Starting Out

urban hound dog training boston

This post originally appeared on the website of our Master Trainer, Nick Miller. For more of Nick’s daily training insights, visit nicktmiller.com

I often have an idea in mind about how I’m going to start working with a new dog. But, if I’m being honest, it isn’t until I’m holding the leash and present with the dog that I really know what these opening minutes will look like. And that’s usually because it’s the dog that tells me what he or she needs.

Yesterday I started working with Franklin, and it looked something like this:

dog training boston urban hound

And then a mere 30 minutes later I started with Peekah and it looked something like this:

dog training boston urban hound

Two dogs. Two different life stages. Two different needs.

While I moved slowly with Franklin, it was clear that he needed to see that I knew how to reinforce what his owners had already taught him, and that we were going to build off of that.

Peekah, on the other hand, needed to see that we would be friends first. And that any requests I made of her would be built off of that initial gentle trust.

First impressions are important, and moving too far in the wrong direction will always create more work for you and the dog. So I try to slow down, take my time, and see what the dog needs from me. From there we can start the collaborative process.