I Had a Dream…

Hello Dog Owners!

Another month has passed so very quickly and it still hasn’t stopped raining. April showers are now due – seeing as it’s April – so I would expect even more of the wet stuff throughout the month. Arrgh!

I hope that your month has been good and that you have done some significant training with your developing canine companion.

This month is slightly different as we look at DOT Academy’s big picture and the vision that was born over a fair few cups of coffee, a few pints and one or two curries.

If you have been following me on social media, you would have noticed my recent post about a little Staffy-X girl that I have been sponsoring since January and training almost on a daily basis.

She certainly was a challenge. I even doubted that she would be trainable she was so “Out There!”

I took some time to imagine how I wanted her to be, rather than get caught up with how she was, and let that imagined image project itself into reality, becoming a tangible thing.

Now, three months down the line, she is a completely different dog and all I needed to do was trust the process, be consistent, be patient and hold my imagined image in the forefront of my mind.

This issue is all about imagination, dreams and reality.

See you on the inside!

DO PEOPLE REALLY WANT A WELL-TRAINED DOG

Before I started DOT Academy, I was helping a young couple train their adolescent dog.

I would take him out for a couple of hours each morning and we would go out and interact with the world and do some basic training.

He was a fearful dog. Scared of almost anything that moved, the rain, wind and sometimes even his own shadow!

He hadn’t been adequately socialised. He taught me a lot and hopefully I him.

I don’t see him anymore and haven’t worked with him for more than 18 months, but he lives on in my memory.

His name was “Nero”, a jet black Cane Corso with a little white fleck on his chest and a big heart of gold.

I absolutely fell in love that dog and we gained a real solid bond. It was because of him that the idea for DOT Academy came to mind.

During the months of training him we met many other dog owners, all of whom shared their issues and struggles with their beloved pets.

“She barks at everything!”

“He doesn’t listen.”

“Recall is non-existent so we don’t let him off the lead.”

“He pulls like a train!”

“She doesn’t like men, or old women and lunges at them.”

“He’s such an affectionate dog, but he’ll just go to bite people he doesn’t like.”

“She doesn’t like other dogs.”

The problems were many, but common.

A lot of the time it was a boundary issue, where the dog hadn’t been set any rules. Other times a manners problem, an engagement issue or just that the poor little soul hadn’t been socialised effectively as a puppy, as in Nero’s case.

So many people spoke to me about how they had tried training but “it didn’t work”, that I lost count.

Others informed me that they found training expensive or didn’t really know where, or how, to start.

So, in Nero’s memory (even though he’s still very much alive!), DOT Academy came in to being and offered dog owners an affordable pathway to a well-behaved, obedient canine companion that they could be proud of.

From Puppy through to adult dog, DOT Academy offered classes and social encounters that would take owners and their dogs from Zero to Hero by the time they reached adulthood – the dog, not the owner!

No longer would people need to struggle, and rather than wait until their dog exhibited a myriad of behavioural issues that needed months of professional help to solve, they could encourage the best behaviour in their beloved pet and mould their very own perfect personal canine companion to be proud of.

Reality has seen a different outcome.

It would appear that people would actually rather their dog develop behavioural and socialisation issues before they decide that they need some training help.

Others don’t bother seeking help and just try to live the best they can with the little terror they have inadvertently created, all while blaming everybody else for their dogs aggressive reactivity streak.

What people say they want and what they are actually prepared to go out and create, I have found to be totally different things.

The majority of the calls I get are from people wanting help with their dogs behavioural issues that could take months, or even years to solve, if ever.

These issues could have easily been eradicated by going on a journey along one of the pathways offered at DOT Academy.

I cannot fully understand why people would choose to struggle for a lifetime with a dog with owner-created behavioural issues, when they could have created a canine companion they could be proud to take anywhere and build a relationship and bond to last, right from the very start.

But they do, time and time again.

Which is why I ask the question, “Do People REALLY Want a Well-Trained Dog?”

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THE DOT ACADEMY VISION

Stealing those famous words straight from the mouth of the legendary Martin Luther King Jr in 1963…

“I had a dream…”

I dreamt of a dog training club where people could regularly come and progress their dogs obedience and their own handling skills.

I imagined that this club would be a social-type of club, with obedience classes, puppy development classes, reactivity classes, fun classes & outings.

I saw in my minds-eye, owners all around with well-behaved obedient dogs competing in a plethora of inter-club and national competitions.

I thought that if dog owners found such a club affordable, interesting, exciting and a great place to be, then that would solve a lot of the issues that I had been hearing about.

Maybe, with an affordable monthly membership with differing levels, dog training could be made more affordable than the standard route of 1-2-1 training to resolve all manners of dog behavioural issues.

The vision for DOT Academy literally blasted itself into my brain while drinking an awful lot of coffee!

With a few pathways bringing solid dog obedience training levels together into one outcome, owners could train and have the companion dog of their dreams.

So, a few short months later DOT Academy was created!

DOT is not only an acronym for Dog Obedience Training,

It’s also an acronym for Dog Owner Training.

Two of the vital elements of the human-canine relationship.

Furthermore, the DOT Academy logo highlights the D & T which in turn suggests Dog Training Academy.

Lastly and with a short-term future vision of how I would like to develop dog training methods with the Academy, DOT also stands for Dynamic Obedience Training.

All that in my caffeine-induced imagination, being brought firmly into reality.

Over the past couple of years this vision has faded somewhat, as I am contacted time after time by owners about behaviour issues with their dogs and can I help them…please!

They have never done any amount of training prior to their dogs bad behaviour progressing to the point of becoming so unbearable, that they only then decide to actively seek assistance.

In my dream, owners wouldn’t need to seek assistance with behavioural issues, as they would have put in the work to build a strong foundation and a rock-solid relationship with the dog right from the very start.

But what if you have taken on a rescue dog, or a reactive dog?

DOT Academy had a plan for those too, in order to bring them both inline with its learning pathways and onwards on their journey to become the best dog they can possibly be.

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DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR ALL

DOT Academy’s Development Pathways were simple and took the form of an academy, where owners would progress through different classes and levels with their dogs, attaining graduation with each level they successfully navigated.

Although not specifically labelled, these pathways could be described as:

PATHWAY #1: From Puppy to Adult

PATHWAY #2: From Rescue to Integrated Member of Society

PATHWAY #3: From Adolescent to Adult (for those who missed Puppy School)

PATHWAY #4: From Reactive nightmare to Well-Balanced Companion Dog

These pathways would take dogs at certain stages of their lives and development, bring them up-to-date with solid, basic obedience training and look to socialise them into society where they can rightfully take their place in our lives and in our families.

Of course, it goes without saying that training never really stops.

Progressing to various activities such as advanced obedience, agility, scent work and dog sports not only engages your dog for a lifetime to live their best life ever, but also builds and cements the relationship between you both.

I suppose this pathway could be described as the ONGOING TRAINING PATHWAY as it never really stops and becomes a way of life to enjoy with your closest buddy.

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OBEDIENCE, ACTIVITIES & MEMBERSHIP CLUB

Finally, DOT Academy is all about Obedience.

After your puppy is around 16 weeks of age, it’s temperament is largely set.

What you have created to this point, you are generally set with for life.

The only thing you have left to manage things is Obedience.

As previously stated, the Academy was intended to be a Membership Club and would give owners access to resources, classes, trainings, social walks and socialisation events each and every month, as part of that membership.

There would be talks, gatherings, competitions and meet-ups and a variety of other events that would keep both them and their dog engaged and progressing up the training tree and into real-life, real-world situations with our rolling Functional Obedience Sessions.

Access to website content and trainings would be specific to the membership level selected, with the highest level gaining access to everything and full access to unlimited classes whenever they chose.

I said that this edition of the newsletter was all about dreams.

DOT Academy was the dream that I held for Nero and I brought that dream kicking and screaming into the world.

If you would be interested in joining such a Dog Training Club, then why not let us know and share your thoughts by replying to this email?

It wouldn’t take much to activate all the necessary components to make it happen!

One last thought about Dreams…

What’s yours for you and your dog?

Do you have one?

If you do ,all you need to do is keep that dream firmly in mind and head off down the road towards it.

If you do have a dream, why not hit reply and share it with us?

If you don’t have one, why not create one – then share it with us?

Next time, we’re back to training tips!

Until then…

Happy Training!

Everything is Created Twice, First in the Mind and Then in Reality ~ (Robin S. Sharma)

– Stuart