What is confidence in a dog? Why do we need it? How do we grow it, and why should we even care? Confidence is a topic I’m very passionate about, and there are three things that are big contributors bringing out the best in a puppy or dog.
In the episode you'll hear:
- What my dog Decaff taught me about confidence.
- How confidence replaces stress and anxiety.
- About my once in a lifetime dogs.
- How our beliefs control our thoughts about our dogs and how our thoughts control our actions.
- Why today can be your starting point!
- The strategy you can adopt to get to where you want to be with your dog.
- My promise to Momentum’s four puppies about marbles.
- About emotional states and our dogs.
- Why to play small to play big.
- How you can see lack of marble building behaviour in performance sports like agility.
- About defining the behavior you see by what is real.
- How much the language you use about your dog matters.
- Why we want our bag of marbles overfull.
Resources:
- Blog Post: Is There a Difference?
- Podcast Episode 8: Get Your Dog in the Belief Loop of Awesome
- Susan Garrett's Recallers Successes Facebook Page
- Podcast Episode 22: The Invisible Bubble of Pressure and Your Dog
- Vlog Post: Where Is Your Dog On The Circle Of Fun?
- Blog Post: Improve Your Dog Training By Playing Like A Dog
- Home School the Dog
- Recallers
- DogsThat.Com
Thank you so much for your podcasts, I started at the first and I am watching and listening to all of them. My dog is very worried about being sent away, and worried about many things (he is a rescue). I know he is brilliant, just the best. But I am lacking confidence in myself, unsure about clarity, sure that I don’t get him to understand the recallers games clearly. So there it is. I think that the confidence in oneself is also a big part of getting confidence in a dog.
Loved this one because all my previous dogs were less out going and we worked on confidence a lot. Will you do a podcast about the difference in a confident dog vs an outgoing one? My first pyrshep was not outgoing and had no interest in people outside of her friends and fam inner circle. That didn’t mean she wasn’t confident but many people didn’t see that about her. In her memory I’d love to help people get a better awareness about this. She was an awesome friend and partner for me.
Fantastic podcast. So helpful in working with dogs who need more confidence. I have sighthounds and these tools apply to almost every puppy. I am so tired of hearing/seeing people with the “you have to be firm” attitude and seeing how the dog’s confidence in its owner gets destroyed. Love your podcast!
Hi – I’m working with a 4 mo old puppy who is brilliant and very confident… as long as I am close by. He shuts down and gets anxious when I disappear. Even my husband experiences this and they have a very good relationship. If neither of us are around, he won’t play or engage, just cries, howls, curls up and waits for our appearance. I’m looking for strategies to help him be confident and joyful when I’m not around.
Thanks so much Susan! My middle girl is nine but her confidence has improved a lot lately. I’m going to use what you taught me here to increase her quality of life even further!
This is again a great podcast. The love you have for dogs is heartwarming. Those puppies are having such a great start in life. I wish all puppies would have that.
It’s very inspiring to get to ‘work´ with the lack of confidence with one of my dogs. The biggest gem for me this episode is: ‘in order to change your emotion, you need to change your motion’.
I’m going to make this a priority the next few weeks.
Susan great podcast. I have a Borzoi who lacks confidence.Looking forward in implementing these 3 Keys. Susan, you have mentioned playing with sighthounds, I recommend you podcasts, videos and programs to my sighthound owning friends. Hoping for a Podcast which centers on sighthounds.
I so wish I had heard this podcast 2 years ago when I got my current dog. I am lucky I didn’t traumatize her permanently by overwhelming her. I love the marble analogies and will use them the next time I have a dog with low confidence. My current girl is doing wonderfully and her confidence is growing every day, and I am really looking forward to applying your training tips over the winter. I feel she is going to be an amazing agility dog which when I got her at 4.5 months I wasn’t sure would ever happen.
Can’t agree more with the messages in this podcast. Every dog deserves world champion foundations to be the best version of themselves. Wherever that takes them will surely make our hearts glow. Loving the podcasts while driving along. Makes the 5am commute bearable 😉
could you please do a session on what to do when your dog chooses to not listen.
Hi Susan! I have been following you for years and just love everything you do! This year has been an extra challenge for me as I have a 10 year old Pug (one of my 3 dogs) who is going blind due to diabetes. She has always been a confident happy dog and I want her to stay that way once her sight is gone. Could you do a episode on how to help our older friends stay happy and confident when they face “disabilities”. I know sight is not as big a deal for them as it is us, but I want to help her to have the best possible life without babying her or taking away from my other dogs who are healthy.
Great podcast!
I love all these pod casts and watch on u tube to get the video BUT is it necessary to have the huge microphone masking Susan’s face and expression. I realise it’s technically a podcast not video but it is video in effect and the huge mic is so off putting.