Denial is a very big problem in dog training. Let me tell you a story of my own struggle with denial when I first started my dog training career.

Chloe and Trapper, two white German shepherds, were the first two dogs I trained as a professional trainer. The owner called me and said the dogs just needed a little obedience work, and I felt I was up to the task. In fact, I felt pretty darn confident that I was a great trainer in those days. (I couldn’t have been more wrong.)

When I reached the house, all was quiet. I rang the doorbell, and it was still quiet. The man opened the door with the two dogs on leash, and they were much bigger than I was expecting (each over 100 pounds). They sniffed my shoes and seemed fine at first, but when they moved up to sniff my face, I panicked a little. They picked up on that panic and things started to change.

I could tell their trust in me was fading, and when I started working with them, things went from bad to worse. I made a lot of poor decisions during the training process because I was scared of their size and wasn’t really sure what I was doing. By the end of the hour, they lunged, growled, and stalked me any chance they had while the owners constantly told me that this was uncharacteristic for the dogs.

I proceeded to blame their reactions and poor responses to my training on anxiety and genetics, but deep down, but I knew better.

I met them years later to work with them again, and it was like a switch had flipped. The dogs were sweet, playful, and relaxed. The owners said they were always that way, and I knew the problem had nothing to do with the dogs. It was me, pretending to be something I wasn’t, and they called me out. Thank you, Chloe and Trapper, for helping me mold myself into the leader I needed to be.

Sometimes it is easy to make excuses when our dogs are struggling. “He is a husky, so I he’ll always pull on leash.” “He is a beagle, so he will always follow his nose and never follow me.” “He is a bulldog, so I know he will always be stubborn.” “He is a rescue, so he’ll always have behavioral issues.”

The best advice I can give to any client is that your dog is the most accurate mirror you’ll find. If you’re struggling with your dog, don’t deny the issues and don’t point fingers. Take ownership of the situation and make changes in yourself, regardless of how daunting that may seem. If you want your dog to be better, be better for your dog.

The question in not, “Why is my dog such a poor student?” The question should be, “How can I become a better teacher?”

Happy training!

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Stephanie Vichinsky is the owner/head trainer of Method K9 in Post Falls. 208-964-4806