Spam?

We all get spam from time to time, a deluge of information that we don’t want to deal with and therefore just delete.  Dogs can get spammed, too! How?

Conflicting commands.  How often do you point at the A-frame and shout ‘tunnel’?  Be careful to make your information clear, every time. That way, your dog won’t pick one to be legitimate and ‘delete’ the other!

Too many commands, too quickly.  This is my worst fault. I will tell Quick to ‘get away by’ and then ‘down’, before he has moved far enough to the side.  I am then frustrated because he’s lying exactly where I did not want him to lie down! he has no idea why I’m frustrated, because he followed my command – from his point of view.

Too much going on Sometimes spam is information we would want to know if there weren’t many other things going on.  If your dog is too busy following a bunny trail, they may ignore your message to come until such a time as is convenient for them!   Make sure your messages get through by making them rewarding in some way.  Don’t create a treat hound, but remember that a good worker is well compensated.

Try to mitigate the causes and effects of spam from your dog’s life for a better relationship, which translates to… you guessed it… more fun!