Avoiding the trigger, is not the issue, it is part of the therapy

Question:

Why do us positive dog trainers tell reactive dog clients to stop walking their dog on the street if they cannot avoid barking incidences? (Or any location that the barking is occurring for that matter)?

Answer:

Average 2 walks per day, 5 barking incidences per walk equals 3650 barking incidences per year. That is effectively training the dog to bark. One year is bad enough, but if that's been going on 5 years that's 18,250 practises of barking. That excludes all the times, they have barked out the front window, back window, garden and car. Add those in and you could be pushing towards 50,000 times over 5 years.

No we are not avoiding the issue! The process is tried, tested and proved to work. We are merely keeping the alcoholic out of the pub before we embark on real confidence building and training.

If you have an adolescent dog who has started barking at things on a walk or displaying any unsociable or unwanted behaviours, the time is now to deal with it, don't let it build up into the tens and thousands of practices.

Call me for a free and honest chat that will get you and your dog on the right path.