Get Real

Having had chronic lower back pain for longer than I care to remember, I’ve developed a friendly relationship with my chiropractor. He’s excellent at what he does, and along with adjustments, he dispenses advice aimed at lessening pain through lifestyle changes. One of his tenets is that for each minute spent sitting, one should be spent moving, preferably by walking. While this may be sound advice that produces good results, it’s unrealistic for me; some days I’d have to spend five hours or more walking to balance out my time at the computer. Who has that luxury?

Our conversation made me think about the protocols dog trainers suggest to clients. Sure, owners should be expected to follow basic management routines and practice training exercises. But I have seen protocols with literally hundreds of steps. I doubt any client would have the patience for them, never mind the trainers! There are also behavior modification techniques that demand an extremely intensive commitment from owners, whether it’s one of time spent with the trainer at the session, time spent on daily practice, or a major overhaul of the owner’s lifestyle. Or the solution is overly complicated or difficult to carry out. While the techniques themselves may have merit, they’ll be worthless if the owner can’t or won’t comply.

To be effective trainers, we must walk a fine line. We need to provide effective training techniques, behavior modification, and management programs. But we should also make sure our solutions are realistic within each client’s lifestyle and abilities. The way we would work with a dog if he were being boarded with us is most certainly above and beyond what the average owner would or could do; that’s why board-and-train is so successful. In these busy times, expecting the average owner to spend hours a day working with or exercising their dogs is only setting them up to fail.

Behavior problems cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all mentality. A good trainer will know many solutions for the same problem, and will customize one to fit the individual’s needs and lifestyle. Part of that customization involves working with clients to find out what is feasible for them. Asking, “Does that sound doable?” can go a long way in designing an effective program and gaining compliance. Training should always be a cooperative partnership between trainer, dog, and owner. Working together to find realistic solutions can make it happen.