Slow But Steady Dog Training

Daisy and Tanner in laundry room.

When you are training everyday it is often hard to see any progress made. Tanner still doesn't want to drop to the floor when I shoot him with my finger. Kota hesitates when you ask him to lay down. Daisy will roll over only with luring her. Sometimes you feel as though you must be teaching them poorly because they are still doing the same things as before.

Today my daughter had her friend over. Her friend is terrified of our dogs even though the only one that will do any harm is Daisy because of her fear aggression. They hate to be confined to the laundry room and ever time her friend walks into the kitchen (the laundry room door is glass) they will bark at her. Tanner is the worst he hates to be confined and will bark. Many people think he is aggressive because he will bark constantly if he sees them from the laundry room.

Today they actually remained calm when she came into the kitchen and ate at the table. The only time Tanner became upset was when the kids were running around and making noise. All three dogs seem to making progress even though it was not directly related to their training, so working with them I think is helping them to feel more comfortable around humans. Maybe the training I did yesterday in the car with Daisy helped her to feel more comfortable when someone comes to visit.

My husband also had his friend over and Daisy especially hates men. But after the initial barking they were able to calm themselves and relax on their beds. So you may at times feel that you are not making any progress and then one day you just realize that you work is starting to pay off.