🇬🇧 Is dressage beneficial for the dog?

Is dressage beneficial for the dog?

It depends on how the training is done. The last dog I had so far I adopted at the age of 4 and he came full of addictions, because he was trained on the basis of reward and punishment. It was a sad animal, which did not interact with me much. It lived in fear. A beautiful lhasa apso, but with behavior well outside the breed standard.

He only did the necessities on the street, and if the street was wet he wouldn't go out. But I live in Curitiba and it rains too much in this city!!!! Sometimes the animal went DAYS without doing the necessities because of this conditioning. I taught him to do it on the balcony, but it took time for him to understand that in my house he could do certain things that somewhere else, at some point, he was punished for doing.

It also never gave me "kiss" (he never licked me). I taught him that it could kiss and in time it started to kiss my hand.

On the other hand, he went for a walk with me on a leash and was always 2 steps (mine) in front of me. And once the collar loosened around a corner. I just called him, he stopped, picked him up and brought him home. But I don't know if it was dressage or because at that time he already had a very strong bond of trust with me. After that I started to release him in the square and he ran only where he could see me and came back. It was too good to see his happiness when we achieved that. He arrived here so sad, closed, and when he reached that level he seemed to smile. He no longer fought with other male dogs on the street and had fun with other animals.

 (Photo of Hercules smiling. He was dirty and disheveled, but happy)

He was so tough when he arrived that he wasn't much of a cuddle. When he met Marrom and Mel (my mother's dogs) he saw that the two of them when they saw me lay on their backs to get affection and kiss me, and it was the beginning of my training to fix his training vices. Then I discovered that what I did with him intuitively is called positive training, which is about teaching the animal with love and respect, without punishment. And with that he also started to like affection in the belly. And passed it on to cats too.  😂😂🥰🥰

I've always liked animals, but Hercules was a phenomenal little creature. Fortunately I was able to help him to be himself and become a happy animal, fearless and aware that he was very loved.

I recommend using training so as not to create these addictions, understanding that each situation requires a different attitude. When walking in Curitiba I see many dog tutors apologizing if the animal jumps on me or licks me, and drawing the animal's attention or pulling it. And it's a wrong posture because I like this interaction and there are other people who like it too. First you have to know if the person wants that interaction. Animals learn fast when they are taught with love and respect. Even about things like where to do the necessities... think that an animal trained to do in the service area, for example, may have to relearn quickly if the service area undergoes a renovation or if you move. And you have the means to achieve a much faster adaptation if you do not teach based on punishment.

If a trainer talks about punishment or using a choke, run away!!! It will do the animal a lot of harm.

Nycka, the Nomad