Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Brilliant Dog
Jeanne Perciaccanto
Ultimate Dog Training


Every day, as a dog trainer, I have the privilege of helping dog owners unlock the beauty and brilliance inherent in their dog.
This brilliance is found in them as part of the nature of their species.  We as humans are gifted in possession of the only animal in nature that can live with us as companions and choose to work with us in service.

Unfortunately, in recent years, we have begun to cheat our dogs, preventing that brilliance from shining through as intended in nature.
When they hunt for food in our homes, we correct them.
Seeking activity and action outside the confined boundaries of a limited space of existence, we stop them.
Pragmatic endeavors to satisfy natural drives cause them to be crated and confined.
We have created a very confusing dichotomy within our dogs.  We love them, but, we hate for them to be dogs.

Dogs were much better off as working farm dogs.  In shared service with us as guardians, hunters and caretakers over livestock, food stores and family, they were able to utilize their own personal brilliance daily.  They thought and problem solved and made choices that impacted their livelihood and safety as well as those in their charge.

As partners and working companions our need of their help fulfilled their lives with us.
Our companions were once an artist creating a brilliant canvass of nature and nurture towards and with those they shared life.

The suburban dog of today is bored, confused and confined from the very life in which they need to participate.

There are certainly things we should never allow our dogs to do unless they are trained with the proper know how for safety.  Are we however, teaching those skills or finding it easier to never address what our dogs truly need for a complete life as a dog and companion?

Barking, biting, digging in garbage and the yard is a cry from your dog that they are bored with the life you offer.  Trying very hard to please you but unable to satisfy their own basic needs and drives cause conflict in many of our homes.

My goal is to find ways to unlock that brilliance with many different tools.

I train dogs to off leash control and safety so owners can hike and allow them off leash to think freely in nature but still maintain that connection that keeps them safe.

Bringing thought provoking games into routine training programs to enhance their learning beyond the typical basic training keep dog mentally active.  Games designed as training for hunting and scent work so dogs can use those scent drives in and around their homes.  There are many ways to teach adaptable skills but by doing so will keep them thinking and utilizing that brilliant brain and preventing boredom.

Teaching owners how to see their dogs think and learn enable them to keep building difficulty levels forward and keeping them mentally active.
This type of thought training is incorporated into the basic skills learning but it changes how our dogs learn their skills.

I don’t train dogs, I teach them to think and learn how to make the right choices.

What have you done to see your dogs’ brilliance today?







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