Dog Obsessions, Addictions, Fixations… Oh My!

00:00 — Kati Peppe introduces Off Leash and Unfiltered and Diamond Canine Dog Training’s focus on…

Speaker 1: Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Speaker 1: Hey, this is your host, Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford, Maine. For those of you that are new here, we specialize in e-collar training. So we help dogs listen off leash and around distractions. Or if your dog's being an absolute total jerk, well, we can help with that too. We do it all and we do puppy training too. This podcast is just my way of sharing. Well, everything with you guys, the good, the bad, the ugly. And I will always be honest about how to fix the problems you might be dealing with with your dog.

Speaker 1: So we're not your average super floofy dog training podcast. We are real and honest around here. What you can do is hit subscribe, hit subscribe so that you don't miss an episode, and so that you can help support the podcast. Every subscribe or follow helps us so, so, so much so I can keep putting out this content. We appreciate you. And without further ado, let's jump in.

Speaker 1: Does your dog have an obsession? This might be obvious or it might not be so obvious. A lot of times we think of our dog's behavior, you know, when they do something that's weird or annoying or repetitive, we don't necessarily think of it as an obsession. We might think of it as just a bad behavior or some weird quirk. And it really depends. I mean, sure, some dogs like really love their ball, right? It doesn't necessarily literally mean they're obsessed, even though people will often use that word to describe their dog's, affinity for their ball <laugh>.

Speaker 1: But I'm thinking more about behaviors. I mean, sometimes they are literally obsessed with their ball and it can be a real problem. I've certainly met dogs that are obsessed with water. Uh, we have one right now that's somewhat obsessed with water. And um, sometimes this takes the form of a serious behavioral issue. For instance, reactivity. That's definitely an obsession for a lot of dogs. It's like a drug. Things like chasing lights, shadows, uh, reflections on the floor, things of that nature. Um, it might be a, it might be a ball, it might be a toy, it might be the water, uh, like we just talked about.

Speaker 1: It can be a number of things. And here's the thing, when we're dealing with something like that, especially reactivity, um, because it, you know, obviously can be dangerous and it is embarrassing, it does get in the way of like normal functional behavior.

03:00 — Overlooked moments throughout the day can reinforce the mindset maintaining a dog’s larger behavioral…

Speaker 1: It can be really easy not to understand and to be missing things all day long that are contributing to your problem. And it, it can make it really, really difficult for you to help your dog move past this problem. Um, or even impossible. And I mean, this is true for all, for like all behaviors, but especially if you're dealing with a dog that really genuinely has like an addiction to these things, we could be nurturing that addictive trait all day long and not even necessarily realize it. And so it's funny because, you know, we'll give people the advice and like about the structure and the lifestyle and, you know, some of the small habits we should change and like how we should expect our dog to behave, um, with things like at the door, uh, or around food and resources and the ki the type of automatic default behavior that we like to get from our dogs.

Speaker 1: And I think a lot of times it just kind of gets brushed off or, or people try, but they try for a couple days and then they let it slide. 'cause they just don't really feel like it matters. They feel like it's a lot of effort for very little return. And I can't tell you how wrong that is. These moments, these things we're asking you to do, we're not just asking you to do them because we want to. It's not because we're control freaks. It's not because we're bullies or militant or we think the dogs should all be robots.

Speaker 1: It's not any of that.

Speaker 1: So if you really listen to our message, it is that these things don't occur in a vacuum. You're not usually going to see a dog with a really serious behavioral issue where you're not seeing it in other areas, right? It might not be as amplified, it might not be as obvious. It might not be as much of a problem. Might not be a problem at all as far as you're concerned, but it is feeding the mindset that is harboring the problem, right? If you're feeding an addictive brain, if you're feeding a reactive brain, if you're feeding an impulsive brain all day long, just because there are moments that you don't think matter, you're nurturing that mindset, you're harboring that environment in the brain for the behaviors you do mind and that are problematic and that are really unhealthy to continue to flourish.

Speaker 1: So that's why we are so stringent about some moments that seem not that important to people.

Speaker 1: They are important. So let's talk about these addictive obsessive behaviors. So some of the more common ones I already mentioned. Dogs that will chase shadows or reflections. Um, you know, a glimmer of sunlight on the floor, a shadow. If someone has a laser pointer or a flashlight, obviously they can antagonize that dog and feed that obsession very easily. And some people think that's fun and, and it can be. Um, but not if you have a dog with a real problem. And so that's a really common example. Reactivity is probably the most common example. Um, and I wouldn't say that that always necessarily is a genuine obsession or addiction, but it often is.

06:00 — Dogs may obsess over shadows, reflections, sunlight, laser pointers, or flashlights.

Speaker 1: And you know, it depends like how would you even define that? And I don't wanna get into that whole philosophical thing today 'cause it's not the point, but you know it when you see it because sometimes I'll get a dog in and it's like they're just so addicted to having that reaction that the second they get near a door, the second they even see the leash come out and they know they're going for a walk, any of these things you can see just the adrenaline just triples and they're immediately going to scanning mode where they're just looking around for the nearest trigger that they can lock onto and react to.

Speaker 1: And you see the breathing increase, you see the eyes get big. It really is. It's just like somebody on drugs. It is the same idea. And I genuinely, genuinely believe that dogs do become addicted to the behavior. Um, and all of the various, you know, physiological things that happen, all the biological, you know, chemicals and hormones and all the things that are associated with these behaviors, um, I genuinely, genuinely think that. And breaking these addictions and setting new healthier patterns is really difficult. And what we see happen sometimes is we will have success with the dog here, but then when the dog goes home, things often start to unravel a little bit because the addiction doesn't just go away, especially that quickly.

Speaker 1: You know, it's not like we're gonna take your dog for three weeks and that whole thing they had going on where they were addicted to reacting, it's just gonna go away. We get them into a much better state of mind, we start building better habits. But that proclivity is still in there. Your dog still is who they are. And trust me, in three weeks, they haven't forgotten how good it feels to have that reaction.

Speaker 1: And so it's super, super important when people take their dog home that they know exactly what to do and that they can be consistent and they can be effective. Because if they're not on board or if they don't understand how important those small moments are, they will overlook them and things will absolutely start to unravel. 'cause they're letting the dog essentially pick up the needle, right? Sorry if this is a bad analogy. <laugh>, right? A bad metaphor, but, uh, I think it's accurate. I think it's accurate. And you know, if you're letting your dog do that, then it's only a matter of time before you start to see that full blown, uh, relapse.

Speaker 1: Um, and so rather you've done a training program or not, if you're just dealing with stuff on your own, so, so important not to think, oh, we're just gonna attack this one single behavior and then everything's gonna be great. It's like, no, actually you should be feeding the proper mindset all day long. It's gonna help you immensely. Now, is it possible to have success without doing that if you're just overlooking all that stuff? Yeah, a lot of times it is, it might be. But what we have found historically is that most of the people we meet, they're not dog trainers.

Speaker 1: They're not dog trainers. They're not gonna be as good at this as we are. And that's okay. We don't expect that, right? It's not, of course you, you can expect that. Um, and so in order to give people the best chance of success in the most leverage, we want to attack it from every angle on every layer possible to give people the absolute best chances of success.

Speaker 1: And absolutely getting down into the structure of their day and how they're living with their dog and how they're interacting with their dog and what their expectations are for their dog. And getting those things all clarified, all set in stone, all implemented very clearly, really gives people so much more leverage that they're able to create real change much, much faster and have it stick, right? Because it's not just the dog changing. Human is changing too. Everything's changing Now, sure, if a dog has an obsession with lights and shadows or chasing their tail, it's like we can just correct that a hundred percent.

11:00 — Changing household behavior alongside the dog gives owners more leverage and helps improvements stick.

Speaker 1: And you know what? That might be enough. That might be enough, but it might not, or hear me out, maybe it is enough and I'll tell you how to do it, by the way, which if you listen to me enough, you probably already know. But I'll tell you anyway. Um, even if it is enough, if your dog has a problem like that, it tells me

Speaker 1: Your dog's not quite right <laugh>, right? So don't take that the wrong way. But what I mean is your dog's not 100% healthy and comfortable, right? They're not going through the world in like this good state of mind. They're not super stable or super confident like something's amiss. They're not as complete and comfortable and confident and balanced as they could be or they wouldn't have had this thing going on. So even if you fix the thing, even if you stop your dog from chasing the lights and chasing the shadows and chasing their tail, even if you stop your dog from being reactive, whatever the problem was, your dog is still dealing with whatever discomfort they had to begin with, probably, right?

Speaker 1: Maybe not. Maybe they just had this one, one-off thing going on and everything else is pretty darn good. But most of the time I don't think that's the case. Most of the time when I see these dogs, these dogs are, um, toward the anxious end of the spectrum, right? At the very least.

Speaker 1: And they tend to be sort of uncertain. Uh, they tend to be antsy. Uh, and, and so why leave that that way? So I was listening to a podcast, uh, someone else <laugh> the other day, uh, who was talking about addictions in humans. But you know, a lot of the behavior principles, they're the same. They're really the same for dogs and humans. I mean, dogs can't, they don't have the cognitive ability. We do. They don't have the span of emotions necessarily that we do. They're not in the same way. Um, but the principles of the underlying principles of behavior are really the same.

14:00 — A rehabilitation analogy explains why removing one addiction while allowing substitute highs does not…

Speaker 1: And for obsession and addiction, it's the same.

Speaker 1: And so this man, um, that was a guest on this podcast was talking about his rehab. Um, because he had been addicted to drugs and he had done some time in a very serious rehab facility. And in this rehab facility is a very good one. And in their program, they take away every high you can possibly get, okay? They don't just take away the drugs. So if we're talking about just correcting a dog for their obsession, that's what you're doing. You're taking away the drugs, okay? That is good. You have to do that. And again, I'm gonna tell you how to do that, but that's not it.

Speaker 1: So here's the thing. Here's what people will do, right? If people have an unhealthy addiction and they overcome that addiction, what you'll often see happen is they will just fill it with another addiction, but it will just be one that's socially acceptable. Enjoy the rest of the, the show. It does see a same as your dog having an obsession where the owner says, well, I don't mind that. And it's like, okay, I understand that you don't mind it. I understand that it's not a problem for you, but your dog is just filling this addiction void with another addiction, right?

Speaker 1: Or we're seeing the underlying cause of the quote unquote addiction obsession. We're seeing that play out in other places. And if you allow that, then you're really continuing the brain. You're allowing the brain to continue operating in that addiction seeking, um, manner, right? So this man went to rehab and in his rehab program, they didn't just take away the drugs, obviously they took away the drugs.

Speaker 1: There were no drugs, there was no alcohol. Um, but there also was no caffeine there. Also, if you get a running high from running, there was no running, okay? So you weren't allowed to Xanax literally or figuratively. You weren't allowed to just find something else to numb everything out, to escape your reality, to occupy your brain, pull you away from reality. Like you just weren't allowed to do that in any way. So it doesn't matter if it's socially acceptable, right? It doesn't matter if quote unquote, they didn't mind it, right? So people at the rehab facility 'cause say, well we don't mind if they run <laugh>, right?

Speaker 1: We don't mind if they have a coffee. It's like, that's not how it works.

17:00 — Owners must prevent everyday excitement, such as door rushing, from reinforcing the same obsessive…

Speaker 1: How it works is you have to learn to cope and you have reset everything. And so it's the same for your dog, right? So you might not mind if your dog gets super excited when people come to the door. You might not mind if your dog rushes to the food bowl or you know, bolts through the door when you open it. You might not mind if your dog, you know, barks at someone coming up the drive, whatever it is. Um, but you have to step away from that and not think, do I mind it? You have to think, is this coming from the same place where the problem behaviors come from?

Speaker 1: Because anything that's coming from that place needs to be dismantled, needs to be, um, inhibited, suppressed. So we can teach our dogs not necessarily just what to do and not to do, but how to be, how to go through the world, not in an obsession, addiction seeking state all the time where they need something coming in, right? And we see that all the time with dogs that are just super excited and overstimulated, super anxious dogs that can't shut off, can't sit still because they're always, always, always looking for something to be coming in.

Speaker 1: Okay? We have a customer who has a dog that has destroys everything in her house, tore up her leather seats in her car, tore out the seat heaters, chewed up the umbrellas, chewed up the furniture on the porch, um, you know, tears apart, you know, couch cushions, whatever else he can get his mouth on. Um, that's an addiction. That's an obsession. That dog doesn't stop. Now, when he was with me, he didn't do any of that. But of course things are very controlled here, very structured. He came for boarding. I had him for, I don't know, four days or so, no casualties.

Speaker 1: We didn't lose any furniture, <laugh>. Um, he spent a lot of time in his kennel, he spent a lot of time on place. We did some walking in a heel, right? He wasn't roaming around my house ruining things. But I'll tell you what, when he's on place, when he is in his kennel, guess what? He didn't have a bone to chew on.

Speaker 1: Oh, so mean dogs need to chew. They need to drain their energy. You need to give love the podcast. Well I have great news. We are now offering an inexpensive subscription where you can get access to our new premium content. This content isn't available to our general listeners, it's made just for you. It includes all kinds of behind the scenes stuff, all the obstacles and how we're overcoming them with our board and trained dogs. And the most difficult part of our job, how we deal with overcoming obstacles with our clients. So all kinds of new cool interesting stuff for you to get out of those episodes.

Speaker 1: You can jump down into the show notes and there will be a link to our support page where you can sign up and start listening right away. Thanks for your support. Enjoy the rest of the show. That's not what he needs. That's not the kind thing to do. Excuse me. This is a dog that never stops putting his mouth on things. Lemme tell you, when she picked him up from boarding, she no more than opened the car door, told the dog to get in and before we could shut the door, he was chewing on her seat.

Speaker 1: Now I also wanna point out that I left him in my car and went into the grocery store and when I came back he was just laying down calmly still.

Speaker 1: And I just throw that in as a side note because I think it's a really great illustration of how quickly we can get our claws into that and change that behavior by changing our relationship with the dog. So when he's with me, we don't do that. He doesn't get a chance to do that stuff most of the time, right? He could have, well I was in the grocery store, but he opted not to because when he is with me, he is not usually getting a chance to do that stuff. And if he does do anything even close to looking like that, there's accountability for that.

22:00 — Consistent accountability for impulses helps dogs resist urges even when handlers are not directly…

Speaker 1: We don't allow it. We don't allow any impulsive behavior ever with anything. And so guess what? When I do walk away and he has an impulse, he can resist it. Or maybe he doesn't even have the impulse because he's gotten used to how to just be right. But the second she was back, right back to his old self. 'cause that's the history he has with her. And that takes time to change, excuse me, and rebuild. I can't sneeze quietly, guys, I'm sorry. I like take down the whole building when <laugh>, when I sneeze.

Speaker 1: But that can change. Excuse me again. But it takes a commitment on the owner's part to say, yeah, I'm gonna hold my dog accountable for those behaviors. Good god damn. But I'm also going to pay attention to all of the other moments all day long. I'm not gonna wait until my dog rips my car, seaters out car seaters, <laugh> car seat heaters or chews up my pillows. I'm not gonna wait until then.

Speaker 2: Jesus.

Speaker 1: All right, <laugh>, I might have to go back and edit this hollow, but I probably won't.

Speaker 1: I'm not gonna wait until then to give my dog feedback. Yes, I will absolutely provide some extremely meaningful feedback in those moments, which by the way is so important. And so I said I would tell you how to do that. I'm gonna tell you how to do that right now. If you have a dog that has an obsession, chases their tail, says lights, chases, shadows, um, pulls you toward the water when they see water or you know, any of that stuff, chewing all of your furniture constantly. It's like, okay, we need to correct the dog in a meaningful way.

Speaker 1: There's a few ways you can do it, but here's the important thing. When your dog starts to do that behavior, you're going to say no. You don't have to yell, you don't have to be pissed off, you don't have to scream. You can if you want to, but with a lot of dogs, that's not a good idea. Depending on their personality, you're just gonna say no, you're going to follow that. No with an extremely high correction because they're doing something that you never want them to do.

Speaker 1: Usually we're gonna do this correction on an e-collar. Now you can use anything that the dog hates as long as you're not causing any harm to the dog, right? So you could use a very firm leash pop. It's gonna be probably the most difficult for most people. Um, you could use a bonker, which is a rolled up cotton towel, um, firm bonk on the head, uh, or an eco, which is our favorite because it's just very, very practical. It's very, very easy to do, right? And you're gonna turn it up and you're gonna tap the button and you're gonna deliver that high correction.

Speaker 1: And again, that's after you say no, it's very, very important. We always say no when the behavior occurs and that just points it out to the dog. The thing they did that is going to cause a correction, a simple process. It only gets messed up when people start modifying that process because they overthink it, they complicate it, they make excuses, they bend the rules, they give passes. Um, just don't change anything. They know when the behavior begins to occur or is occurring. And then after you say no, you have to follow up with a very high correction correction of your choice as long as it doesn't cause any harm.

26:00 — The correction sequence is a neutral “No” followed by a high, safe consequence without…

Speaker 1: Okay? Eco probably our favorite. Um, although the bonker is great for some things, um, sometimes it's better than the eco.

Speaker 1: Now let me just state there are some caveats here. So I said if it's something that you never want your dog to do, right? But there might be some things where your dog is allowed to do it sometimes. So it's a little more complicated if we're talking about something like a ball obsession, right? Unless you're never gonna let your dog play with the ball, you don't wanna give your dog a super high correction just for going to get the ball, right? Because then it's like you're telling your dog, Hey, you're not allowed to have the ball.

Speaker 1: So if we're talking about an obsession with something that is sometimes allowed, that's a little bit different. And in that case, I would recommend using commands to practice impulse control. And there's absolutely accountability for the commands. So for instance, I might teach my dog a down, get them really good at doing the down and holding the down, and then I would introduce accountability for breaking the down.

Speaker 1: And I would practice having my dog in a down while I bounce the ball around and eventually throw the ball, right? And your dog has to resist the impulse to go get it. They also would learn how to drop the ball when I ask for it. And so see, you can teach your dog all these commands around the ball, around giving the ball to you around resisting impulses for the ball. And you can introduce real stiff accountability for not resisting those impulses when you ask. So for not dropping the ball when you ask for breaking their down to go chase the ball.

Speaker 1: So you're not actually directly correcting your dog for wanting the ball or going to get the ball, but you are very stiffly correcting them for breaking commands to feed their obsession for the ball, right? And so that kind of structured play can really go a long way for helping you with a dog that is helplessly obsessed with the ball.

Speaker 1: They need to be able to give it up. They need to be able to lay calmly in its presence, right? Put them on place, set the ball in front of them, they can't touch the ball, right? And a good trainer can actually help you with using lower e-collar stimulation to get the dog to stop fixating on the ball and just lay down and shut off. Um, and hopefully even take a nap, right? Instead of staring at the ball, whining at the ball. Um, but that is kind of an art and kind of a skill and that's a little more advanced than most of our clients are gonna be able to do on their own.

Speaker 1: That's the kind of thing you probably wanna get some help with. Um, but that's the sort of advanced state of mind work that we would be doing with a dog like that.

Speaker 1: It's the same sort of thing we do with dogs that are like afraid of kids, right? We would teach them how to walk into heel or lay in a down or on place and not stare at the kids and fixate on the kids. Just lay down and relax, put your head down, take a nap, that sort of thing. Um, you could do that sort of stuff around the ball and around water, right? Because those are things you probably allow your dog to do sometimes. So you can't just correct it and have it go away because sometimes you wanna be able to take your dog swimming, you wanna be able to throw the ball for your dog.

Speaker 1: If you don't, then feel free to just correct that stuff. Um, and you know what? That's okay if you decide to do that. Um, but most people, that's not where they want to go with it, right? So you've got behaviors that you just wanna outright eliminate, and you've got behaviors that you just wanna tweak and teach your dog impulse control around them so that you can rehearse that, um, and have a dog that's not just helpless and controlled by their impulses.

30:00 — Impulse control should be practiced at doors, meals, kennels, cars, yards, and other routine…

Speaker 1: And that's another great example of when looking at other moments throughout the whole day can be helpful. So if you allow your dog to be super impulsive at other moments, like when you're going for a walk, when you're going to the door, when you're going in or out of the car, in or out of the kennel, when you're serving food, all of these things, then you are indirectly feeding their obsessions, right? Because you're strengthening impulsiveness in general, which is part of that obsession, right? So if you do have a dog that's absolutely obsessed with the ball practice impulse control around the ball, but practice at other places too because you're losing so much leverage.

Speaker 1: If you don't, you're literally working against yourself by only practicing it in the absolute hardest scenario and not practicing it like the other 23 hours and 52 minutes a day. <laugh> practice it everywhere. If you have a dog with the proclivity toward obsession, then impulse control is the name of the game for you guys all day long, not just in that moment.

Speaker 1: All right? So how do you do that? Well, I'll tell you what, everybody is missing corrections. So when I say practice impulse control in other areas, what the first place everyone's mind goes, right? Most people is to commands, is to restraining their dog with a leash. And you can do these things, but they don't really work that well. Okay? So if you are just hanging on to your leash, making it nice and short and it's tight and you're just holding your dog back, that's not impulse control. That's your dog actually trying with all of their might to follow their impulses and you're just physically holding them back, which can actually strengthen the impulse, okay?

Speaker 1: That's why they do that in protection work. The dog is at the end of the leash, straining at the leash, trying to get to the target. So a lot of people make that mistake with their dog when their dog is trying to chase something like a cat or a ball.

Speaker 1: It could be anything, right? Um, and you're just strengthening that impulse. And that's ob obviously usually the opposite of what we're trying to do. Uh, using a command is maybe a little bit better, but it's still not great because you're basically just blah, blah, blah, verbally yelling, commands at your dog, spoon, feeding them directions. You're not actually changing their own choices, right? You're having to tell them over and over and over again forever to make a different choice. And even if they do, they're not choosing to do it on their own. Um, so the commands are not great.

Speaker 1: That's why we don't use commands at doors. That's why we don't use commands when we serve food, is because we're teaching the dog to resist their impulses all on their own without me having to tell them each and every time to do something different, right?

Speaker 1: Um, you're sort of avoiding the whole problem by doing that. You're not dressing it, you're avoiding it, skirting around it. Um, so what we need to see happen is just corrections, right? If I put down a bowl of food, and I'm careful about my level with this, 'cause this is an example of a thing the dog's allowed to eat, right? It's not that they're not allowed to eat, I just don't want them to eat until I tell them it's okay. And so if I put down a bowl of food and the dog advances toward the bowl of food, I just correct them, right?

34:00 — At the food bowl, a light correction for advancing teaches the dog to wait…

Speaker 1: I don't correct them really high. I don't light them up like the 4th of July, but I look for that level. That's just enough that the dog steps back and kind of looks at me like, what am I supposed to do? And then they sit there calmly like that, waiting for direction. I'll push the bowl toward them and say, okay, go ahead. Eat right? Um, but that's a good example. So I will mark it with a a no, a very neutral no, and then I'll provide just a motivating correction, just enough to send the message.

Speaker 1: I don't want you to do that right now.

Speaker 1: So that is so counterintuitive to people. It's not where our minds go when we talk about impulse control. So if you have a dog that gets extremely overexcited, you don't need to hold them back with their leash. You don't need to give them commands. You need to tell them to knock it the fuck off, right? That is how you start creating real impulse control. You have to say no and you have to give them a real correction because someone has to disagree with that nuttiness. If you just come out and your dog is full blown off the wall excited and you just say, sit, you're accomplishing absolutely nothing, my friend, because number one, your dog's not making the choice to sit on their own.

Speaker 1: You're having to tell them, and you're gonna have to tell them forever. And number two, they're probably not gonna be able to do it.

Speaker 1: Even if they do, they're not gonna be able to stay there. What? They're gonna sit for two seconds and jump up. Yay, bravo. It gets, it does nothing for you. Nothing. Someone has to say, have the direct conversation with them. Stop withholding the information from your dog. Tell them the way they're acting. It's not okay. The state of mind they're in. It's not okay. It's not acceptable because that is where all your problems are stemming from and you're trying to avoid having the conversation that will fix it. So that's where impulse control really comes from.

Speaker 1: Guys is accountability. It's corrections, whether it's for the exact behavior, it's for the state of mind. Or if we're talking about things that your dog is allowed to do sometimes, then the corrections are for breaking commands around the thing.

Speaker 1: So if your dog is allowed to play ball, but you're trying to lessen an obsession, you're trying to improve state of mind, then you're gonna do things like ask your dog to drop the ball. Ask your dog to stay in a down while you throw the ball, and there's gonna be a real correction if they don't, right? So of course they have to understand how to do those things first. I always throw that in just because you know, someone might be listening for the first time and not understand that that's a process. You can't correct your dog for commands that you haven't taught them.

Speaker 1: They need to understand it. So that's training. And this episode isn't to cover how that training works, but it is to tell you how to create impulse control.

Speaker 3: A

Speaker 1: Right? So where commands are concerned, the corrections are for breaking command, but for most moments, we don't need commands, right? If I have guests come into my house and my dog goes off the wall crazy, I don't need a command for that. That just isn't allowed ever. That's just a correction. That's a no and a correction. It's not a sit, sit, sit. It's not a down, it's not a place. I can do those things, but I cannot do those things in lieu of just telling the dog, no, that's not allowed. Correction. If I have a dog that's chasing his tail, that's mutilating himself, that's chasing lights, that's never going to be allowed.

38:00 — Commands cannot replace a clear prohibition for unhealthy obsessions that will never be allowed.

Speaker 1: It's an unhealthy obsession. There's nothing productive to come of that. I want it to go away. That's gonna be a correction. It's just a no and a correction. And with all of the dogs, I'm, we're gonna be looking at impulse control all day long, which means I'm going to enforce my commands when I use them, and I'm going to address the state of mind directly when it's not okay. And I'm gonna tell my dog it's not okay.

Speaker 1: Right? There are times to get excited and it's gonna be when I say it's okay. Because if you let your dog make that decision, then basically you're saying it's okay for your dog to be impulsive. 'cause you can't talk out of both sides of your mouth. And see, it's not that I want your dog to be a robot. I don't. I dogs have personalities and I love that they have personalities. I love that they're happy to see their owners. I love that they love playing ball. That's great. But like there's a time and a place, and most dogs that we meet that have issues, the core of the issue is that they are deciding when they go off that mental cliff.

Speaker 1: And nobody is willing to step in and say, Hey, not allowed, not allowed, not allowed. Right Now it's allowed. I'm gonna take the leash off, we're gonna throw the ball, we're gonna go swimming. Whatever it is, you have to be making that decision and you have to be willing to enforce it. And you have to be willing to give your dog that feedback, right? And your dog, there's no reason to think that your dog is ever gonna start really controlling impulses unless you're stepping in and giving a correction where it's needed. And that's normal,

Speaker 1: Right? And don't forget, we're talking about how to make your dog a better version of themself and make them more comfortable and to make their life fuller and easier and more inclusive. It's gonna be better all the way around for everybody. But if you keep trying to skirt around it and avoid corrections and just use your leash or tell your dog to sit, it's not gonna work. And you're just gonna kick the can down the road and everyone's gonna be frustrated. So that's the thing we see that's usually missing. We hope you enjoyed today's episode.

Speaker 1: If there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed, you can send that to me directly at Kati at Diamond Canine dot com via email. So I will link to that email address in the show notes. Thanks for joining us today, guys. Thanks for supporting the podcast, and I look forward to the next one.