What is the most important thing to train with my puppy?
... that's a question I get asked from time to time as a dog trainer. What the answer is for you and your dog may be different - but here's a little about what's most important to me.
"Oh, how lucky you are to have such an easy-going dog that you can take with you everywhere" - "She's just so calm, how nice it must be to have a dog that can just relax"... I hear such comments about Frida almost every week: Other dog owners who dream of a dog that is relaxed around people, dogs and in different situations, and who doesn't stress out or get nervous when they're "out on the town".
I take Frida with me almost everywhere: to meetings, to the office, to restaurants, on vacation to new places - and she takes everything in stride and is good at having fun and relaxing. Without stress and without having to whine, bark or greet everyone.
Have I been "lucky"?... well, of course I have chosen a breed that is not among the most "high-spirited". But I now also believe that many other factors play a role. Among other things, training the two things that I find most important: Calmness and environment. A third factor is that I also prioritized finding a breeder who focused on the puppies' socialization/environmental training. A puppy from such a place is better equipped to meet the outside world than one that was raised without many impressions.
Environmental training at home starts almost from day 1 - and only your imagination sets the limits. We have trained at home in the garden with different surfaces - e.g. walking on tarpaulins, bubble wrap, crawling under and through things and "exposing" ourselves to noise - and taken on trips to the train station, the main street, to the vet, to "dog parkour", etc. All to become comfortable in many different situations.
But first and foremost, we have trained RO - which is perhaps one of the most overlooked exercises, unless you enter the hunting dog world, where "ro on post" is alpha and omega when the dogs have to learn to join the hunt and only work on signal.
Unfortunately, this exercise is rarely found in puppy classes, even though it is a fantastic foundation: learning to relax and not always having to deal with or participate in everything results in less anxiety and a dog that you can have with you without bothering others and without exposing the dog to stress.
So it's something we've trained since Frida was very little, for example by sitting and observing the world on a bench or from the curb: Learning to be calm and not greet everyone who passed by. And by sitting and learning to rest when you got up too early or the "wolf hour" arrived in the evening instead of running around and biting everything. And so the training has been every single day, and not just on the training ground.
Many of us are so busy with everything the puppy needs to learn: sit, cover, be housebroken, not bite, obedience, tricks or all the exercises we will use when the dog gets older. And "calm" may not seem like "real" training. But believe me: time is well spent when your dog is well-balanced and not stressed about things: When he lies quietly and enjoys himself under the table, when there are guests or sits calmly and comfortably in the park and instead of frantically running around or barking at things. When you take the dog on new adventures and he takes everything in "stiff paws". Or the day you hear how "lucky" you are with your easy-going dog.
Behind the blog:
Karoline is 46 years old and lives in Birkerød with her boyfriend and the golden retriever, Frida, 6 years old. Karoline is a trained veterinarian and dog trainer and is co-founder of the dog running club Dirty Paws, where she is also a trainer/rope keeper in the local club in North Zealand. Frida and Line love running canicross together and have participated in many competitions at home and abroad, including the European Championship and the World Championship. Their most important motto, however, is "Better together" - that the trips are about teamwork and understanding for each other. And that everyone can join in. In addition to canicross, they also participate in K9 biathlons (obstacle races with dogs) and do dog fitness. And hiking both in Denmark and around Europe is also a hit.
Frida is a super fast runner when it comes to running. And can hike for hours in the Alps. But she also just loves to be petted on the stomach and sleep for a long time. She can be stubborn as a donkey if there is something she doesn't like. On evening walks, for example, she is the one who decides the route. And she "talks" a lot by purring, for example when she thinks she has earned an extra treat.
Frida and Karoline can be found on Instagram with the profile @teamgoldenpower
The world's most important puppy exercise?
What is the most important thing to train with my puppy?
... that's a question I get asked from time to time as a dog trainer. What the answer is for you and your dog may be different - but here's a little about what's most important to me.
"Oh, how lucky you are to have such an easy-going dog that you can take with you everywhere" - "She's just so calm, how nice it must be to have a dog that can just relax"... I hear such comments about Frida almost every week: Other dog owners who dream of a dog that is relaxed around people, dogs and in different situations, and who doesn't stress out or get nervous when they're "out on the town".
I take Frida with me almost everywhere: to meetings, to the office, to restaurants, on vacation to new places - and she takes everything in stride and is good at having fun and relaxing. Without stress and without having to whine, bark or greet everyone.
Have I been "lucky"?... well, of course I have chosen a breed that is not among the most "high-spirited". But I now also believe that many other factors play a role. Among other things, training the two things that I find most important: Calmness and environment. A third factor is that I also prioritized finding a breeder who focused on the puppies' socialization/environmental training. A puppy from such a place is better equipped to meet the outside world than one that was raised without many impressions.
Environmental training at home starts almost from day 1 - and only your imagination sets the limits. We have trained at home in the garden with different surfaces - e.g. walking on tarpaulins, bubble wrap, crawling under and through things and "exposing" ourselves to noise - and taken on trips to the train station, the main street, to the vet, to "dog parkour", etc. All to become comfortable in many different situations.
But first and foremost, we have trained RO - which is perhaps one of the most overlooked exercises, unless you enter the hunting dog world, where "ro on post" is alpha and omega when the dogs have to learn to join the hunt and only work on signal.
Unfortunately, this exercise is rarely found in puppy classes, even though it is a fantastic foundation: learning to relax and not always having to deal with or participate in everything results in less anxiety and a dog that you can have with you without bothering others and without exposing the dog to stress.
So it's something we've trained since Frida was very little, for example by sitting and observing the world on a bench or from the curb: Learning to be calm and not greet everyone who passed by. And by sitting and learning to rest when you got up too early or the "wolf hour" arrived in the evening instead of running around and biting everything. And so the training has been every single day, and not just on the training ground.
Many of us are so busy with everything the puppy needs to learn: sit, cover, be housebroken, not bite, obedience, tricks or all the exercises we will use when the dog gets older. And "calm" may not seem like "real" training. But believe me: time is well spent when your dog is well-balanced and not stressed about things: When he lies quietly and enjoys himself under the table, when there are guests or sits calmly and comfortably in the park and instead of frantically running around or barking at things. When you take the dog on new adventures and he takes everything in "stiff paws". Or the day you hear how "lucky" you are with your easy-going dog.
Behind the blog:
Karoline is 46 years old and lives in Birkerød with her boyfriend and the golden retriever, Frida, 6 years old. Karoline is a trained veterinarian and dog trainer and is co-founder of the dog running club Dirty Paws, where she is also a trainer/rope keeper in the local club in North Zealand. Frida and Line love running canicross together and have participated in many competitions at home and abroad, including the European Championship and the World Championship. Their most important motto, however, is "Better together" - that the trips are about teamwork and understanding for each other. And that everyone can join in. In addition to canicross, they also participate in K9 biathlons (obstacle races with dogs) and do dog fitness. And hiking both in Denmark and around Europe is also a hit.
Frida is a super fast runner when it comes to running. And can hike for hours in the Alps. But she also just loves to be petted on the stomach and sleep for a long time. She can be stubborn as a donkey if there is something she doesn't like. On evening walks, for example, she is the one who decides the route. And she "talks" a lot by purring, for example when she thinks she has earned an extra treat.
Frida and Karoline can be found on Instagram with the profile @teamgoldenpower