The DOuG Trainer

11/10/2022

We've been told it can take three to four weeks to train a dog.

Honestly, it starts happening in minutes, not weeks.

First, once a year on average, a brand new client calls less than a day after starting training, and asks, “Doug, did you switch my dog?” Yes, that's how quick it can be.

Secondly, it's not dog training, it's *human* training.

• Do what Nature programs into every dog.
• Don't do what Nature *doesn't* have programmed.

Do and “don't do” the right things, and your relationship with your dog will be effortless, and your training successful.

Doug Parker
The DOuG Trainer

11/07/2022

Don’t Praise a Dog—Reward Them With Submission

High energy dogs have problems. High energy dogs are the dogs that have those problems, not the relaxed, submissive ones. So why do trainers insist on and recommend praising a dog?

Praise—high pitched baby talk with “Good girl!” or “Good boy!” for example—*raises* a dog's energy level, and since higher energy level dogs are the dogs that have problems, STOP PRAISING DOGS. But then how does a dog get rewarded? It's not what you think, and it's not what you've been told.

Submit Your Dog

Learn to reward your dog with submission instead, because even though you don't know it yet, eye contact is the reward. “Eye contact” needs its own chapter, book, movie, and series, frankly. It has been misunderstood for too long.

It takes hours to retrain a human to see, understand, embrace, and adopt the new foundation needed to understand how it all works. I have no negative Yelp reviews and I have no negative Google reviews since 2014.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker
The DOuG Trainer
7 2 5 . 2 2 2 . 3 6 8 6

11/01/2022

Delilah and Gidget's owners have RDL training starting Friday. Snow? They're in Henderson—the photo is old, but too cute not to use.

06/07/2022

If you're not following Nature's way, your dog is living a life full of stress—stress you don't even know you're causing. Stressed dogs live shorter lives. That's common sense, because doctors have been telling us for decades, “Get rid of stress!”

If you don't have a training or leadership model, if you don't know if you're following Nature or not, then odds are you aren't following Nature, and your dog's life is full of stress. Those facts have already been established.

Common sense says to

1) do what Nature does, and
2) don't do what Nature doesn't do.

When you do, you'll be successful, your dog will be relaxed and submissive. The problem, though, is that nobody knows if they're doing it right. Also, there's nobody telling them if they're doing it right or wrong. Most owners end up doing an unhealthy mix of 1, 2, 3, and 4,

3) doing what Nature doesn't do, and
4) not doing the things Nature does do.

Reflective Dog Leadership is modeled after Nature. It triggers your dog's relaxation and voluntary submission. How quickly? Once a year I get a call from an owner, less than 24 hours later, playfully but seriously asking, “Doug, did you switch my dog!”

You always want a relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog, with a cold, wet nose and open-mouth breathing. Once you have them there, keep them there.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker
The DOuGTrainer
725.222.3686

05/26/2022

For Dogs, Lower Energy Levels Is and Are Best

Lower energy dogs have fewer problems. High energy dogs are out of control; they have more problems. You always want a lower energy dog. Sleeping is what they do best. There's a reason Nature has it that way. You may not know it yet.

Each following point needs additional explanation to be fully understood. None of them can be applied on their own, nor should they. Each is but a tiny introduction to you, Nature, and Nature's programming that you'll find in every dog. Nature's way too complex to be put it into bulleted lists. Nonetheless, it's still a good place to start.

• Laying on its side is lower and better than laying on its belly.
• Tucking its paws underneath is better than not tucking them.
• No tail wag is better than wagging its tail, for a lot of reasons.
• Sitting itself down at a distance is better than coming to you.
• Sitting quietly in front of you is better than jumping on you.
• Sleeping is better than sitting up or running around.
• Relaxed dogs are better than excited, wild, out of control dogs.

Cold, wet noses are better than warm, dry noses.
Open mouth breathing is better than closed mouth breathing.

You always want a relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog, with a cold, wet nose and open mouth breathing. Once you have him there, keep him there.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker, The DOuGTrainer

04/11/2022

Warm, Dry Noses on a Dog are a Bad Thing

A warm, dry nose means their nose has gone offline. Noses work best when they're cold and wet; they're supposed to be that way.

When noses are dry, when noses don't work, ears work overtime, and that's a double or triple train wreck, for you and for your dog.

Get your dog's nose to be cold and wet. Getting noses to be cold and wet is what I train the human to do.

You always want a relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog, with a cold, wet nose and open mouth breathing. Once you have him there, keep him there.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker, The DOuG Trainer
DOuGTrainer, public FB group
www.DOuGTrainer.com

Doug Parker is The DOuGTrainer“We’ve lost sight of how to raise, relate to, and be leaders for our dogs. We’re labeling their behaviors and paying more attention to the labels than paying attention to their behaviors.” This is gold. —Nicola CataldoIt’s a new paradigm, and it’s simple: ...

02/14/2022

Dogs with warm, dry noses are a sign of a stressed, 5-10 level dog.

Closed mouths most of a dog's waking hours is another sign of a stressed, 5-10 level dog.

Glassy eyes is a sign of a stressed, 5-10 level dog.

Hypersensitivity to sounds is a sign of a stressed, 5-10 level dog.

You always want a 0-5 level, relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog with a cold, wet nose, open mouth breathing, without any glassy look in its eyes, that does not overreact to sounds in its environment.

Doug Parker, The DOuG Trainer
DOuGTrainer, public FB group
www.DOuGTrainer.com

Doug Parker is The DOuGTrainer“We’ve lost sight of how to raise, relate to, and be leaders for our dogs. We’re labeling their behaviors and paying more attention to the labels than paying attention to their behaviors.” This is gold. —Nicola CataldoIt’s a new paradigm, and it’s simple: ...

11/26/2021

Aggression Is Not "The Thing to Get Rid Of"

Most people haven't been told this, but aggression is always TWO things, not just the aggression. Aggression is always:

1. something else causing the actual aggression,
2. and the aggression itself.

When that OTHER thing gets to be too much, Nature triggers a dog's aggression as the way to tell you and I *how bad that other thing has now become.* It's the dog's outside indication of how bad the inside condition has become for it. *Becoming aggressive* is the way Nature makes the dog *turn it up to 11,* and tells you and I it just crossed 10 and went to 11.

Fix the OTHER thing—figure out what the other thing is, address it correctly, and eliminate the OTHER thing—and the aggression will go away.

You can't and you don't fix aggression directly: you always have to fix the OTHER thing to eliminate a dog's aggression.

Always work with an experienced and knowledgeable trainer when dealing with any dog's aggression—it's a fire you don't want to play with.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker, The DOuG Trainer
DOuGTrainer, public FB group
www.DOuGTrainer.com

11/17/2021

Dog's Noses Should Be Cold and Wet: Reflective

Dog's Mouths Should Be Open Most of the Time

(Photo: wagwalkingweb)

09/03/2021

Dogs Have Cold, Wet Noses and Open-mouth Breathing

Get a relaxed, voluntarily submissive dog. They should have cold, wet noses and open-mouth breathing: most don't.

If they don't, they're stressed out.

Respectfully submitted.

Doug Parker, The DOuG Trainer
DOuGTrainer, public FB group
www.dougtrainer.com

Doug Parker is The DOuGTrainerIt’s a new paradigm, and it’s simple: if you don’t see positive changes in your dog’s behaviors, you don’t pay. Why pay in advance for services that never get delivered? Why pay afterward for substandard results?If You Don’t See It, You Don’t PayTrainers c...