What Almost All Trainers Miss at the Start of Training

Someone asked:

Do you know how to get a dog that’s scared of everything to not be? We have two other dogs she’s with and the other dogs are fine around us. The scared one will not trust us. The scared one does like the other two.

BNBR, what’s your model for

1. your patience,
2. the appearance of a dog’s brain,
3. its energy level,
4. and Nature’s triggering of wild, out of control behaviors?

Most owners dive in without assessing, for themselves and for each dog:

1. their own, human patience
2. their understanding of how and when dogs show their brains are actively engaged
3. the dog’s
   1. immediate,
   2. short term,
   3. and long term energy level
   4. how their behaviors parallel or diverge from Nature’s programming that’s already in each dog.

   It sounds like a lot when you read it. Reading is in some ways better than talking, but in this case talking is better. Talking it through is the best way to learn it.

   You need to have

   1. 1) patience – because dogs need time to get their planets in line and their ducks in a row. It cannot be rushed, and it’ll always take longer than hoped and expected.
   2. 2) brains – since high energy, wild dogs are literally wild, their brains aren’t present. Low energy dogs have their brains present, and that’s the first requirement in getting success in any interaction with any dog. Wild dogs don’t think—low energy dog’s brains do the thinking, not the dog.
   3. 3) energy – because without a model to know if your dog is above or below the midline, you’re shooting in the dark, and it further proves, BNBR, your need more information to understand what’s happening with and between humans and dogs. Without it, you’re going into the fight at an immediate deficit.
   4. 4) triggers – if you trigger the dog to exhibit something that’s already in place thanks to Nature’s prior programming, your job becomes almost effortless.
      Here’s the thing that will confuse probably everyone: patience fixes everything.

   What actually happens for and to the dog through your being patient is beyond the scope of this answer, but it is surreal when you see it in the moment.

   Texting is substandard communication for something this complicated. Let’s talk.

   Respectfully submitted.

   The DOuGTrainer