Beyond Obedience | Dog Training, Dog Body Language, Anxious Dogs, Scared Dogs, Reactive Dogs21 Syys

241 | Want to Build a Deeper Connection With Your Dog? Stop Telling Them to “Look at Me”

Hey Dog Lover 🐾

Your dog notices another dog coming down the road.

Their ears go up.

Their body changes.

They’re looking at that dog because, for whatever reason, that dog matters to them.

And what do we so often do?

“Look at me.”

“LOOK AT ME.”

But why?

Your dog knows the other dog is there.

You know the other dog is there.

Everybody knows the other dog is there.

So why are we trying so hard to get our dogs to stop paying attention to the world and pay attention to us?

What if we did something completely different?

What if we looked too?

In this episode, we’re talking about what connection with your dog actually looks like and why I think we’ve gotten part of it a little bit backwards.

Because connection can’t just be about getting your dog to pay attention to you.

Connection also requires you to pay attention to your dog.

We’ll talk about:

🐾 Why I question our obsession with teaching dogs to “look at me” when something important is happening
🐾 What your dog may actually be communicating when they stop, stare, listen, or notice something in their environment
🐾 Why acknowledging what your dog sees doesn’t mean letting them make every decision
🐾 The difference between distracting your dog from something and experiencing it with them
🐾 Why being heard isn’t the same thing as getting your way
🐾 How simply saying, “Yep, I see it too,” can change the conversation between you and your dog
🐾 Why connection isn’t necessarily constant eye contact, a perfect heel, or a dog who is always focused on you
🐾 How those tiny moments when you and your dog notice the same sound, sight, or experience can build connection
🐾 Why caring about what matters to your dog can make you more relevant when you need your dog to care about what matters to you

Because maybe we’ve made connection a little too one-sided.

Come into my world.

Look at me.

Listen to me.

Walk with me.

Care about what I care about.

Ignore what I tell you to ignore.

But what happens when we occasionally turn that around and say:

Show me yours.

The next time your dog suddenly stops and looks at something, try looking too.

What did they notice?

What changed?

What are they experiencing?

You don’t have to fix it.

You don’t have to turn it into a training exercise.

And you don’t necessarily have to let your dog do what they want to do next.

Just get curious.

Because maybe building a deeper connection with your dog isn’t about getting them to pay more attention to you.

Maybe sometimes it starts when you pay more attention to them.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Tracy xoxox

RESOURCES

🐾 Join me for the FREE CALM DOWN, DOG! Bootcamp!
BeyondObedience.ca/bootcamp

🐾 Take the Quiz!
Beyond Obedience Dogonality Quiz

🐾 Read the Blog!
Beyond Obedience Blog

CONNECT WITH ME!

Contact → info@beyondobedience.ca
Podcast → Beyond Obedience Podcast
Connect → Living Beyond Obedience Facebook Community
Resources → Dogonality Quiz
Merch → Beyond Obedience Store

🐾 NEXT STEPS 👣

Step 1: Join the free Living Beyond Obedience community and connect with other dog owners who are learning to lead through trust, relevance, and understanding.

Join Living Beyond Obedience

Step 2: Take the Dogonality Quiz to discover how your dog's unique personality shapes the way they learn, communicate, and respond to leadership.

👉 Take the Dogonality Quiz

Step 3: Ready to stop guessing what to do when your dog is struggling? Join me for the completely free CALM DOWN, DOG! Bootcamp, October 20th, 21st and 22nd.

👉 Save Your Spot for CALM DOWN, DOG!

Music Credit 🎶: Shawn Trotter
Shawn Trotter

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