Raina and I working her in drive with the photography class getting some action shots.

The single most important part of training with your dog is the relationship. What is the whole reason you got a dog in the first place? Most people its for a companion, a friend, someone who can experience life with them. Why wouldn’t you want the ultimate relationship with your best friend?

Part of having the best relationship is that if done correctly it builds in the respect factor, which is a two way street. In order for your dog to respect you as both his friend and trusted pack leader you must respect him as a dog. Anthropomorphism or the act of treating a dog like a human being has gone wildly out of control in the last few decades. People do not understand the implications of doing this, which can range greatly depending on the dog and where the relationship stands. My advice is to only use intense emotion with your dog while you guys are training or having a play session. You can take the necessary emotional release and put it to use! Praise, energy, and body posture are three big secondary reinforces (for more on this please see our website for a list of recommended reading.) that we use when training our dogs. Not only does it benefit our training session but it also allows us as humans to provide some of that never ending emotional release we like to inflict (smother) on our dogs.

For more information or to sign up for our obedience classes and begin the journey of achieving the ultimate relationship with your canines visit http://www.EliteInstinctCanine.com