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Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio two dogs looking at the camera bull dog

Doesn't every dog deserve to be the Best Dog Ever?

The Piloting Method of Dog Training

 

Understanding and patience form the background of our new training approach. It's about recognizing the dog's needs, setting loving boundaries, and teaching them good behaviors through positive reinforcement. You will learn to teach your dog the right behaviors not through domination, but by forming a mutual respect and understanding.

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Our simple methods will not only result in a well-behaved, happier pet, but it will also lead to a stronger, more loving relationship between you and your four-legged companion. We also take into account the individual personality of each dog and modify our methods to suit them the best. With our approach, you'll never again be frustrated by ineffective, harsh training tactics. No shock collars, prong collars, or clickers; instead, you'll witness your dog blossoming under positive influences and progressive methods.

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Because your dog sucks at being human.

Think of Piloting as parenting your dog.  It's dog training done with love, never dominance or bribery.  Communication is key, not domination.  

Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio beagle lying on the floor

THE PILOTING METHOD
OF DOG TRAINING

Let’s start at the beginning: Piloting. Imagine you are on an airplane with only one pilot and suddenly they become unconscious. Who is going to fly the plane?! 

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You are going to give it your best effort, but how do you feel? Terrified? Nervous? Overstimulated and overwhelmed? In short, not good. You don’t understand this situation you’ve been thrust into, but the situation has been thrust onto you because there's nobody else to take control of it.

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That’s exactly how your dog feels. Your dog is a dog, and most of their instincts are still set for living as a dog, not as a human.

Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio trained puppy playing with child

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So what do we do? We stick them indoors, where we change all the rules. First, we mess with the natural order of light/dark by means of lamps and curtains. Then we humans do some pretty crazy things, such as letting non-pack members (read: possible threats) into our houses without properly checking them out. (To you it’s your Aunt Sally, whom you haven’t seen in years. To a dog, it’s “Not Pack”, and therefore a threat).   Furniture, strange smells, strange sounds – it all adds up to a pretty stressful environment for a dog.  Then to top it all off, we ask them to take charge in our human world.  We don't help them navigate our crazy human world.

 

No wonder so many of our dogs have separation anxiety, fear, aggression and many other issues!

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So, going back to that airplane that you are flying while the true pilot is unconscious: what would you do if the pilot regained consciousness? Maybe check him out, make sure he’s okay, and then jump out of that seat like it’s hot and let him fly the plane!  The sense of relief you would feel, not being in charge of the situation anymore!  Well, that’s exactly how our dogs feel when we finally start Piloting them. 

Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio dog sitting on furniture

So how DO you Pilot a dog? Simple.

 

Dogs ask questions all the time. “Can I have that shoe?” “Is that other dog a threat?” “Can we play ball right now?” The problem is most humans never bother to answer a dog’s questions; Piloting a dog is merely giving your dog answers to the questions they ask.  To do that, you have to realize that dogs operate almost exclusively on body language. So the bad news is you have to learn a new language, but the good news is that dogs are binary creatures: they only ask yes/no questions.  Even easier: yes is the absence of no.  Those of you who have children understand this concept (“Well you never said I couldn't!”).

So how do you answer a dog’s questions?

 

Use your body language to answer these questions. If your dog is staring at a treat on the floor and then at you, he’s asking if he can have it. If you do not want your dog to have it, answer his question by walking in between him and the treat, facing him, with the treat behind you. Your dog's question is, "Can I have that?" Your answer is going to be "no" (remember, dogs are binary, and only accept "yes" and "no"). You can move into his personal space to back him off it a bit. 

 

Think of it as a game of hot/cold.  His question is, “Can I have that?”  The answer is “No”. You answer his question using that body language.  When he accepts the answer (looking at you, everything, or nothing, but definitely NOT looking at the treat), then you’re finished.  Remove your negative body language.  You may have to put the negative body language right back on him if he immediately tries to go for it, but that’s natural – it may take him a few times to accept that you are finally ready to fly this plane.  Remember, remaining calm is the key.  Anger should never be a part of this exercise.​​​

Focusing on Activity

Activity is just the amount of exercise your dog gets.  Dogs, like wolves, need activity daily. Walking on a daily basis gives them their sense of roaming that they would get if they were in a wolf/dog pack. Each day a pack hikes miles to and from a hunt. Your pup has this same extinct. It’s important that they get activity every day and probably more than you can even imagine that they can handle!

 

Some ways to enhance your activity time is to invest in a backpack for your pup. You can find them on Amazon and your local pet stores. Put small amount of weight in it (example: for a 60 lb pit bull, I would only put 1 cup of dried beans on each side of the backpack). Just bear in mind that you can always add weight; you can't un-damage a dog, so make sure it’s something that won’t hurt them (no water bottles, please). 

Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio lab sitting in grass

Although you’ll be going the same distance, it will feel a little longer to your pup which is always a good thing!

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​Fetch, agility and playtime outside and at a dog park are great additional ways to get in activity. But the walk is so very important because it gives you an opportunity to work on your Piloting and it helps them with their roaming instinct, even if it is just in your neighborhood.

Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Northeast Ohio dog chasing a ball off leash

Focusing on Mental Work

 Your pup needs mental work daily. Think of it this way, if you drive the same route home every day it becomes monotonous and easy for you. However, if there is a ton of traffic on that same route, you’re a lot more tired when you get home because there was a lot more mental work that went into that drive home. Your pup needs to feel that mentally tired or they’ll become bored. Boredom leads to your dog figuring out their own ways keep themselves busy, which leads to your shoes getting new ventilation.

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An easy way to get some mental work in for your pup is to use an enrichment feeder, such as a Kong Wobbler, Omega Ball or Busy Buddy Twist N Feed for your dog’s mealtimes. These feeders make your dog think about how to get the food out as opposed to just waiting for you to pour it out of a bag, which is dull, boring and EASY. By making them think about how they will get their food, it adds some mental work into their day, but doesn't add anytime to yours since you're going to feed them anyways. 

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Other things you can do for some mental work are scent detection, agility, teaching them a new trick, or even just rapid firing commands at them that they already know: sit, down, up, roll-over, sit – all of these commands said quickly makes your dog focus intently on what you may have them do next.

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Each of these three parts of the piloting method of dog training are extremely important. It’s a tripod – remove a leg, and it all crumbles, so don’t “make do” with piloting and work, but skip the activity.  Each component is integral. It takes commitment, but it’s also a ton of fun. By giving your dog what they need you will be getting exactly what you wanted: your best friend.

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