Dog Trainer Gets Unruly Large Dog Under Control: Let's Examine How
I was gonna stitch this on tiktok to give this guy lots of credit. But, it wasn't allowed so I'll just write what he's doing correctly and what he’s not.
Before we start, just a little reminder, I was a dog trainer my whole career in the Marine Corps. My last job in the Marine Corps was as the Chief Marine Instructor at the Military Working Dog School. Anyway, that's my credentials. Take it or don't but it was fun watching this trainer.
Alright, the first thing I want you to pay attention to is the way he works the leash. He’s pulling up when he wants the dog to sit. Dogs have something called “opposition reflex.” They naturally want to do the opposite of force. If you want them to go backward? Pull forward. You want them to sit? Pull up. This trainer keeps a little too much tension throughout but that's nitpicking. He's a good trainer.
My only real critique comes when he tries to get the dog's feet off of him and the leash. It was just kind of sloppy. Ideally, you throw the legs to the side and slide in over the dog like Cris Collinsworth to assert dominance while pulling up to put the dog in the sit. You pair all of that movement with the command of "sit." That teaches the dog to sit and reinforces you’re the dominant one in the relationship which this dog clearly needs.
If you wanna learn more about how to manipulate your dog's natural instincts to become better trained, this video is pretty good start.
And, if you wanna hear more of my dog training takes, subscribe to Zero Blog 30.
