Why Train Your Dog?

Written By Jennifer Masters, MA, MS, RVT, KPA CTP
A Clever Black Lab playing fetch on a beautiful Fall day!

I wrote this little blurb for my last company when it briefly had an internal pet care community board for it’s employees. I wrote it over a decade ago. I like how it shows consistency of how I train and how I work to teach others how to train with their dogs. As much as I have grown as a dog trainer and a human being since I wrote this blurb, it shows that I have grown because of the work I have put in building a solid foundation in my body of work training with dogs.

Two Clever Black Labs enjoying a day at the lake because of the training they have done with their person!

Here is the little blurb:

Why Train Your Dog?

Do you think that training your dog will interfere with your dog being a dog? Training isn’t about diminishing your dog’s “dogness.” Training is about communication and relationships. Training enables a pet parent to communicate with their dog. The end results are enhanced relationships between dogs and their people. Ultimately, training equals freedom for the dog. The more a dog is trained, the more freedoms the dog is allowed. Instead of locking your dog in a crate or outside, because he is rude when company comes through the door, training teaches your dog an acceptable, alternative behavior. Instead of jumping on a guest, you can teach your dog to go to a mat while people walk through the door. Once the guest is sitting and relaxed the dog can be taught to go say “Hello” in a polite manner, such as sitting in front of the guest to be petted. Training allows the dog to truly be a part of the family. The more we train our dogs, the more we can learn to read their body language so we can get glimpses into their state of mind. This allows us to look at things from our dog’s point of view. This allows the relationship to be interactive and dynamic, instead of just what the person wants out of it. Training helps us develop a compassionate, empathetic, and connected relationship with our dogs.

Throw it one more time, please, asks a very clever black lab!

One of the main things I have changed over the years has been the wording I use when talking about dog training. I used to simply discuss training your dog. And training your dog is important, but I think when I shifted and started saying, “training with your dog”, it went from something one does to their dog to something someone does with their dog. The addition of the word “with” makes the dog a partner in the training. The more I train with Rainy and Shine, my two black Labrador Retrievers, the more they learn how to communicate with me and understand what I want and need them to do. I think the most important part of using the word “with” when training with dogs is that I am even more open to listening to them more than I was at the beginning of my training journey decades ago. I love that they learn to understand me, but I also love that I learn to understand them and all their individual nuances of communication. I love to make them happy when I have taken the time to listen and I see the joy sparkle in their eyes when they ask that I throw their retrieving dummy one more time and I give them what they ask for! The giving back and forth is what a truly clever and connected relationship is all about!!

I hope you find joy in training with your dogs! What is one thing your dog does for you that makes you happy? What is one thing you do for your dog that causes the joy sparkle in their eyes?!

A clever black lab sharing a quote that is unfortunately so very true. Fortunately, people can work to shift their mindset from simply talking to animals to talking with animals, which can help us be open to listening to them!!
Jennifer Masters, MA, MS, RVT, KPA CTP

I LOVE DOGS!!!

Dogs leave me in awe constantly. The dog-human connection fascinates me. Training with dogs lights me up inside! There is no better connection in life than that between a dog and their person in sync. Teaching others to train with their dogs is an honor. Watching the person open up to seeing the potential in their dog is the purpose.

I have committed my life to dogs. I study dogs through self-directed learning and through formal educational programs.

I have attended three schools for dog trainers and completed numerous continuing education opportunities about dog training and behavior over the years.

I have been a credentialed veterinary technician for over 23 years.

I completed a BS in Business Administration with the sole focus of opening a dog training business.

I completed a MA in Applied Psychology to be able to better help the human side of the leash!

I recently completed an MS in Adult Learning and Leadership to learn how to create dog training programs and curriculum that benefit not only the dog, but their humans, also!

My commitment to dogs and their people is that I will continue to increase my knowledgebase so I can provide them with access to the best dog training and behavior education possible. I will also share my own perspective on dogs and the lives we share with them.

Above all else, my best teachers have been dogs, mine and others. I have learned so much while training with dogs. How to focus and give my full attention to another as the dog gives theirs back, that is the essence of the dog-human connection. When two beings are training together and communication is flowing subtly, there is true magic in those moments. Also, in the day to day of our life together when time seems to stand still I become open to the lessons they have to teach. Lessons of how to listen to others and how to just be together. Our relationships with our dogs is about togetherness, whether training with our dogs or about simply being with our dogs. Our time together might be fleeting, but it is oh so precious. Dogs taught me these things and so much more. I am filled with so much gratitude for dogs and the lessons they so willing offer to teach me.

I hope you join me on learning about and with dogs!

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The Joy of Puppies