It’s normal if your dog doesn’t enjoy training in the beginning

Two of the most darling little chihuahuas, Vivienne and Lucille, recently completed our Bootcamp. In a normal Bootcamp, the owner drops their dog off to me, but in this circumstance, I was going to the owner’s house and training the dogs there. Often I let myself into the house at the owner’s instruction and had to leash up the dogs myself for training. Easy, right? Not exactly.

Vivienne and Lucy are both more on the nervous side and wary of strangers. When I entered their house, they’d bark and run from me. I tried the good old, sit on the floor with my back to them to appear less threatening and try to get them to come to me. I tried tossing teats their way. That did work the first day - but once they learned that me showing up meant they each had to ‘endure’ a 90-minute training session, they kept their distance.

If they had it their way, they would have rather not gone through with this whole training thing at all. Unfortunately for them, their owners were getting a little tired of their behaviors (incessant barking, ankle-chasing guests, not listening to any commands), so the option not to train was not on the menu. So there I was, coming in like the dog catcher to leash up these frightened dogs who wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. (Side note: If these dogs were aggressive in any way, this is not something I would be doing. But I had already worked with them a few days and knew they were not going to bite me.)

I’ve seen this before with other dogs, so I wasn’t worried. Think about it from the dogs’ perspectives: Not only am I a stranger who’s coming into their home, I’m also putting leashes on them and asking them to do things. The leashes themselves were an unfamiliar, unwelcome experience for both of them - the owner told me prior to training that Vivienne would act like she had ‘hot coals’ on her back whenever she tried putting a harness and leash on her. Also, these dogs were used to having the run of the house with all the food, treats, and toys they could possibly want - being restricted in any way or being told what to do wasn’t exactly something they were used to.

Of course, it would have been a much nicer picture for the owner if her dogs looked excited and happy when I showed up to their house. As much as I would enjoy that too, I’m not being paid to become her dogs’ best friend; I’m there to train them. I don’t have to have an already-established, grand relationship with the dogs to do that. I’ve done this enough to know that, as time goes on they’ll become more comfortable with me, and they’ll make progress with the training regardless.

As training continued, I celebrated small wins relating to their comfort levels. Vivienne, who is slightly less nervous than her sister but with 10x the attitude, warmed up fairly quickly. While she would still run from me when I first showed up, as soon as I leashed her she would gladly jump in my lap for a pet if it meant a short break from reps of sit, down, place, and come. Her sister Lucy was a different story. She was constantly alert and on edge. Whereas Vivienne quickly learned that ‘place’ was a spot she could lie down and take a break, Lucy would sit up straight the entire time. Finally, after six days she laid down on place on her own - I was so excited! She popped back up shortly after, but the next day she laid down for longer. At the same time, she started taking treats from me - another sign she was getting more comfortable. In the next few days, I was able to teach her to lay down on command, and once I paired that with ‘place’, she started to settle in and relax quite nicely.

We progressed to the point that both dogs would regularly fall asleep on place during our training sessions - signs they were both learning to relax on command and that they felt comfortable enough in my presence to do so. Not only that, both dogs were excelling at other important commands like sit, down, and come. Their owner reported they were starting to ‘tune in’ to what she was saying more. Their barking on walks decreased dramatically. We took a walk to a nearby garden center during one of their Owner Coaching Sessions, and the owner was in awe that they weren’t being set off by any of their usual triggers - people, chickens, loud sounds. She expressed that it was the best trip to that garden center she’s ever taken!

So if your dog starts out a training program and doesn’t appear to ‘love it’, know that this is normal. Dogs take time to warm up to both people and to training. If your dog, like this adorable duo, isn’t used to being told what to do, that alone will take time to get used to. But trust the process, and you’ll be amazed at how much progress they can make, and how much a simple training program can expand your world with them as a result.