Is training with your dog a source of satisfaction? Or are you more often than not left frustrated? When we talk about reward-based training we're usually focussed on what is rewarding for your dog. This is obviously relevant because we want our dogs' to be motivated to do the training. More importantly, we want them to 'get their satisfaction' from us. So, we certainly don't want our dogs' to be figuratively singing us this song!!!
It's important to consider our satisfaction when training. We need to feel satisfaction to create the motivation to continue.
When training with our dogs' goes well we experience lots of emotions. We feel pleasure, we feel pride, happiness, connection with our dog, enthusiasm. These feelings motivate us to want to do it again. Contrast this to how we feel when our dog is heading for the horizon at top speed to chase something and not responding to our recall. We feel frustrated, angry, annoyed, dismayed. We feel like giving up - why bother! We lose our motivation and don't feel like continuing.
At the Really Useful Dog Training School we understand both sides of training. We understand that having fun increases the likelihood of wanting to repeat something - for both you and your dog. We understand that whilst the problem is important, the solution is what you need. That's why we use Games-Based training. It puts you and your dog in the 'right frame of mind' to want to continue enthusiastically in your training. It's fun and effective, and it makes both of you want to 'come back for more'.
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