HOW TO BE A MORE CONFIDENT DOG OWNER ★
Confident owners create confident dogs, says trainer and behaviourist Jackie Drakeford.
A more confident owner creates a more confident dog, advises top behaviourist and trainer Jackie Drakeford.
Confident handlers make their dogs feel safe. Dogs live in a human world, which is often difficult for them to understand, so if you make it clear what you want from them, then reward them when they do it, you take a lot of pressure from their everyday lives. You’ll come under less pressure too, which in turn makes you more confident.
Confidence comes easily to some, but the rest of us have to work at it, so here’s some advice on how you can build yours.
KNOW YOUR BREED/ TYPE OF DOG
Once upon a time, all dogs were kept for work — even lapdogs, who were expected to deal with rats and mice in the home as well as sound the alarm if any strangers approached.
Though for many modern dogs that initial purpose no longer applies, inborn traits and preferences related to their original tasks still exist. You owe it to your dogs to know what these are so you can help them to adapt to a pet lifestyle.
For instance, herding dogs want to work by ranging out to bring creatures back to their handlers, and in the absence of livestock, might try to herd the wrong animals, or even shadows, smoke, or light.
Retrievers like to have something in their mouths to carry about even if it is one of your slippers rather than a pheasant. If you want to avoid a soggy foot, you should put your own possessions away and leave plenty of dog toys about instead.
Terriers and hounds are inclined to hunt on their own initiative, and suppose that you might as well come along if you can keep up, but your input isn’t that
important to them. Because you don’t want this to escalate into something illegal or embarrassing, you need to be very aware of those places where you may come across wildlife or terrier-sized holes in the ground.
Some breeds were created to bark at any unusual noise or movement, and still have a lot to say for themselves. Mixed breeds can lean to one ancestor in particular, or display certain characteristics from each of them. Finding your dogs’ bred-in drives gives you confidence because you know what to expect in any given situation, and when to intervene before it all goes wrong.