WaggaWuffins Canine College

'First seek to Understand, Then to be Understood' Stephen Covey

I'm a big Stephen Covey fan and I love this habit , it's Habit 5 of 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'

I use this when I'm working with dogs, with both my clients and the dogs.

It's important when working with dogs that when we seek solutions for behaviour problems, we understand why these happen.

This requires investigation and understanding.

I will not just provide a client with a quick fix solution to stop the behaviour because it's inconvenient to them. I will seek to understand what drives the behaviour and find a solution that meets everyone's needs.

Training is not always the answer to solving behaviour problems.

I will give you some examples:

A Husky hit adolescent and was stopping on walks and refusing to walk. Owner has been advised to give him a yank as 'he's just being stubborn'.
My questions discovered the dog was showing signs of lethargy elsewhere so I sent him to the vet. Dog has Addison's disease.

Cocker Spaniel labelled with Rage due to unprovoked aggressive attacks on owner.
On observation dog had a slight bunny hop, sent to the vet for investigation. X-rays completed, dog had no hip sockets.

Don't blame the dog

Understand them and then we can help them 🐾

Jane Ardern BSc (Hons) Dip CABT