Teaching a dog to comply through Allowing

Allowing: means to give the necessary time or opportunity to do something. Allowing the dog to work out a command that is being asked helps them to commit it to memory. Forcing through pressure may work temporarily but it breaks down the relationship and does not last.

All too often I run into clients who want an immediate result without allowing the dog to understand what is being asked and the time to comply. They believe some sort of force is needed to make the dog comply.  This thought process will absolutely break down the trust you have built and cause lasting damage to your relationship. I have been working with many clients through my travel train program, where I travel the country spending 4 days training the client and their dog(s). In doing this I get to really see up close and personal the relationship between these clients and their dogs. Many clients are very dog savvy people and have owned dogs for decades and get a breed that just defies all they know about dogs and their previous methods just don’t work.

Force just pushes the dog to go on defense and look at their owner with caution and concern. This boils down to energy as well because in most cases the correction is given out of anger or frustration. A dog cannot listen or comply to a command when it is backed by that negative energy. So you think the dog is stubborn or "dumb" (yes several clients have believed their dogs were just too dumb to do what they asked), when in fact the dog is beginning to shut down and become cautious because of this exchange.

Building a clear Yes and No is extremely important. Corrections must be perfectly timed and must match the infraction. Sometimes a simple Verbal correction will help reset the dog and get it to focus, sometimes a slight leash tug with a verbal correction is needed and sometimes a stronger correction is needed especially if what the dog is doing could cause harm to itself or someone else.

In the first video we have Bella a 12 week old mini doodle. This is her first time learning the "Leave it" command. With this particular command I allow Bella to try to lick, scratch, and maybe nibble a little to try to get the treats. I want her to learn to stop those behaviors Through Allowing. This helps her problem solve and builds a strong memory picture for her. If I flicked her nose with my finger for doing any of those behaviors that would be a harsh correction for something simple. Instead I would just move her away and keep the lesson going.  You will see she is super excited and she happens to love the treats I’m using. Watch her expressions as she begins to really get what I’m asking.

The second video we have Jasper a 1 yr old wirehaired pointing griffon. This is his first time learning the "Place" command. I already showed him what I want and now the owner is showing him. The place command is an implied down and stay. When he gets on the place bed he should go right into a down. We want him to figure it out on his own so we use a  verbal correction and a slight leash tug if he doesn’t comply. I always start with just the verbal correction and move to a leash tug and verbal correction if he is stuck or if he has been shown what to do and is doing it and  then decides to do his own thing. We want to set him up for success so if I want to reset him we just free him with the OK release command and then have him get back on. We have him on leash  attached to his regular leather collar as a safety line in case he gets off the bed during the beginning phases of training.

Using force in either of these situations will just add confusion and break down trust. The corrections match the intensity of what the dog is doing.

PLAY: Adminstering the proper correction

In these videos we have Blaze and Jasper. Jasper is a 1 yr old intact male wirehaired pointing griffon (Griff). Blaze is a 10 yr old Griff.  This breed is very in tuned to energy and are natural interrupters they just need to be taught sometimes how and when to interrupt and in this post we are going to talk about the correction and the levels of warnings given before a physical touch ever happens.

This First video is the very first time both dogs are meeting off leash. Prior they met briefly behind a fence and during a walk to this location. Blaze is very honest and reads Energy fluently and he indicated he wanted to greet Jasper.  This is a very good example of how a true neutral dog (blaze) is able to show each phase of warnings leading up to a full on correction.

The phases go like this:  These are all appeasing moving into warning signals.

FREEZE I call this standing for inspection. The neutral dog will stand and allow the other dog to sniff him. His body may look ridged but it is not. The placement of the tail is in a neutral position either straight parallel with the body or slightly raised on an angle not high and stiff. High and stiff is ridged and signifies the next reaction will be a fight. 

LIP LICK This says I mean no harm just give me some space. Blaze does this in the very beginning of the first video.

BARK, SHOWS TEETH AND AIR SNAP This is a warning and most often matches the intensity of the infraction the other dog has done. In the first video blaze does this to jasper after jasper touches him with his paw in an attempt to hump him. Blaze fully follows through and walks off once he is done with his correction.

BARKS, SHOWS TEETH AND OPEN MOUTH GRAB This is a final correction and is usually done as the last chance to stop the unwanted behavior. I believe Blaze does this once to Jasper in the second video after Blaze attempts to show Jasper how he wants to play. Jasper begins to walk by Blaze and head butts him and Blaze does a bark and full mouth grab and then faces off with Jasper. Jasper accepts this and walks off then tries to engage again. The full correction can be seen at the very end of the second video. You will hear me say there wasn’t any teeth and there wasn’t until that last correction. I wasn’t sure what warranted that is when I slowed it down and if it is possible for you to do that then please do. You will see Jasper do the head butt and immediately Blaze gives a nice full on correction. 

** It’s important to seek the expertise  of a Professional Dog Trainer when deciding to use an e collar. Learning what level to use and the correct timing is paramount in helping the dog understand what is going on **

If you are using an e collar on low level stimulation or vibration when you see Jasper begin to amp up with the dancing around Blaze and the rushing in to do a nose touch this is when you press and hold the button till you get a change of behavior. Meaning the offending dog Moves away. We are just beginning to introduce the e collar to Jasper so we have not used it in any of these videos. 

PLAY: The natural interrupter

I’m going to do a couple of posts on playing to show what interruption looks like as in both these videos and next will be proper corrections.

In the first video we have Blaze (wirehaired pointing griffon) Barney ( border collie mix) and Lucy (pit bull mix and is muzzled in this video). Blaze is a neutral dog and a natural interrupter. Barney is my moms dog and very laid back with a touch of nervous/uneasy energy. Lucy is very confident but lacks social skills and it shows in her Play. She tries to take advantage of dogs with weaker energy and that is Barney in this case. I couldn’t figure out how to mute the video so I recommend playing on silent to just watch the dogs. In the video you will see Lucy become interested in Barney and start to follow then begin to amp up and start to body bump and rush under his legs I call these bully moves because it is pretty typical of the bully mixes to play in this style. It is totally inappropriate and can cause fights because if left unchecked it will build frustration in the other dog. Barney shows great patience and just tries to move away. Blaze sees what is going on and comes to interrupt Lucy. This is excellent play skills and is a great  example of a dog who is a natural interrupter. He succeeds in moving between them and gives a chance for Barney to move away but Lucy is too amped up and continues to follow him. Blaze moves with them and Barney ends up going into the porch area, I call him out as I don’t want him to get backed into a corner and feel the need to defend himself. He comes out and lucy continues to follow and once again goes under his legs. As they go up the hill Barney has finally had enough and gives one snap and Lucy accepts the correction and folllows him down the hill and Barney stands to be sniffed and begins to move off and the video ends.
The main take away from this video is how important it is to either have a neutral dog who is a natural interrupter or seeing when to interrupt play yourselves. As soon as Lucy starts to show a lot of interest in Barney that is when I would give a vibration on her e collar. It would be just enough to say slow down. If you wait till she starts to body bump or go under Barney’s legs then she would have amped up enough that the interruption of the e collar would not be as effective. Timing is everything. Using an e collar for a dog like lucy is an excellent way to take the owner out of the mix especially if they can get nervous and it is just enough "pressure" to say slow down or take it down a notch. I’m not using the e collar in this video because Blaze is such a perfect interrupter but if for some reason Blaze didn’t interrupt then I would have. This was the first time Lucy met Barney. She and Blaze had played together many times without the muzzle on and the vibration on her collar always helped her calm down and eventually we could call her off play and have her go to her place bed.

In the second video we have Blaze and Chloe both wirehaired pointing griffons. This is an excellent example of two dogs properly playing and both throw in spins and stops to interrupt play.   And when Chloe had enough and laid down blaze sniffed then just waited to see if play would resume. He walks off and eventually both get water.

Exercise: Mind, Body, Soul

 

Dogs need to exercise physically , mentally , and a combination of the two in order to lead a happy balanced life.

Mind: A dog needs mental exercise to sharpen their skills, whether hunting, herding, or lure coursing.  It is important to keep their mind sharp especially during the off season. You can do this through obedience, barn hunts, nose work, or treadmill training (this is NOT in place of a walk but along with one). Being creative and thinking outside the box to keep your dogs mind exercised is important if you live in an area with extreme weather conditions.  On extremely hot days I will feed Blaze his meals out of a treat ball, play nose work games where I will hide a small tin with anise or birch oil in it or you can just hide the dogs treats and that can work to exercise their mind,  I will use a flirt pole with a toy on the end and move it around the house for him to point or chase and catch. We do Urban Agility during the spring and fall where he is allowed to explore and go over or up on different surfaces. In the forest it is downed trees or up on large boulders!  The picture above is not staged, Blaze has been doing this for so long he now will get up on anything and pose. I did ask him to "feet up" his command to try to get his feet up on something and this was the result!


Body: Dogs need to move and explore. Opening the back door and letting them run your 1/4 acre or 10 acre property is Not sufficient  exercise. Most dogs will actually build bad habits when only allowed to exercise in their backyard. They tend to become barkers, chase and maybe kill squirrels or rabbits, and some will make their own fun by digging or destroying property.
The dogs already know that land and desperately need to be Walked off the property. This is the only way to exercise their mind and body. Teaching a proper heel is essential for their mind and to provide the necessary control to maneuver around town or on mixed trails. If you want to add some mental challenge to that walk place a back pack on your dog. When Blaze was younger (from about age 9 months to 18 months) I used a backpack on most walks. At first it was empty and he just got use to having it on then I would place a couple bottles of water in the backpack and we would do our walk or hike through the woods. Even just a 30 min walk with the backpack on would be more like 2 hrs. Because of the added mental challenge the backpack provides. A mental challenge is more Exhausting than a physical one for a dog because they are born to move.  Taking the dog off the property and to new locations help to provide that much needed ability for them to explore. Doing this on leash and off leash is essential to they whole world. Blaze is given at least 4-8 hours of off leash hunting each week. During this time he is free to explore and do what his natural instincts are which for his breed is to find and Point birds or other wildlife! When he finds something he will come back to me and bring me to what he has found! Once it was a flying squirrel another time it was a baby raccoon (pictured above). During that off leash romp I will often call him back to the heel position and walk further into the woods this has multiple benefits, it reinforces his recall, tightens up his obedience, and provides that necessary mental aspect of the experience. Heeling teaches impulse control and this helps the dog in any environment including in the home.

Soul:  This is the energy part of the process and is critical to having a truly balanced dog. When a dog is in tuned with its owner and its surroundings there is this beautiful flow of energy and they move as one. The dog is so aware of that energy connection they can sense where they are in relation to their owner and make changes to their pace to stay in that heel position or if they are off leash they will check in frequently to keep that energy flow connected!

Pictures are worth a thousand words

Pictures are worth a thousand words, meaning each person who sees a picture interprets it in their own unique way. I took this photo above while on vacation in North Carolina. To me this photo has a gorgeous Asian architecture feel to it. With the sunset, water, blazes profile, and the pergola it feels peaceful to me and it is my favorite photo of the vacation.

Our dogs see their world IN images and the words to describe the images are translated into energies and stored in their memory rolodex. Each time they have an experience that matches something from their memory rolodex they immediately feel the energy that was associated with that image when it was stored. Most of these energy experiences are a direct result of how WE feel and what WE project to our dogs. 

Dogs live in their Now everyday. They do not dwell in the past and they do not try to jump into the future, they simply love each day as a new day and continue to build new images. We can change the energy associated with those images if we just change our energy. This is explained further down.

Dogs are a direct energy reflection of our energy. So if your dog is reactive chances are strong that you have a reactive energy, if your dogs are anxious chances are you have an anxious energy, if your dog is confident chances are you have a confident energy. It’s sometimes hard to believe that WE are the cause of our dogs experiences.

Often you will hear someone say their dog does not like "men in hats", "short women", "skateboarders", "people with deep voices", "the delivery person". These are just not true.

The dog doesn’t like that man in a hat because the image he has stored in his memory rolodex and the energy associated with it is a negative one. This is because when that image was formed we somehow made the dog feel they had to experience that energy a certain way and in this case it was a negative energy.  Why? Maybe because at the time the dog was young and the man approached quickly startling the dog and the dog barked so instead of just allowing the dog to get a proper energy image we pulled the dog back and we ourselves got nervous/embarrassed and this translated to a negative energy to our dogs. If you believe that your dog is going to react to men in hats then they WILL react to men in hats because your energy forced them too. 

The dog doesn’t like skateboarders, bicycles, the ups truck. The dog doesn’t like the rushed energy of these things. Everything and everyone has an energy field around them and that energy is moving at the pace we are going. When an energy field is moving at a fast pace our dogs are charged by it. If they are in a calm state of mind based off your energy this movement won’t affect them but if you are in a rushed energy state or the dog is too far ahead of you then the dog will react and try to slow down or stop that fast paced energy.

You can change your dogs way of being just by your energy state.  The best way to gauge our energy state is by the way we feel. If we feel good our energy will be calm, if we feel content/acceptance our energy will be neutral, if we feel annoyed, frustrated, angry, anxious then our energy will be charged and negative. 

IMPULSE CONTROL/ SELF CONTROL

Blaze pointing a bird!!

Warning: This video does have a high pitched chirp so if your dog has an aversion to this sound play on silent,

Impulse control and self control has to be taught to every dog. Although they learn the beginning stages with their mom and litter mates (bite inhibition, proper play, patience waiting to feed, being patient durning play and if they get hurt not over correcting the other pup or shutting down) this is something that has to carry over when they go to their new home. Regardless of age so even a rescue or older dogs have to learn impulse control and self control.

All too often this is missed and before you know it you are fighting a fight to get your dog to walk past another dog without trying to say hi, wait while you open a door to get a package or as you come in with your hands full, accept staying home without destroying anything and learn how to play without being over excited.

Impulse control and self control go together one is the act of waiting for something they really want and the other is the emotional/energy side of knowing how to remain calm and control their emotions.

Impulse control and Self control are used throughout the dogs entire life and trickles down to every aspect of what they do and how they go about doing it. A hunting dog has to learn he can’t chase, he has to track and point the bird, if he just rushes in and chases or worse jumps after the bird once it is in flight he could get seriously injured. That same hunting dog has to learn self control when he goes to retrieve that bird he has to control his excited emotion and he can’t just chomp down or try to keep it for himself.

Separation anxiety is an example of a dog who lacks self control and impulse control.  They cannot emotionally handle being left alone and  they very often will destroy things trying to get out.

Impulse control helps teach self control.

The process of teaching impulse control is very simple and one of the main ways I do this is through the Place Command. Teaching the dog to go to their place and fully settle (the self control aspect of it) is extremely important. It trickles down to having a dog who can handle just about anything sent their way. It helps them learn to just walk on by and ignore that other dog, person, skateboard. It teaches them to have control when you leave the house and know that you will be back. It teaches them to learn to fully settle down in any situation.  It teaches them how to control their excitemnt durning play and teaches them to show restraint and not act out by humping, being too rough durning play and how to end play and walk away when they have had enough.

Self control is teaching a dog how to work through stress, excitement, frustration, and sometimes anger.

Blaze is the most well balanced dog I know and this is why he can teach other dogs self control and impulse control.

He has developed an aversion to certain sounds. He can handle thunderstorms, fireworks, and any other sound except the high pitched chirp of the low battery sound on the smoke detector. Or scuffing shows on a smooth surface.
In the video above you will see he is beginning to get fearful and I help him through this emotional reaction byputting him IN a command. In this case I have him lay down. I keep my tone calm nd steady and insist he goes into the down. I don’t feed into his emotional response and he will fully settle. He isn’t calm by any means just yet but he is learning to release that negative energy and does come out of it calm and relaxed.

Energy: Soft vs Sensitive

With some breeds you will hear the terms Soft and Sensitive interchanged but they have two completely different meanings and energy "emotions".

A soft dog is a dog who cannot handle the slightest correction without having a meltdown. This is most likely a physical correction in the form of a leash tug. This dog is in a negative "emotional" energy state and needs to be brought out of that state of mind and into a confident or acceptance state of mind. This kind of dog perceives everything being done as an attack on them, they are the type to have the "I am going to get you before you get me" attitude. This type of dog needs a calm confident leader not someone who will give up because the dog doesn’t listen to them. They don’t need someone that demands and expects the dog to do something immediately.  This dog needs a clear line of communication and needs a Yes and No. This dog does well when guided into a command then  allowed to work it out and go into it on their own the next time it is asked. This dog requires structure and rules. Obedience serves them well and they can move up the emotional energy scale to become a confident dog in time.

A sensitive dog is a dog who can handle many forms of correction as long as they match the transgression.  They are intelligent and capable of knowing what they did wrong and accepting an appropriate reprimand. This dog will most likely "Shut Down" if over corrected. They will not listen to negative energy. This dog is easy to train and eager to please. They thrive on consistency and structure. They prefer variety in their training program.

How to become an energy influencer

It is really hard for most humans to understand what energy is because we can’t smell, taste, or touch it. The above pictures are my way of helping you See Energy. This first picture was taken the day after I laid my special cat MIA to rest and this is her gravesite. Prior to taking this pic I rarely saw any color other than some orange when taking a direct pic of the sun. There is no denying that is her energy and she is showing me she is still near. 

Some people can see it and many people can feel it they just don’t realize it is energy they are feeling.
The second picture is one I took a few days after mia’s passing and 3 weeks after my father passed away. Sun pics prior only had that light orange glow. This pic is special as it shows my fathers energy (the blue/green dot) and mia’s pinkish energy. Sun is energy and we can all feel it. 

Now we will talk about how you can begin the process of really focusing on using your energy to influence your dog. Dogs thrive and survive on communication and since they cannot talk in our language we must learn theirs. Energy rules their world. They speak volumes to other dogs through their energy, body language and vocally. 

Blaze is my energy influencer because he knows dog language better than anyone. He is so fluent in it that he can change a dogs mind without a single word. To the naked eye it appears as though his presence alone is making something happen. And it is, his Energy presence is telling the other dog what his intention is and how he wants to go about doing it. I have watched Blaze engage with an aggressive dog and completely change that dogs mind from wanting to fight (he was showing this through his body language but had already said it through his energy) to choosing to walk away. That is very powerful. 

I was working with a dog who was very reactive and would bite the leash and viciously and violently shake it out of complete frustration. She was a country dog living in the big city and she just could not handle the energy fields that surrounded her. One day after a very difficult day and after really being hard on myself for not being able to effectively communicate with this dog  I decided to play some music to reset the energy of the room and dog. I played my steel tongue drum and immediately the dog calmed down and actually fell asleep.

The next day I decided to place a picture in my mind of what I expected for that day and I also worked on using my energy to influence this dog. I played my drum, for some of you meditation will help or just listening to music or walking in the woods anything that brings you happiness use it to get your energy aligned. I made the decision to accept the dog for who she was meant to be not the fury that existed. We went on a walk and I paid close attention to how I was feeling and used that to gauge  how she was handling the experience. We walked past many of her normal triggers but my energy was so aligned with what I knew she could be that it helped her relax and instead focus on me. I did not ask her to do anything I just allowed my energy to speak.

At one point we came to a intersection and it was loud and a lot of people were around and a few dogs. I could feel strongly her energy amping up so I simply walked away and just stood about 20 feet from the intersection and with just that she did a full body shake (this is a strong release of energy and looks dramatic) and did one bark and was really easy to move on. We continued our walk and only had one time where we walked through an energy field and I felt it to and she bit the leash and tugged on it (not at all violently like she use to) and I waited and in just seconds she was back in a heel and we went in the home. 

Instead of forcing your reactive dog to move on just step aside and allow your calm energy to influence your dog and let the dog take a break then move on once the dog is ready. We tend to try to hurry the dog on because maybe we are embarrassed at how the dog is acting or we feel it is better to just quickly get away from the trigger. This isn’t helping the dog. It is Further amping it up because now it has to deal with your rushed energy. It is important to remain as calm as you can if the dog does react this way the dog will let go of the frustration faster and be ready to move on.

The Reactive Dog: Body Language and Your Energy

When dealing with your reactive dog it is important to know why it is reactive, what its triggers are, and how to help the dog work through its reactivity. The majority of reactive dogs that I have dealt with are that way because the owners energy is off balance and the dog feels the need to correct the unwanted behavior of the oncoming dog or stop the movement ( energy ) of the person coming towards them. In almost every case the dog has initially looked to the owner for information but none is given so the dog reacts and the dog or person or both either leave or react in kind.
Knowing your dogs triggers and watching for signs that they are uncomfortable will help stop the reaction before it happens.

In the pic above this dog is highly reactive and redirects its frustration back onto the owner, biting and sometimes breaking skin. She is this way because her owner became afraid of her since each time the dog reacted she would get bitten. This energy cannot be followed so the muzzle is used to help prevent the dog from redirecting onto its owner and to prevent the dog from making contact with another dog or person. If you look closely you will see the dogs furrowed brow this is a clear sign she is concerned and will react. What you want to do is address the dog before it gets to this level. You want to see a soft expression and lowered relaxed ear set. In this state of mind the dog can accept information and follow instructions. Keeping this dog in a proper heel will help keep her mind at ease.

Body language to look for that says your dog is uncomfortable:
Tail is high and stiff (overly confident/ highly aroused) or so low it appears tucked (extremely fearful/shut down)
Ear set is Far Forward and dog appears to be on their tippy toes ( highly aroused/ overly excited)
Hair on back is raised ( cautious/nervous)
Head is in a lowered position and dog is crouched down a little ( playful/unsure)
Body is fully erect and chest is pushed out ( over aroused/ can be a playful stance for some breeds and can be a fight stance for others)

In all the above situations if the owner would put the dog IN a command such as a sit or down the dog is less likely to react. Instead most owners turn around and this is further Evidence to the dog that they should feel concerned and it keeps the cycle going.

To help the reactive dog first make sure your energy is confident and calm, place a picture in your head of what you want to see, and head out for your walk. If someone is coming towards you just step off the trail or sidewalk and place your dog in a sit or down. As the person approaches remind the dog what it is doing so say sit or down. Relax and allow the dog to be curious sniffing the air is a great thing. If the dog begins to get up or does a low growl give a correction and have the dog go back into the position it was in.  It’s a work in progress but it can be trained away. It does Not require medicine just training.

Free wheeling vs Heeling with a reactive dog

Energy surrounds all of us and is a direct connector to our dogs. When you allow your dog to "Free Wheel" far out in front of you that connection is broken and the dog begins to feel a little unsure. If your dog has begun to react to dogs and/or people on walks one thing you can do is teach a solid Heel Command. 

In the video posted above I was training a dog in Guatemala who was very reactive to people and dogs. In the 10 days I was there I trained the house manager Paola how to properly walk Ivy and keep her in a heel position. By keeping the reactive dog in a heel you reinforce that energy connection and give the dog confidence that nothing is going to happen. This helps the dog to learn to treat you as part of their team and focus on you when something they perceive as a threat is near.

We are using a training collar called the Starmrk Collar and it teaches pressure on: slow your pace and focus, pressure off: we move in unison and my confident energy brings a peace to the reactive dog. 

This video is very important because a man (one of Ivy’s main triggers) comes down a hill and initially walks directly behind ivy and Paola, then next to them and finally in front of them. When ivy notices him she doesn’t react at all instead she gives her full focus to Paola. Once the man passes Paola reaches in her back pocket to get a reward to give to ivy. This video was day 4 of my 10 day training.

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Energy work with dogs

Dogs Feel Energy The Way We Feel Wind.

Think about that for a second energy is that powerful for our dogs. It is one of the main ways they communicate as well as receive information.  Energy is all around us yet we sometimes have a hard time understanding what it is and it’s affect on our dogs.  

The very first thing I do when working with a new dog is balance my own energy. I do this through quiet meditation and while I’m in this calm state of mind I place a picture in my mind of what I expect to see at the end of the training program. This sets the tone for the training and sets my energy at a place that makes the dog feel comfortable from the first meeting. 

Energy is moving at a fast pace all around us and our dogs are constantly having to walk through these energy fields and adjust all along the way. If a dogs energy is off balance it affects their whole world. They have trouble adjusting to the energy around them and begin to develop behavioral issues. Sometimes it can be mild and they just seem hyper or always charged up. Sometimes it can be moderate and you start to notice the dog acts out at certain times and "all of a sudden" will jump up on someone or bark and lunge at someone while on a walk. Sometimes it is severe and the dog is in a state of emergency because they just cannot adjust the energy flow to meet what they are feeling and experiencing at the time. 

It is this last dog I’m going to talk about and help you understand why your energy is so important in helping bring your dog back to being balanced. Unfortunately many dogs end up in this severe energy state of emergency for many reasons. Some are rescues and have lived the majority of their lives in deprecation. Missing out on their basic needs forcing them to get so far removed from who they innately are that they shut down and just move in an alternate universe. They are too afraid to trust, too afraid to believe and too afraid to listen because in their minds doing Nothing is better than doing something and getting corrected. These dogs require the most patience and the most neutral energy flow. 

In humans we call this working the person up the emotional scale from rage stage to a place where they can accept instruction and be able to "talk it out". In dogs I call this Energy Work, I am litterally working the dog up the energy scale from a place of utter dismay to a place where they can accept direction and instruction without fear of making a mistake. I train them to trust and to respect. Setting a clear line of verbal as well as energy communication is imperative to their psyche. This means I must use my calm energy to help unlock their mind and allow me to give them confidence through small wins then these small wins open their mind further to accept direction ( yes ) and correction 

( no ). Helping them make better choices through the decision process where they can’t make a mistake. So at first I show what I want and may make it two things like either going into a down or removing yourself from the room. Both are good choices so both would be rewarded and this is where I build the confidence because they can’t make a mistake. If they don’t choose either and instead engage in the bad behavior then they get corrected. The correction will match the level in which they choose to engage and will be done with me having a very neutral energy even if my voice raises I am never doing anything from anger or frustration (both energy wise are weak and unsure to dogs) so the dog does fully know it earned that correction and this is where I earn their respect.

Owners are more often coming from an energy of anger or frustration because they "believe" the dog should know better. This looks weak to the dog and a dog cannot listen to or follow weak energy. And so the cycle begins. The owners amp up their voices first, then they physically manipulate the dog into a position, and finally they demand the command. The dog will not listen so the owner gives up or gets angry and again demands the command. This energy is so ugly to the dog that they just cannot listen to it and they become further shut down. The owner is so frustrated at this time they resort to just manipulating the dog into the desired position. And now the dog will not go into a position without physical manipulation because they really energetically don’t understand what is being asked since the energy is contradicting the picture the dog sees. 

It starts out like this: Dante Sit, sit, SIT. DANTE SIT. dog is now physically (maybe forcefully) manipulated into a sit. Owner gives a reward. Now owner is annoyed then decides to keep training and says Dante Sit, because Dante did not immediately go into a sit owner is now frustrated and says DANTE SIT. dog does not sit because the energy is ugly and dog is now afraid to make a mistake and chooses to do nothing. Owner says DANTE SIT and manipulates dog into a sit, then rewards. Do you see how this is confusing to the dog? Dante cannot win here. 

Instead do this: Dante Sit, wait for dog to go into a sit, 20 seconds pass say Dante (drawn out) Sit and Guide with reward into a sit, dog sits and you Toss the reward. You do this to help the dog learn going into the Sit gets a reward and this gives the dog a chance to come back to do it again. Dante comes back a little more eager to play and you say Dante Sit and you wait and now Dante will try and sits he is immediately rewarded and the game ends. The energy was neutral and the dog felt comfortable trying because we gave him a choice. By guiding into position with the reward instead of physically manipulating him into it we help build his confidence and give him the opportunity to try!!! Next time you work with Dante he will most likely give an immediate response and go into the sit since he knows he will please you and since your energy feels good to him.