JennaLee Gallicchio - The Secret To Getting Your Dog To Do What You Want

What I learned when training Mattie

My story starts when I adopted a puppy who was out of control. I knew that if I didnt do something I would have to return him. I felt so ashamed and like a failure. But, in reality, I was overwhelmed and frustrated. When I say Ive been in the shoes of my clients, it's because I have.

When I adopted Mattie, I thought I understood and knew dogs. I had trained Sydney, my current dog at the time, and figured I knew what I was doing. In fact, I thought I was a dog expert. Hindsight is 20/20 and, looking back at that now, I can see how naive my thinking was. Boy oh boy, did Mattie have a thing or two to teach me about me being an 'expert'!

Mattie was distant, fearful, unloving and independent. He wanted nothing to do with me and I had no clue how to reach him. It felt like I was living with an autistic child. After 6 months, I almost called it quits. I was frustrated, overwhelmed and in over my head.

When my 6 year old dog Sydney died suddenly, I was devastated. The dog I adored was gone and I was left with a dog I didn't like, forget about love. But I was also left with no excuses. Making things work with Mattie became a priority and I was on a mission.

When I started training Mattie, I was coming from a perspective of 'my dog should do what I want because I want him to'. Anyone else been there? Sydney did that; Ryder (my current puppy) would probably do that; Mattie, on the other hand, wasn't that type of dog.

Mattie did what he wanted to do, because he wanted to do it. If there were negative consequences, he thought about it after the fact or not at all. He was in the moment and very independentyet very soft, temperament wise, I learned later.

The fact that he had no need for me, other than the meal I could feed him, (which he didn't like all that much) made training very difficult. At that time, I didn't understand or know about controlling resources and gave him whatever his heart desired. That was one of many mistakes I was making.

That was over 11 years ago and, since then, my life and how I train dogs has changed drastically.

In my training adventures, with Mattie and my clients, I've learned there is a lot of confusion about what a reward is and isn't. Most people think that a reward is a treat and only a treat. But a reward is whatever our dog enjoys doing or receiving.

I've learned that some people have a very difficult time rewarding their dogs and usually aren't rewarding frequently enough, while others are rewarding behaviors they don't want. I have also learned that rewards are different for each dog and are more than just treats.

A run in a field; chasing a lure; a game of chase; playing fetch, tug, food or a bone; even a smile or a word of praiseif your dog finds it rewarding, then it is and can be used as a reward.

Our dog needs to like getting it, in exchange for offering a behavior that we want. In order for it to work, the reward needs to have value to our pup.

What I learned in my missionon how to get through to Mattiechanged my life. Mattie was a tough cookie and one of the greatest gifts that he helped me to achieve was patience. He suffered from anxiety, so whenever we were in a new environment he would shut down and not eat.

I had to learn how to get creative with rewards for him.

For example, he always wanted to move forward and he usually liked to do it while 'screaming' and pulling on the leash. To counteract this, I would stop and wait for him to sit and be calm. Later, I required him to give me eye contact before we could keep going forward. As a reward, he got to move forward and continue walking.

The calm, quiet was what I wanted and the moving forward was what he wanted. So I used the moving forward as the reward. As we both got into the habit, it became much easier to reinforce it and Mattie got much better at walking on the leash.

Before Mattie passed away, I was able to fully see the transformation that our lives had taken. Mattie went from a distant, independent dog, to a dog who loved to snuggle next to me. He helped to teach our new four legged pack member, Ryder, so many things, including the importance of being calm while getting the leash on.

I was really lucky to have such an incredible teacher in my life and I am grateful that I was a willing student.

Seeing how Mattie was transformed and how my life was changed, has inspired me to help people like you. In being given this gift of opportunity and learning, I hope to help you and others know the joy that I experience with Ryder, and was lucky enough to experience with Mattie, daily.

Happy Training!