What you should teach your dog
Often when I meet with people, they talk to me about what their dogs “should” be able to do. Or I ask them what skills are already in their dogs’ repertoire - that is, what tricks, or behaviors does the dog already know how to do fluently? This can be helpful information as we plan what new skills to teach or how to incorporate their current skills into the environment they are living in. When answering this question, a lot of people seem embarrassed that their dogs may not know certain things. “He can sit!” they say, “but he can’t fetch or anything fancy like that.”
I recently met with someone who had signed up for our foundational skills package with her new dog. This package is designed to teach new skills, but the actual skills we teach are dependent on the family that we are working with. We don’t have a prescribed list, and so we spend some time asking them what they’re looking for and what might be most helpful and productive for their dog in the context of their life together and their environment. In this case, the guardian had expressed that she was interested in working on leash walking behavior. “Okay,” I said, “What does an ideal walk with your dog look like to you?”
She sighed. “Well,” she said, “If a dog trainer saw me right now, they wouldn’t approve.” She looked away for a moment, then back at me. “The thing is,” she said, “my dog pulls a lot on the leash.”
“Okay!” I said again. “What do you want a walk together to look like when we’re done? Is your walk ideally a fast-paced thing where you’re aiming to get from point A to point B, or are you looking for something meandering and slow, or something in between?”
She paused for a moment. Then she looked straight at me and said, “Honestly? I really don't care. I don’t care that she pulls. It’s fine! She’s small, it doesn’t bother me, and it doesn’t seem to bother her. It’s just that... I think this is what I’m supposed to work on.”
Here’s the thing: there is no “supposed” to. While cultural conversation around dogs suggests that there are certain “commands” that a dog “must” know - that’s just not true. Not every dog needs to know every skill or every behavior.
In our professional workshops and presentations, we spend time talking about how dogs learn, how we teach, and the considerations we keep in mind as we are teaching dogs new skills. In many of these workshops, we have the participants develop a list of behaviors that a dog should know to do and a list of behaviors that a dog should know not to do.
What is fascinating about these lists is that they end up looking remarkably similar. On the Should list, someone might add “snuggle with me on the couch,” while someone else puts “get on the furniture” on the Shouldn’t list. Check out the image below from one of our workshops: you might notice that “Bark when someone is at the door” is on both lists, along with others!
Here’s a list from one of our recent workshops.
“Here’s the thing: there is no “supposed” to. While cultural conversation around dogs suggests that there are certain “commands” that a dog “must” know - that’s just not true. ”
None of these is right and also none of these is wrong! The thing about it is that each family and their relationship with their dog, their home, and the people in their community is unique. While many people get a dog to be their companion, companionship can mean incredibly different things for different people.
All of this is to say that there is not a list of things that you have to teach your dog in order to be a “good” guardian. There is also not a list of things that you have to teach your dog not to do in order to be a “good” guardian. For some dogs, being able to walk down the sidewalk on a leash is incredibly important; other dogs live with people in places where they will never encounter a sidewalk.
As we discussed in our post about dogs and breweries, it’s not necessary for all dogs to enjoy all activities. For some activities, there may be certain skills that are helpful. Because I love hiking with my dog off-leash, some important skills we have focused on are coming when called, waiting on the side of a trail while others walk by, and having a leash clipped on and off of the collar. Because we sometimes hike with my dog on a long line and because there are many stairs to go down in front of my house, we have also worked on an “easy” cue, which means that my dog slows down so that I can safely catch up with her if she’s going down the stairs or steep rocks ahead of me. These exact same skills that we use almost daily may be entirely irrelevant for another family. If so - it’s okay not to teach them!
When thinking about your priorities for your dog and for your life together, it may be helpful to consider:
What do we enjoy doing together?
What skills will help my dog feel safe and comfortable doing these activities?
What behaviors could my dog engage in that would help me feel safe and comfortable doing these activities with my dog?
Who else is present, and how might they answer these questions?
While there might be skills that a guardian doesn’t realize they could teach, there may also be behaviors you don’t yet know about that could make both your life and your dog’s more comfortable. When you don't know what you don't know, a trainer or behavior consultant can make suggestions about the types of skills that would be beneficial given your context.
By now you probably get the idea: there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. There is only what makes the most sense for you and your dog. In thinking carefully about the questions outlined above, you can begin to determine what to teach your dog for your context and can prioritize from there. And if you aren’t quite sure what skills or behaviors will help you and your dog feel safe and comfortable in your environment, we are here to help!