The way your dog interacts with you is only a reflection of what you allow and your relationship with them. You’re familiar with it, I’m sure! Your dog walks through the door and jumps all over you. Sure, you’ve been at work all day, but that excited behavior when you come home is just the tip of the iceberg.
It trickles over into them barking at the doorbell, crazy behavior on walks, and jumping on visitors. All behavior is connected, which means that excited, out of control behavior inside the house starts the cycle of the same type of behavior outside the house.
So many of my clients are amazed when we start to address their dog’s behavior inside the house, and then see changes in their behavior outside the house. But remember, it’s all connected!
The beauty of that is that we have the ability to change the way our dog interacts with the world into a much healthier state of mind. They still get to be a dog, they’re just a calmer version of themselves in that moment.
The beauty of that is that we have the ability to change the way our dog interacts with the world into a much healthier state of mind. They still get to be a dog, they’re just a calmer version of themselves in that moment.
And don’t get me wrong! Excitement has a time and a place. Playtime is the time for your dog to get excited and chase their toys and have a ball! You’ve got to make sure to balance that out though with calm behavior in other contexts.
THIS is what leads to a dog that has the impulse control and poise to go places with their owner, a dog that you can enjoy taking places instead of being stressed out about it.
So take a look at you and your dog’s day to day relationship. Is there a balance of calm behavior and excited behavior? Do they do it whenever THEY feel like it or do they choose the appropriate situations to be excited?