Big Dogs, Small Dogs, and All Those In Between

As a trainer, I talk a lot about temperament and individual personalities in the light of how they fit into training plans. There are other things that cause trainers to change things up. Sometimes it's subtle like a larger or smaller step to accomodate size. Sometimes it's the use of equipment to make the human part of the equation able to handle a much stronger species, until they are trained.

I got to thinking about this the other day, when I started on Magoo's finish. It's been, like never, that I have trained a dog of his stature all the obedience commands for competition. And so the first few tries at getting him to walk into position, were, well humorous. It wasn't that Magoo didn't want to do it, it was that my steps and speed back were for a Doberman or smaller NOT a Great Dane. You need to be clear with your body movements and adjust them to be clear to your dog. Once I got my stride adjusted, Magoo suddenly understood what to do. Otherwise, neither one of us was in position for the step forward.

When training a dog, think of the physical things that help your training program.

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