship with the animal, rather than teaching it tricks.

“It doesn’t matter so much whether a dog does obedience exercises, like walking perfectly to heel. We need a dog to be happy and fun with our family,” she said.

The trainer encourages owners to treat dogs more like children. She added: “We don’t want children to sit down and be quiet and be seen and not heard – we want them to be the best people they can possibly be working on their strengths,” she added. “It should be the same with dogs. We want a relationship not a dictatorship.

“Owners should look at what their pet is good at and work with those strengths.”

Ms Menteith added: “It’s not about barking ‘sit’ and expecting unswerving obedience. It’s about building a relationship.”