Good Dog: How To Set Specific Expectations

Owners frequently call us to say: “My dog is amazing, but he has one problem!” That problem might be something comparatively small, or it might be something bigger. It’s always bizarre to hear someone say “My dog’s perfect except for the fact that he attacks other dogs.”

Let’s dig deep into this. A dog’s nervous system controls its ability to process stress. Fear, anxiety, and aggression all come from a place of stress. Your dog’s nervous system dictates how well he or she will press that stress. A strong nervous system can handle a lot of stress, while a weak one can only handle stress for a shorter period of time.

Summer is on its way, and that means that everyone is going to be at the park with their dog. We’re going to be camping, hiking, and fishing . It’s fun to take our dogs along too! Many people want to take their dogs on these adventures off-leash, and unfortunately most of these people shouldn’t. Have you ever been out in public and had a dog run right up to you? Usually the owner is calling out “Don’t worry, he’s friendly!” That doesn't matter. What if I were terrified of dogs or allergic to them? What if my dog wasn’t friendly?

The message I want to convey boils down to this: leave dogs alone when you’re in public! When you see a dog, especially a service dog, just leave it alone. I know that’s tough for a lot of people. I probably don’t understand this urge to interact with dogs, because I’m surrounded by dozens of them every day and usually fulfill my “dog quota” with no problem. But there is nothing more frustrating to a service dog’s trainer or handler than to be out in public teaching the dog and be constantly interrupted by folks who just want to chat.

Someone called into our Salt Lake City training center to ask me to come to their home and house train their dog. As I explained that we only train at the center, I realized that going to the house wouldn't even be necessary. In fact, I’ve house trained hundreds of dogs without ever once seeing the houses they lived in.

I have plenty of clients with dogs that are big and cute. Some of these dogs also, unfortunately, have aggression issues. Frequently the owner will be walking their dog on the street and have to deal with a difficult situation: a neighbor sees the dog, lights up with a smile, and runs across the road to get in the dog’s face and say hello.

Right now, it’s starting to feel a little bit like spring in Utah. It seemed like winter lasted forever! We had two inches of snow down here in the valley last week, and there’s still snow on the mountains. Utah Sometimes it feels like winter ends in May and spring only lasts a month until we’re into summer.

In this post, I want to ask you to do something. You don’t need to do it right now, especially if you're at school or in your office or at another public place. (In fact, if that’s the case, please save this task for later!) The next time you're getting dressed, put your pants on the other way: if you're used to putting in your left leg first, then try to put in your right leg and then your left.

This post might be out to burst your bubble, because in it I want to talk about selective hearing. Here’s why what I’m about to say might disappoint you: dogs don't have selective hearing in quite the way you think they do. Selective hearing is what most people blame when they say things like: “Sometimes I call my dog and he looks around and thinks about it, but decides not to come” or “I tell my dog to sit, but he’s pretty selective about whether he obeys.”

I love summer. I love not worrying about wearing shoes. I love leaving the house in shorts and no jacket without worrying about getting cold. I hate the rain and the snow and anything falling out of the sky. (Why do I live in Utah, you’re probably asking!) So the rain we’ve been getting recently has really dragged on me, but there is a bit of a silver lining.