What is Holistic Dog training? And why do I take a Holistic Approach?

Taking a holistic approach to training is my unique way of diagnosing issues early and getting you better results, let me explain:

Usually, the word Holistic conjures up visions of yoga and herbal teas but with regards to dog training what does it mean? Looking at the dictionary definition of Holistic…

“Holistic: Characterized by the belief that parts of something are interconnected and can be explained as reference to the whole.”

In dog training, this translates to looking at all the factors that could contribute to problem behaviour or issues in training. What do I look at?

· The Relationship with the handler and family members and what is the dog learning from these sources.

· The dog’s relationship with training and does the dog understand how to learn something.

· The dog’s relationship with food and rewarding.

· The dog’s relationship with other dogs in the home.

· Factors that could be inhibiting learning such as stress or fear.

· Diet and how this can impact the dog's learning ability.

· Breeding: is the dog from working parents and therefore more likely to need structured training? Is the dog from a rescue and therefore needs an entirely different approach to help it along?

When we train in this way it gives me greater insight and often resolves the issue much faster.

This is why you should make sure that any trainer has a consultation with you on the first session to answer the above questions.

No dog is untrainable, it's usually that some factor has been overlooked and needs addressing before progress can be made.