Two months ago, we adopted a 2.5 year old male Australian Shepherd. His previous owner raised him from puppyhood, and rehomed him 2 years and 2 months later because he was too disruptive in their home, was stealing socks, and surfing/stealing food on the counter.
Shortly after Buddy came home, we purchased the Educator ET-300 Mini and spent the first 2 weeks of his rehabilitation, establishing and enforcing boundaries, drilling impulse control, and rewarding him with liberty in our home as he earned it.
Buddy stepped up to the plate swimmingly! It was very evident that he was not a dumb or mean dog. Sadly, he had formed bad habits because lazy humans allowed him to. He formed bad habits because he was bored and desperately wanted a job, something productive to DO. He wanted to be challenged and enjoy stimulation of mind and body. He desperately wanted to fall asleep exhausted at the end of each day.
After 1 week of recall training with the Educator ET-300 Mini, Buddy earned the right to be off leash. The additional exercise became an added benefit by tiring him out. This in turn reduced his stress/anxiety and allowed him to focus during training sessions.
After 3 weeks of training with the Educator ET-300 Mini, Buddy's stay/wait was rock solid!! He was non-reactive to balls or frisbees being tossed AND he was able to recalled from a moving ball.
At the 6 week mark, we detected a dramatic improvement in him. He was calmer, focused, engaged and connected. He took pride in his accomplishments and responded accordingly when corrected. You could almost see the thought bubble over his head, "I did it, I really did it! i AM a good boy!"
During those first 6 weeks we played, exercised, drilled, practiced, praised, corrected, and challenged him. Adding minutes to seconds, building the foundation on which his obedience skills gradually became more precise and dependable.
At week 6, he was totally solid on "come", "wait/stay", "drop it", "leave it". These are the primary building blocks to layering good behaviors in a dog. It only took us just over a month to achieve these results.
What is my point?
My point is this:
SO many people bring home a puppy or new dog and don't put in the work it takes to shape good behaviors and manners.
SO many people rehome dogs because they "don't work out in the home" or "they are ill-mannered".
SO many people give up on dogs without realizing how close they are to having a truly wonderful companion and well-mannered member of their home.
Buddy's previous owner was only 2-6 weeks from that goal.
Let that sink in.
2-6 weeks. That's it. That's the difference between having an ill-mannered dog and having a well-mannered dog.
Training dogs is not rocket science. It takes patience, consistency, patience, leadership, patience communication, and more patience.
Training dogs also takes a huge amount of embracing the boredom. We as humans are bored very easily. Dogs on the other hand, are not bored easily. So the 5-10 minute drill we conduct repeatedly over 14-35 days can be wearisome. But ONLY if you let it! With each successive drill, the dog WILL get better! And that is the payoff!! That is the standing ovation at the end of each training session.
Set up your dog for success by doing the following:
Ask little!
Reward greatly!
End on a high note!
Rinse and repeat a few times a day. Mix up where and you perform your drills. This will keep your dog interested and you from poking your eye out with a stick, LOL!
Remind yourself that if you work a little every day, that you are only 2-6 weeks away from modifying your dog’s behavior in positive and long-lasting ways.
With each goal that is achieved, stretch out the wait time or the precision of the task.
When Buddy came home he had ZERO "wait" tolerance. So when he was able to "wait" for a few seconds, I rewarded him profusely! He quickly learned what was expected. Now, he will "wait" for several minutes...and I reward him just as profusely!
I share our experience with others as an encouragement that your dog is only 2 weeks away from being a more mannered dog and only 6 weeks away from being a wonderfully obedient and trustworthy dog.
If you don't have the tools/skills, read a book, talk with others, hire a trainer, or board your dog with a trainer to do the work (each of these is incrementally more expensive).
Ultimately, you will get out of your dog what time you are willing to invest.
There are no shortcuts.
There are no magic potions.
There are no dogs born obedient.
Like any relationship, dog training takes work, commitment, communication and trust.
With the Educator ET-300 Mini, we were able to modify Buddy's behavior, transforming his bad habits into good, revealing the wonderful dog he is, giving him a new home and a new lease on life! Now after 2 months, he is an absolute joy to be around, is trustworthy in our home and trustworthy off leash.
