When It Comes to Training Your Dog, What’s Your Why?

In business, we talk about “what’s your why?” I think it’s a good question to ask in dog training as well. I find it helps guardians to consider their “why” as they are embarking on a lifelong training journey with their inquisitive canines. It’s likely that some, or all, of the following reasons will emerge:

Reason #1: To Help Animals Live in Our Human World

We can help make the world a friendlier place for dogs by teaching them life skills that help them adapt to everyday challenges in our human-centric world. Effective training that supports humane, force-free interactions on both ends of the leash can help keep our canine besties safe and comfortable as we navigate our lives together.

Training games and enrichment activities provide for our dogs’ overall physical and mental well-being and enhance and enrich their lives, so they can thrive. Living a Zen, peaceful life with a dog who is happy, secure, and confident begins with understanding and providing for their physical and mental needs.

Reason #2: To Bring out the Best in Your Best Friend

When pet parents apply the techniques and problem-solving skills learned in training to real-life situations, training takeaways include canine life skills to last a lifetime!

A truly effective way to address specific behavior needs is using a humane, force-free approach.

Teaching dogs what we want and motivating them to make good behavior choices through positive reinforcement, can prevent having to fix things down the road. Starting out on the right paw from the beginning helps save resources – especially the emotional ones.

Reason #3: To Strengthen the Canine-Human Bond

More than just teaching cues — a gentle humane approach to training will help you strengthen your bond with your dog.

Dog training is both an art and a science. Quality education and proper skills training help build and maintain a loving, joyful and mutually respectful relationship. And, when you develop the best possible relationship with your dog, you and your inquisitive canine are prepared to take on life’s challenges as a team. You and your pup can learn new skills at your own pace, in a way that is enjoyable, doable and motivating.

As a certified professional dog trainer, behavior consultant, and human-canine relationship coach, my ‘why’ is to help create a cultural shift where dog guardians are empowered to enhance the bonds they have with their dogs and make the world a friendlier place for all inquisitive canines. What’s your why?

Here’s to harnessing fun and unleashing the extraordinary with dogs everywhere!

The Inquisitive Canine was founded by Santa Barbara certified canine behavior consultant and certified professional dog trainer Joan Hunter Mayer. Joan and her team are devoted to offering humane, pawsitive, practical solutions that work for the challenges dogs and their humans face in everyday life. Joan offers coaching both in-person and online. If you are feeling inquisitive and have dog training questions, we invite you to contact The Inquisitive Canine for A Pawsitive Approach for Positive Results ™.