{"id":2737,"date":"2016-09-08T20:55:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T20:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testmaria.satemporary.online\/2016\/09\/08\/2016-09-08-building-an-athlete\/"},"modified":"2024-04-26T23:40:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T23:40:28","slug":"building-an-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testmaria.satemporary.online\/2016\/09\/08\/building-an-athlete\/","title":{"rendered":"Building An Athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"
One of the biggest messages out there in dog training is the one about a tired dog being a good dog. The premise is, that if you\u2019ll just find a way to tucker your dog out consistently, he\u2019ll be happy, well-behaved, and chill. Your job is to find out how to exercise him or her enough to create this magic.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the rub. How would you, the human, go about becoming more athletic, having more stamina, more go-go juice, more endurance? You know the answer. It\u2019s an easy one. You\u2019d workout. Consistently. Every day you\u2019d push yourself, and every day you\u2019d either maintain or increase your athletic abilities. Would you be tired post-workout? Sure. Of course. But after a little rest you\u2019d be stronger, faster, and more resilient. And because exercise is addicting, because it releases so many pleasurable hormones, you\u2019d be dying to go tomorrow!!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same for our dogs. We exercise them like crazy, teach them to just go, go, go, and then we wonder why they\u2019re movement\/action\/adrenaline junkies. We turn them into super athletes who NEED the fix daily. But even with the fix, they\u2019re still crazy and ill-behaved \u2013 just not for the hour post-action.<\/p>\n
Of course we, and our dogs need exercise, release, fun, activity etc., and we should all make sure to provide that for ourselves and our dogs. It\u2019s a big part of being healthy. But it\u2019s not the only part! Just like we need the other side of the coin -the calm, the focused, the relaxed \u2013 so do our dogs. Our dogs need a balance. They need the go and the slow. The on switch, and the off switch.<\/p>\n
And just like we can cultivate super athlete dogs, we can also cultivate relaxed dogs. We can cultivate and condition our dogs to be relaxed and calm through certain kinds of training and lifestyle. But most owners (and trainers) seem to forget this essential piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n
If you were looking to learn how to slow your hyper-mind down, if you were looking to learn how to relax, if you were looking to learn how to be calm and chilled, you wouldn\u2019t expect exercise to be your only answer. No. You\u2019d work on quiet activities \u2013 like reading, meditation, something creative, a quiet walk, downtime, rest. Of course this isn\u2019t a perfect parallel for our dogs; they can\u2019t do all the stuff we can, but they can do their own versions of it. And they can reap similar rewards.<\/p>\n
Some simple suggestions would be:<\/p>\n
-Slow your walk with your dog. (If it\u2019s a slow, structured heel it will work the brain far more than a speedy walk. Remember, slow is hard for dogs, fast is easy.)<\/p>\n
-Teach duration \u201cplace\u201d or \u201cdown\u201d commands. (Few things will transform your dog\u2019s behavior as dramatically as duration work. We call this doggie meditation for a reason. It slows the mind, and teaches dogs to learn to ignore the myriad stimuli that are going on all around them \u2013 and which they usually react to. This helps condition a calm, peaceful dog.)<\/p>\n
-Teach your dog to be able to manage its energy when playing. (Develop an \u201con\/off\u201d switch by utilizing action then dead-stop inaction. Play fetch or tug and after a few reps ask for a long down and walk away, move around, and then restart. This teaches your dog to learn to manage him or herself even when energy gets flowing \u2013 and that the play and action can stop at any moment.)<\/p>\n
-Only allow access to what your dog wants when calm behaviors are offered. (Crate rushing, threshold rushing, car door rushing, food rushing etc. All these are examples of opportunities to teach calm gets what you desire, thus conditioning more calm choices.)<\/p>\n
-Correct any unwanted, over the top behavior. (It\u2019s up to you to teach your dog what is and what isn\u2019t acceptable behavior. Stopping monkey business \u2013 think jumping on and off furniture, running around the house, jumping on people, barking at you or anything, mouthing etc \u2013 and overly aroused behavior will give your dog access to better choices.)<\/p>\n
-Slow yourself down! (Our dogs will definitely mirror us, and if we\u2019re constantly on-edge, agitated, moving fast, anxious, and stressed, we\u2019re far more likely to see similar stuff from them. If you\u2019ll provide a more calm, conscious, chilled out you, you\u2019ll have much better chance of getting more of this from your dog.)<\/p>\n
The main point here is that exercise alone won\u2019t give you the dog you want. It won\u2019t create a well-behaved, calm, respectful, relaxed dog. But the appropriate balance of exercise, structure, rules, and actually conditioning slower, calmer behavior will.<\/p>\n
Sean O’Shea
\nThe Good Dog Training And Rehabilitation<\/p>\n
Solid K9 Training<\/b> Training Center- 25 Acorn Street, Providence, RI 02903<\/p>\n
(401) 274 1078 Providence Training Center Info<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n *********FOLLOW Solid K9 Training**********<\/p>\n Subscribe To My YouTube Channel<\/a> Building An Athlete By Sean O’Shea One of the biggest messages out there in dog training is the one about a tired dog being a good dog. The premise is, that if you\u2019ll just find a way to tucker your dog out consistently, he\u2019ll be happy, well-behaved, and chill. Your job is to find out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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