Dog Blog by the Bali Dog Trainer

 Do you know how dog behavior is formed? Dog behavior is formed through patterns and repetition. A dogs perception is very binary, black and white. It's yes or no. So when building a behavior we want to reinforce the behaviors we do want, and not encourage the behaviors we want to discourage. Having a clear and concise communication system with your dog is key to building up patterns in your dog. Keep consistent and calm, and show your dogs what is ok and what is not ok. JK

 How do our emotions affect our dogs? They do very much. Dogs are sensitive to our emotions and energy. It is important to practice calmness and clarity without being emotional when handling dogs, especially if they are energetically imbalanced. Dogs pick up on our energy, and often times these energies do not match with our behavior, sound intonation and other things that they pick up on. It's like you're saying no, but the dog is understanding yes. Has this happened to you? if so, probably the dog did not understand what your expectation was, or the dog knows that you don't mean it because of lack of follow through. Follow through provides clarity and eliminates confusion. The less emotion goes in the mix, the more clarity the dog senses. Always keep calm, be assertive and consistent. JK