“The ego urges you to accomplish, while the soul merely asks you to enjoy the process.” — Doreen Virtue
I got pulled over by the police yesterday. I was going X amount of mph in a x mph zone. I never speed, either! First time in 20 years (maybe more) that I’ve gotten a ticket. So what happened? I didn’t follow my mandatory three steps for everything in the whole wide world.
Step 1 – Control Yourself
I had a lot to do yesterday before my evening dog training session. And to be honest, business has been booming. It’s been difficult to keep up with everything sometimes. I tried to squeeze in working on a blog post, straightening up my office, walking my dogs and returning phone calls all between sessions.
I was like a cyclone of energy. Meaning I was pretty keyed up by the time I had to leave. I also meant that I didn’t keep track of time very well. Now, if you know me, I’m am punctual. To a fault. Typically I arrive 10 minutes early to each session (to everything, really), and kill time on a side street until it’s actually your appointment time. So running late is not something that is normal for me. But I hadn’t controlled myself, and had whipped myself up into a frenzy. So from the beginning, I was destined to fail.
Step 2 – Control the Situation
I never add energy or stimuli to a situation until I have control of the current situation. So what happened? When I suddenly realized that I was going to be 10 minutes late, rather than controlling the situation by calling my client and letter her know, I was going to make up the time. Problem was, she was pretty far, actually outside my normal travel area. So there we go; doomed to fail. Which I did.
How does this apply to your dog? Well, let’s start at the beginning. Your dog does something you don’t like, say…barking, jumping, dragging you on a leash, etc. For this instance, we’ll say the doorbell just rang. That’s your dog’s cue.
Control Yourself
Fido goes nuts! Barking, howling, jumping at the door. It’s time for action. But before you do anything, as yourself: are you angry? Frantic? Yelling? Then it’s not going to work. Take a deep breath, organize yourself, and make sure you’ve got it together. Remember, you can handle this. Keep calm, and pull yourself together.
Don’t forget to watch your body language, too! Put on your Piloting uniform. Stand up as straight as you can. I always tell my clients, pretend you rubbed Viagra all over your body. Stand tall.
Hands either beside you, in your pockets, or behind your back. Don’t feel the need to get down to your dog’s level; aim your belly button either at them or directly over them. I call this stance your Piloting uniform. It’s the uniform you wear whenever you’re about to answer your dog’s questions, such as, “Can I bark at the door?” or “Can I jump all over our guest?”. And do you know who wears this uniform best?
Drag queens.
Yes, you read that right. Perfect body language, as usual, from RuPaul. She looks confident. In control of herself. She doesn’t look aggressive, but she looks as if she could handle just about any opposition without breaking a sweat. Is that what she (or any drag queen) looks like all the time? Not necessarily, but it’s part of the job, so they put on their uniform. Their armor. And they wear it proudly.
Control the Situation Okay, you’ve released your inner drag queen. You have your armor on, or your Piloting uniform, as I like to call it. Now it’s time to control the situation. Your dog is most likely misbehaving at the door already. That’s fine. You’re about to control that by claiming the door. Simply walk up to the door, get between your dog and the door (stomach facing your dog still, RuPaul style) and back him off the door.
Pretend you’re a snowplow and gently, but firmly, use your legs to plow him back from the door like he's snow. Now you’ve got a few feet to operate. As soon as Fido is backed off the door, I want you to start backing up towards the door while pointing at him like your finger is a squirt gun and you’re going to shoot him between the eyes.
Nail him to that spot with your eyes and your finger (just not IN his face) as you move towards the door. If Fido starts to move towards you, simply start over. Snow plow him back, and then RuPaul him by pointing at him and nailing him to his spot with your finger and eyeballs.
Each time you are doing this, you are giving him a negative. His question is, “Do you need help at the door?”. This is how you give a dog a negative. It may take a few times, but as you do it, you’re getting more and more money from his Piloting Piggy Bank into yours, and whoever has the most money wins. Only once you have enough money in your Piloting Piggy Bank will you be able to s-l-o-w-l-y open the door (keeping your back to your door and your front towards your dog as much as possible).
Continue to control the situation. If you lose control (your dog comes running up again), simply stop and reboot. Do not add more stimuli if you lose control. In fact, remove stimuli. Close the door again if you need to. Your guest would rather wait outside a few more moments rather than be mauled and jumped on when they come in. Once you let your guest in, you’re going to make a sandwich. Your dog is bread, you’re guest is bread, and you’re the cheese. Bread doesn’t touch bread. You will be the cheese between them, answering your dog’s questions about your guest, even as your guest comes through your house and sit down on the couch. Remember, your navel points at what you are engaged with (your dog). Your backside faces what you are claiming (first the door, then your guest). Continue answering your dog’s questions using the same body language.
Congratulations, you’ve just answered your door without all the drama. And the best part is, each time it gets easier and easier! RuPaul would be proud.
Remember, these two steps are integral for any time you are Piloting your dog. Dogs don’t require training in these circumstances, they require answers. Think of dog training as tricks. Or something one dog wouldn’t teach another to do. We train dogs to sit (teaching them English), to come on command (English again). We may train them to go outside to go to the bathroom, or even to walk on a leash. Those are commands we give them. Piloting is when you are answering a dog’s questions: Can I jump on you? Can I steal food from the counter? Can I bark?
Usually I’m very good at Piloting myself, but like every other human, I’m not perfect. Sometimes I flub things. Hence my speeding ticket. But here’s the interesting thing: I know that speeding is not acceptable. However, I hadn’t controlled myself nor the situation. In other words, I didn’t Pilot myself. A cop actually had to do that. Piloting is simply giving negatives and positives. My question was, “Can I speed?”. It was preempted by my lack of controlling myself and the situation. Cop's answer: no.
Funny thing is, after the ticket, I actually felt better. Rebooted, if you will. While I was waiting for my ticket, I texted my client and informed her of the delay. She was very understanding. I was only 15 minutes late. Not the end of the world, but now I was rebooted. Calmer, even. I realized that I was going about everything wrong. My unwillingness to control myself and my situation had cost me both time and money. That’s a negative. So I took a deep breath, pulled away with a fresh ticket in my hand, and calmly drove to my next session, singing along with Led Zeppelin and enjoying the ride rather than focusing on the destination.
Once arriving, I rebooted again, taking a deep breath, focusing on how lucky I am to have such a wonderful career that I work with dogs all day! And then proceeded to have a wonderful session with two amazing people and three incredible dogs. Thank you RuPaul.
Dog Training vs. Dog Life
By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess.
But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication.
Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here.
Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here.
Have questions about our puppy training or dog training?
Kerry Stack
Darwin Dogs
Dog Training and Puppy Training
Greater Cleveland Area
Northeast Ohio
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