Puppy Training: Building Confidence In Your Puppy
Written by Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA
The Importance of Building Confidence in your puppy
Building confidence in our dogs is overlooked. We believe that all dogs will be friendly, sociable, and happy-go-lucky. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Dogs of this nature are hard to come by these days. The odds are usually stack against us when we first get our puppy.
They are not a blank slate. They are a product of their breed, their lines' genetics, their personality, and whatever events they have already been exposed to before they were in our care. There will always be things we can improve upon with dogs and there is no perfect puppy. We cannot mold a dog into what we want. They have personalities, feelings, likes and dislikes.
We can try to guide them and shape them as they move along throughout life and puppyhood is the easiest time to start this process. It gives us the ability to try to shape their world as best we can - but there will be set backs or maybe you have already experienced a few with your dog.
Just keep in mind that sometimes how our puppy turns out is not our fault and your puppy's temperament, personality, or sociability doesn't always fall on just the owner, despite popular belief. However, we can give our puppies the tools to navigate the world to the best of their genetic ability and hope they turn out to be the perfect puppy we were hoping for. Try to avoid getting stuck on this idea of how your puppy should be or needs to be. Learn from the puppy you have in front of you. Love that puppy. Listen to what that puppy is telling you they like and do not like. Get to know your puppy's personality as they are and respect that they are their own being - not something to be bent to your will and molding into what you desire. Your dog will work hard for you if you love and respect them for who they are.
How Do Your Build Your Dog’s Confidence?
Below I have attached a video of my Oakley learning to skateboard. Why? We aren't teaching dogs to skateboard very often to build confidence surely! I have attached this video because I want you to see the confidence and trust my dog has in me. She has never seen the skateboard before this video. She jumps right on to the skateboard and sits down, a behavior that she knows I like and will reward her for. There is no fear, there is no conflict, and there is understanding that I am asking her to interact with this object that moves, makes weird noises, and has a sandpaper-y feel to the top of it... she can say yes or she can say no. Either way there is no negative consequence. This is how you build confidence.
There must be an understanding for your dog that this is their choice alone. She can opt to do the behavior and be rewarded heavily for her bravery. If she wants to retreat, she can. If it is too scary at this level, I will make it easier so, she can succeed.
I never say "no" or "ah-ah" to my dogs. I have spent years building the trust and confidence my dogs have and I would never ruin that just to correct them over a small mistake. I redirect them to what I want if they make a mistake and let them try again. I set them up to succeed so, mistakes are minimal. But when they are trying to figure something out, I don't continually harp on them and tell them when they are wrong. I tell them when they are right and we celebrate that rightness like crazy. We focus on the progress, on the successes, and on the wins. That is how you build confidence in your dog and in your self as a trainer.
We need to set puppies up for success in all interactions - whether with people, skateboards, dogs, or some weird thing they have decided is scary. It needs to be easy for them and at their level. They need to be able to succeed and we should be the cheerleaders for that success. Baby steps in everything. It isn't rushed. It doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be safe and easy for your dog. As they gain confidence, more and more things will become "easy" and you won't have to think about this as often.
However, puppies are going to look to us for guidance naturally at first. If you give bad or scary advice, if you rush them, if you push them, that trust will be broken and they will not seek our guidance anymore. Be patience and let that trust grow. Let them figure it out and let them use their brains. Let them see that they can and they will try even harder for you the next time.
If you think your puppy is lacking confidence, you can also seek the help of a certified professional dog trainer or certified dog behavior consultant if they already seem fearful or aggressive. I am both and I work with students in person in the Jackson, MS metro area, as well a worldwide virtually. Contact me here for help with your puppy!