Okay, welcome to this week's episode of Terry Talk, and I want to go over the things that I see consistently give people success with reactivity training and give people failure with reactivity training.
So, like, if I'm going to, like, like the recipe, if you like, the perfect client and what that perfect client does in order to get success, um, you know, with the training that I've given them and how they do it. And it's, it's usually pretty simple. So, the first and most important thing,
uh, when it comes to reactivity training with your dog is to make sure that you have laid theright foundations, okay? It's a, it's an analogy used all over the place in all sorts of things, but it's, you know, like, you cannot put your house, your new house, on poor foundations; otherwise, it will fall down. And, you know, really good clients who do really,
really well and the ones that, you know, like, I think, oh, you've tried so, you know, you've absolutely nailed it. You've taken the stuff that I've said to you and look at the improvements you've had with your dog and, like, kudos to you. Um, they're the people who take these foundations seriously initially, you know? So, like, I'll go give people, um, whether you do a, a,
a course, it's in the digital content or whether we work one to one, you know, we go over lifestyle initially. So, we talk about things like diet and health and exercise and sleep, you know? And a lot of people will go, "Oh, yeah, that's all important stuff, but I think it's fine," you know? And they don't look at the dog's diet and they don't look at those kind of things and,
and they sort of brush over it because it doesn't feel like training, okay? It doesn't feel like the thing that you're there to do. It feels like kind of information that you're going to give lip service to. And the people who always do really well are the people who don't do that, okay? They're the people who listen and go, "Allright, okay, let's make changes.
Let's make sure that my dog's getting enough exercise. Let's have a look at their diet. What can we do to make it better? I didn't realize that that wasn't great for them. Okay, and we'll improve that quality." And all of these extra things that are kind of like over and above and, and, and lay these foundations and they, you know, they make, they put effort into making sure the medical stuff's all okay.
And so that, that's number one piece of success for people. It's, it's having a, having a holistic approach to it. That's what I call it. If you, if you, if you genuinely take the holistic approach that I'll, that I will, you know, push you to take, um, then I will see people have better success who do that, okay?
So, the next thing is people who then take the time that they need to take on the foundational training elements, okay? Because again, people are like dead keen to get out and do training,right? And they're like, "I want to go and do this, and this is the, this is, this is the bit I need to do." Because what they do is they look and they see and they go, "Right, my dog is barking at other dogs.
I need to go and train them not to bark at other dogs,"right? And they focusright in on that. And there's almost like a, like an Amazon next day delivery approach to it, okay? Like, I'm going to push this button and this is going to happen because unfortunately, this is the society we live in now, isn't it? I'm going to push this button, my dinner's going to arrive. I'm going to push this button, my thing that I want's going to arrive at the door the next day.
I'm going to order this thing. I need this piece of information. I'm going to Google it. It's going to turn up. I'm going to ask ChatGPT how to do this thing and it's going to give me the answer, okay? And we really, really want that to happen with the dog because, because it happens everywhere else in our lives just now,right? So, we go, "No, this is my end result.
I'm going to push this button and this is going to give me this end result." And unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Like anything, any kind of skill that you're trying to acquire, um, there is going to be a journey to get to that. And the most successful clients are the ones who, like, sit with that well, like straight away.
They understand that and they go, "Okay, cat says, I need to work on these foundations," okay? And they put all the rest of it to the side, all the sexy stuff, all the kind of like cool training, and they go, "Cat says, work on engagement with my dog." And it might not feel anything like the reactivity training, but they do it,right? And they come into the reactivity training,
you know, six, eight, ten weeks later even, and they nail it because they've got fundamentally great relationship with that dog at that point, okay? So, that's the second thing. First one is your foundations. Your second one is your, again, it's like foundations level two, but it's like working on all the other things besides the training itself,
um, engagement and play and your dog's ability to think when they're excited and building that up first before you even start to think about the training. Okay, now what happens now, and this is really the tipping point that I see with a lot of people, because especially if you do the group coaching, I'll run you through all that. And if you just trust me and stick with it,
we'll get you to the end of that after eight to ten, like kind of like eight to ten weeks probably of our group coaching. And you will, and you'll be nailing it,right? You'll be like, "Oh, my dog's really listening to me and this is going super well." And then what will happen then is it'll beright now it's time to actually go and do the training. And because you've had like this kind of like general up,
well, I mean, everyone has ups and downs along the way, but you've had this kind of like general upward arc of things getting better and better and better and better and better. And now you're going into the hard part, okay? You're going into the hard part that's going to really ask you to potentially take changes around your lifestyle a little bit to work through these problems, to do setups, to do what is essentially like the hard work now,
because it's less fun. Like all the stuff up until now has been great fun because you've been having fantastic fun with the dog. Um, and now you're going into the difficult bit, okay? And this is where people, like I see people rise and people fall. And the people who rise are the people who take it as on, as a small effort consistently, okay?
They're the people who go, "Right, I'm going to do a little bit of this, but I'm going to do it consistently every single day." Right? So, I'm doing ten minutes a day, two, two small ten-minute training sessions a day, and they're putting themselves out to do that with their dog, okay? Because it's not actually the easiest thing to do. You sort of, you think to yourself, you go, "Ah, two ten-minute training sessions a day, that's nice and easy." But when you're dealing with reactivity,
what it actually involves is setting yourself up, prepping, getting the dog ready, going to somewhere to do the reactivity training, and then you're only there for ten minutes and then coming back again, you know? So, there's a lot of like logistics around those ten minutes. So, it starts to become really inconvenient.
And what happens is people then just go off and walk the dog because they've kind of built this better relationship with them, and they never really tackle the reactivity because things are better by this point, like quite significantly better, but they never really tip, like out of what I call management mode, like into proper training. And those that do are the ones that are prepared to put themselves out,
and they put themselves out consistently, okay? And then it comes really, really quickly. And then what happens is in those initial stages of you putting yourself out consistently, so like by day three, four, five, six, you've trusted the process, you've gone through it, you've put yourself out, and then you have your first success with your dog,
like bang, we haven't walked past a dog without my dog kicking off for six months, and boof, we've just done it,right? And then all of a sudden, motivation kicks in, okay? Because you are now getting success,right? You push through that difficult stage that that comes with anything you're doing, whether it's learning a new skill, whether it's getting fit.
You know, I've just got back in the gym after, I'm not going to, I'm going to cough and have like, I say I'm probably a ten-year break. I'm pretty fit. I do a lot with the dogs, but like I used to be in the military and I was really fit and I was like, just really recently realized that I want to get fit again. Um, the first three or four weeks was horrific after every single session, just felt awful.
And I've pushed through that now and now I'm out the other side really starting to enjoy smashing myself in the gym again. So, you have to go through that little phase and once you go through that, through that other phase and you start to see those improvements come, they're the people that do it, okay? And because they're the people that do that initial difficult bit,
they get success and that success is then motivating. You're like, "Yes, now I'm getting success." And the next success comes and the next success comes and the next success comes and away you go and you get, you genuinely get yourself out of management mode and genuinely get yourself into actually training through your problems. So, that's, that's three things I've gone over, but it's really two.
It's the people who put the effort in with the foundations and then the people who actually do the training. And it sounds so silly, but a lot of people don't, okay? They don't actually do what's required. They just do like, "Oh, we've got, we really want to do this, but we've only got 20 minutes a week to do it in," and you know, that doesn't happen.
And I have suggestions for you if that's you, okay? And because to be honest, sometimes it's lifestyle, okay? Like it's unrealistic. You have a full-time job in the economy that we're in and you have to, and you just don't have the time to go out and do 20 minutes a day's training with the dog and put yourself out, and that's realistic. And that's where you find a good local dog trainer to do it for you.
And it's worth its absolute weight in gold because they will give, give you the, your dog the consistency that you can't, um, and you will get, get that success and you'll be over it and it's worth the money, 100%. It's like instead of getting a plumber to teach you how to do the plumbing, you get somebody to come and do it.
So, if you don't have the time and the means and the consistency to do it yourself, save you and your dog the stress of being reactive for the rest of your life. Find a good local dog trainer who can do it for you and hire them as a service just like a plumber. And I really, really believe in that. Um, if you're lucky enough to be near me, it can be me. Um, but if not,
find somebody locally who can do it and who knows what they're doing and get yourself over your problems. Um, there's no, there's no shame in paying a professional to, to get yourself over it. So, yeah, that's it. Those, those are the people I see who get success. The people who've paid good attention to the foundations, the people who actually go out and do the training,
the people who have consistency. And if you don't want to do the training, the other people who have success are the people that, that hold their hands up and say, "Do you know what? I haven't got time to do this," and they hand it off to somebody who does. And those people will also get success with their dogs. Um, and ultimately they're just as happy as the people who did it themselves, I promise you. Um, yeah, so next time I need something doing in my house,
you know, plumbing or whatever, I could spend hours learning to do it myself or I could pay someone else and I know what I'm doing. Um, so, yeah, that's, that's it. Those are my keys to success, um, for your training. And obviously I'm here to help you with those likewise. Um, if you're having reactivity problems,
I promise you the group coaching is absolutely the best, most cost-effective way to solve that problem, okay? Um, it's great value for money. You'll get all the information that you need. You'll get all the support that you need. You have me on tap whenever you need it. So, jump on the website, look for the next group coaching dates, um, it's all in the menus. Get signed up to that.
And it is the best way to get consistency, okay? And that's really what I'm here to provide you, okay? The dog training part of it is a tried and tested system that I've run through many times. I know it works. The magic is the support and the consistency and the motivation that I can give you, okay? Um, that's the most important part of my job.
So, I will see you all again for the next episode of Terrier Talk. Remember, foundations and consistency.
