The Easiest Dog Training Method I Ever Used

My favorite dog training method trained me before it trained my dog. And all it took was one sentence.

My Catahoula Leopard Dog, Mr. Blue, is a lover and a cuddle monster. But he also has a thick skin and a big head; literally and figuratively. The first time I met him, he bounded toward me up the stairs of my apartment, dragging his previous owner behind him, barely holding on. I got him at a mysterious age, and after a few months was bitten by him the first time I tried to take a toy away from him. (A tooth mark, but no bloodshed thank goodness.)

He’s always been very sweet…extremely gentle with babies and children, and he loves my cats. A healthy disregard for most other dogs didn’t bother me, but what did bother me was a look behind his eyes, as if he could only be pushed so far. As much as I loved him, I didn’t completely trust him. And then I realized that I was being sort of a pushover, or at least that was how he saw me. He was testing me. He walked me, not the other way around. He thought he was top dog.

So when I heard about an easy dog training method called “nothing in life is free,” I was immediately intrigued. It has changed everything, and it was the simplest program I have ever tried. All I have to do is remind myself of the very title of the program.

Here’s how it works: no matter what Mr. Blue wants, he has to earn it first by doing one little thing I ask of him. If he comes up to me longingly, wanting some cuddle time, he has to sit and wait for the invitation. At feeding time, he has to sit calmly, shake hands, and watch the bowl get set down in front of him. He cannot eat it until I give him the OK. That’s it! Doing this every time, every day, has made him into a much gentler and more loving dog. He knows that I hold the key to everything he wants, and he wants a lot of love and praise. The great thing about this training method is he always gets love and praise, as long as he does one little thing for me first like sitting and being a good dog.

He’s gotten very good at this. Sometimes I’ll put something away or take out the trash before giving him the que. One time I even got distracted in the living room watching tv. He waited and waited for me to return to give him the OK to eat his food, but when I never came he didn’t go ahead and eat.  Instead, he walked into the room where I was, with that look on his face – “Hello??!! You didn’t tell me I could eat!”

Now instead of Mr. Blue dragging me outside in excitement, endangering me in the process, I go through all doors first. He must sit and wait patiently for an invitation to follow me. It’s a matter of respect, yes, but it is also good manners and a matter of safety. Another perk of this dog training program is that it gives me the opportunity to always be teaching him new tricks and keep him mentally stimulated. He is now a much calmer dog, and hasn’t bitten me again. I can take away any toy I want from him because I have shown him that if he is patient, he will get what he wants. He can trust me. But he has to respect me, too.

Feel free to look up the program to read more about it just by entering “nothing in life is free dog training” in to a search engine, but it’s pretty easy to grasp by just the title. I’ve already told you the basics. Never give your dog ANYTHING for free. Don’t pet him because he’s pawing at your hand. That just teaches him that being a nag works and that you work for him. Don’t give him a treat because he looks cute. That will just create an overweight dog who begs a lot. Don’t give him a toy because he won’t stop barking. That will create a noisy dog who bothers the neighbors. Nicely ask your dog to do something to get whatever it is that she wants. Every. Single. Time. It will become second nature as long as you remember the title of the method.