Is Dog Training Instinctive Or Learnt?

A reader recently told me my training methods also work on her cat. It got me thinking, in a roundabout way, if dog training comes instinctively or is an acquired skill.

I've been interested in animals as long as I can remember. When I was a boy I had a menagerie of fish, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits and guinea-pigs.

Handling them and getting them to do what I wanted seemed the most natural thing in the world. My very first pet, aged 5, was a goldfish called Ferdie that I won at the funfair.

It might sound far fetched, but I got Ferdie incredibly tame. When I put my fingers into the surface of the water he would swim up to be stroked. He just loved being caressed gently.

When I got my first rabbit I taught it to jump on top of its hutch on command, and to jump back into its hutch on command.

When I was about ten I got a kitten. And naturally for me, I taught it to do stuff.

I taught him how to play hide and seek and in the evenings we'd have hilarious games, taking it in turns to be the one who was hiding.

When I went outside he'd follow me round like a dog, and if I lay down on the sofa to read or watch TV, he'd curl up asleep on my chest.

One day I tripped over him badly as I was feeding him. If you've got a cat you'll know how they weave in and out of your legs as you get their food ready.

So I decided to do something about it. I taught him to go and sit on a chair in the corner of the kitchen on command, and to wait there while I got his food ready. Once ready I could put it down on the floor and he wouldn't move from his chair until I gave him the word, at which point he'd race over and begin eating.

It never crossed my mind that most people don't train their fish, rabbits or cats to do things. It just came naturally to me and I never gave it a second thought.

In my teens I used to work on a sheep farm in my school holidays. Getting sheep to go where you want them to must seem like black magic to some people - they can be ever so jittery. But I never found it a problem. A pace taken this way or that can make all the difference in steering them in the right direction, but for me it was all obvious from the word go.

And the same with cattle - when I left school my first job was as stockman to 350 of them on another local farm.

Among my duties there was halter training the young bulls. A frisky yearling bull bearing down on you at speed can be a bit of a daunting prospect. Although I was never reckless and always treated them with the utmost respect, I absolutely *loved* that job and was completely in my element.

And when I got my first dog, training him all seemed so logical and obvious. I never took him to a training class in his life, but I trained him to an exceedingly high standard.

I'm not telling you any of this stuff in an attempt to blow my own horn, simply to try and make the point that for me at least, handling and training animals, whether rabbits, bulls or dogs, came so naturally as to be almost instinctive.

But where did my ability come from?

Not my parents, that's for sure. They are the most 'un-animally' people you could wish to meet, as is my brother also. None of them have a clue how to handle a dog, and whenever they come to my house I'm constantly amazed by the ignorant way in which they try to interact with the dogs.

My six year old daughter has recently got her firt pet, a hamster. I was probably about the same age when I had my first one.

And what I'm finding ever so interesting is watching how she behaves with it.

She doesn't seem to be at all instinctive about handling it. But after me taking lots of time with her showing her how to behave with it, she's much better with it now.

All of which leads me to believe that for some people handling animals - and training dogs - is an innate skill or 'feeling' they're probably born with.

Just like some children are naturally very artistic from an early age, or show a natural sporting ability. We're all of us good at something, and I think for me it just happened to be handling animals.

So the logical extension of this is that there are people who have dogs who are *not* naturally good at handling them. I know this to be the case for certain as I've come across plenty of them over the years.

But that's OK. Because I also believe just as strongly that dog handling and training is a skill you can acquire if you're taught by someone who knows what they're doing.

I expect you already know whether or not you're an 'instinctive' dog trainer. If you are then the chances are you read this newsletter for interest and you have your own opinions about the methods I discuss.

There are probably some things I suggest which you think you could do better differently. And there'll be other stuff I talk about where you'll be nodding your head in agreement.

But if you're not an 'instinctive' dog trainer then you probably take every word I say at face value and never question whether there might be another way.

You're like the novice cook following a recipe to the letter - you don't have the confidence to substitute honey for sugar or natural yogurt for sour cream.

But that's OK!

I promise I won't try to mislead you or trick you. I always try and lead people gently by the hand to show them how to get the very best out of their dog.

In my book "Dog Training Blueprint To Success" I assume no prior knowledge of dog training and break it all down into simple steps, explaining every step along the way.

If you're *not* an 'instinctive' trainer then don't worry. There are plenty of people who can help you achieve the level of success you want. Just make certain you choose a mentor who knows what they're talking about.

The reader who told me my methods work on her cat also said this - "I love the newsletters - and was working with my GSP on all the training tips [you're better than the training sessions I had already paid for]. Your methods work, they're kind and intelligent - MORE people should read your work and have you train !"

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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