Why do we call it a ‘communication’ based training approach?

Why do we call it a ‘communication’ based training approach? Because that’s exactly what we’re doing… communicating with the dog to help her understand exactly what we’re asking her to do and then helping her successfully do it!

This video with Velma shows a perfect example of how I use our communication approach to help her follow through on a recall in a challenging situation when she gets very distracted passing the other dogs. Without my feedback and ecollar information, Velma would have gotten herself into a rowdy situation and completely blown off her commands which makes for a very poor mindset, very poor behaviour and potential conflict.

In the first half of the video, we’ll see Velma begin to impulsively dart off to go chase with Havii. You’ll hear me say ‘No’ and then repeat the recall command ‘come’ as I also add ecollar information to tune her back in and get her back on track. This communication helps Velma switch her priority back to me and her commands and off the very handsome Havii. In the second half of the video, we’ll see Velma repeat her recall without any mistakes thanks to the communication and understanding she received the last time. Dogs, like humans, are always going to make mistakes so our training is never about creating perfect dogs who don’t make mistakes, that’s an impossible and unrealistic expectation! But rather our communication based training is about teaching dogs a skill set and a communication system that their handler’s can use to help navigate though the twists and turns to stay on track together despite the mistakes, distractions and challenges that we all face in real life.