It’s the third day of our Founder Christiana’s week of hands-on dog training with high profile dog trainer Victoria Stilwell and her team. What an exciting week Christiana is having and one that will lead to a new service for clients of Hampstead Hounds.
What has been the main focus of the day today?
We learnt the magic and science behind turning a problem behaviour into a goal behaviour. This will set us all up ready to help with immediate solutions for clients. As most people contact a dog trainer once issues have set in, there is a great need to help manage situations which have built up between a dog and their guardian straight away.
We also explored the wonderful world of Canine Enrichment. Despite being very successful in domestication, dogs are still very much driven by their seeking and reward system. If this system is fulfilled they achieve homeostatic balance. In layman’s terms this is the internal balance you feel after you have had a wonderful dinner and a fantastic night’s sleep, everything just feels set and you are ready to take on the world once again!
How will this skill help your clients?
Enriching your dog’s needs will help absolutely anyone. Most imbalance in a dog results in what us humans like to term as problem behaviours – humping, digging, barking, jumping and so on. Canine Enrichment is one of the most important things that you can have to help turn things around for you and your dog positively.
What has been the biggest challenge of the day?
Trying not to cuddle the delightful Affan Pinchers (featured image) that we were working with in the afternoon! They look like little Ewoks, incredibly cute. You always have to try and respect a dog’s personal space, and build up a bond and trust first.
What have you enjoyed most about today?
The practical applications are always very enjoyable and engaging. It is where we get to take all of the study over the past few weeks and start to put it into practice. The satisfaction of seeing your learning come to life is wonderful.
Keep following our blog for more updates on Christiana’s exciting journey to becoming a fully qualified Dog Trainer.
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