The small moments

What we allow in all the small moments with our dogs makes us or breaks us in all the bigger moments...
The mindset of a dog is the BIGGEST factor in how he’ll approach and behave in every situation. Will he chose calm and polite behaviour or impulsive and rude actions? All the little and seemingly benign moments every day where we can pattern our dogs to be calm and polite or allow them to behave impulsively and rudely stack up and they give our dogs an clear impression of our leadership influence... strong and dependable or soft and unsure? Who would you trust and follow? Something as simple and routine as our daily feeding habits are one of those small moments and opportunities to prove ourselves as believable leaders that our dogs want to respect and follow. A good example is to teach your dog how to be calm around food and wait politely for permission to eat. If your dog struggles with resource guarding the food bowl, it’s important that he learns to wait politely to eat and to also disengage from the food when asked. He can do this with the support and guidance of strong leadership that helps him maintain a calm mindset around valuable resources like food and also holds him accountable for his behaviour and choices.