We all struggle. We all experience setbacks. What is important is to recognize we have fallen into a pitfall and learn how to get out. Getting out is easy. Speak dog and be proactive by performing the “green zone” exercises.
When our dog is “yellow” or “red” we say tell him things like, “down, sit, stay” and my favorite “no.” If telling your dog those things worked, we never would have met. When we speak human we are not speaking dog! Think back to the Golden Retriever video and ask what human commands did those dogs use? Furthermore, communication is the foundation on which relationships are built. When we are in an environment where no one is speaking a language we understand we can often feel uneasy. So, to put your dog at ease, just speak dog! It is not that human commands aren’t important, it is just that when dogs are adrenalized they have a difficult time calming down with a command.
We know we have a timing issue if you are using one or two key phrases:
Dogs cannot go from 1 to 10, suddenly and out of nowhere. Dogs can go from 7, 8, or 9 to 10 suddenly and out of nowhere. This just means we have a timing issue. You may think your dog is green, but really it is yellow. Inside the home yellow dogs are staring intently out the window or on patrol. On leash, they are sniffing and looking all over the place. Be sure your timing is good and you recognize green zone body language as we experienced during our lesson.
If you have any questions please call your trainer immediately.
