Author: Forcefree dogtrainers
"Are you struggling because your dog is so stressed all day? Have you searched the internet for the solutions to aggressive behaviour on leash? Do you feel that nothing is helping? Then sign up for our online course!"
For you as a dog owner, while searching the internet, it is tempting to take up an online offer to solve problem behaviour. You purchase the course with a few mouse clicks, can get started at your times.
But does online behavioural coaching make sense?
Dog behaviour is influenced by the convergence of several factors. Which factors play a role in your dog's behaviour can only be definitively assessed by a dog behaviour counsellor when he or she sees you and your dog in real life and preferably takes a walk with you.
Your living situation, how the family approaches the dog, what your dog's condition is (this may be different from what you thought), whether your dog is trainable, what role you as an owner play in the story and how skilled you are as a dog owner All information is important and helps in finding the solution. It is sometimes the simplest things that can contribute to the solution.
"It is sometimes the simplest things that can contribute to the solution."
The information you give via a questionnaire or online session is never as complete as what a behavioural therapist gets in terms of information during a home visit. Not because you are lying, but because as a dog owner, you have no way of knowing what information may be relevant to the cause and solution of the problem behaviour!
The focus of online help will be mainly on training and based on the owner's interpretation of the causes and on what the owner wants to say at all about the home situation.
What you need as a dog owner is someone who has seen you together and honestly tells you what things are involved in the behaviour problem and what you can do about it. Whether it's the lying down, your high expectations or training technicalities, that's what you're paying for! If you don't get this information, then training is mopping up.
There are more and more ‘experts’ offering their services online as the solution to behavioural problems without the possibility of personal contact in the form of a home visit. And what turns out? The online business is so profitable that they advertise endlessly on social media and even use telemarketers to persuade you to purchase a course. Making money is not a shame, but it is when making money comes at the expense of caring for the dog.
Online videos can be a great addition. For example, to explain again to owners what you told them during a consultation or to share basic knowledge. But should you consider getting help, invest your hard-earned money in a behaviourist who will make the effort to really get to know you and your dog.
Forcefree Dogtrainers is a Dutch-Belgian professional association that brings together and gives visibility to dog professionals who do not use punishment or correction.
