How do host emotions affect dog training and how to deal with negative emotions?

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A good relationship with the owner is one of the necessary ingredients for the success of dog training. If the dog is accustomed to the owner and trusts him, the emotional state of the person becomes of great importance. And this has both pros and cons. How does the owner's emotions affect dog training and why is it important to consider this?

This topic has been discussed by many for a long time and, in particular, the report of Ekaterina Chirkunova at the Pets Behavior-2017 conference was devoted to it.

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The advantages are obvious: if a person behaves calmly and confidently, this is transmitted to the dog, and even in a difficult situation, it will remain manageable and rely on the owner. If a person panics or feels angry or irritated, the dog begins to get nervous - and here it is no longer before study.

Of course, if the training of your dog or the correction of its behavior is associated with many problems, and you have few emotional resources, it is quite difficult to avoid negative emotions. However, you must do everything possible to bring yourself to life - this is your duty to the pet.

How to cope with irritation or panic when training a dog?

Below you will find some recommendations that can help you deal with irritation or panic when training a dog or correcting behavior.

Don't forget that while the problems seem like an ever-increasing snowball, problem solving can be a positive avalanche. And if you master the basic things with a dog, it will be possible to "string" useful subtleties on them. After all, the dog will understand the basic principles of training and apply the acquired knowledge and skills in new areas of life.
If it seems to you that the dog is crazy and you can’t live like that anymore, stop and breathe. Take a slow breath and after a pause, exhale just as slowly - at least 10 times. It will bring you to your senses on a physiological level.
If everything seems to be really bad, pause. In a state of irritation, anger or panic, you will not teach a dog anything good. It is better to give yourself and her the opportunity to relax from each other and recover. Ask someone to look after the dog or leave it at home and walk alone.
Reduce class time. Do not engage until you want to kill the dog. Stop before you explode or the dog gets tired and starts to act up. Your dog will still learn what you want to teach - just maybe you both need more time.
Choose a place and time for classes to be able to control the situation. For example, if you are just starting training, and the dog is excitable and easily distracted, you should not practice where there are other people and dogs.
Remember what exactly in communication with a dog brings joy to both of you. Perhaps you should train less and play more? Or have you not gone on a long walk to a calm place where you can just enjoy chatting, swimming or running a race?
If possible, ask someone take you on video. This will allow you to see what went wrong and at what point, and make adjustments to the dog’s further training process.
Notice slightest success.
If you can’t do it on your own, it’s probably worth it. contact a specialistthat trains dogs with humane methods. Sometimes a side view is very useful and able to give an important impetus to progress.

How to focus on success in dog training?

If you are annoyed or panic, it is very difficult to notice and attach importance to small successes. Everything is seen in black and it seems that both you and the dog are good for nothing. However, it is worth focusing on successes nevertheless - this will give you the strength to continue to engage with your best friend. How to focus on success in dog training?

Always remember: your success is much greaterthan you think right now.
Pay attention to distance reduction. If yesterday the dog needed 15 meters to walk past the cat and not rush at it, and today you walked 14.5 meters - congratulate yourself and your pet.
Watch that what time is it the dog can stay on the shutter, focus on you or just practice. And if a week ago you stopped the lesson after 3 minutes, and today and 5 minutes after the start of the lesson, the puppy was enthusiastic - rejoice.
Notice like a dog reacts to irritants. Until recently, you had to flee from a lonely cyclist on the other side of the street, and today the bike passed you and did not have to run after your pet - buy a gift for yourself and your dog to celebrate this event!

It is very important to remember that progress is like waves, there will be good moments and bad ones, sometimes you will have to go through kickbacks, but you will notice that over time there are fewer bad moments, they are not so critical, and the leaps forward are becoming more impressive.

The main thing is not to give up and do not lose faith in yourself and your dog.