Does your dog lack confidence?

Struggling with a dog who lacks confidence? Are the insecurities of your dog inhibiting growth in your relationship together?

Sometimes as a handler we need to reevaluate our relationship with our dog and stop doing what we think will benefit us and start doing things to benefit the success of the dog! A dog with a lack of confidence can open the door to other behavioral issues, below are some exercises and enrichment activities that can help your dog gain the confidence they are missing! Try instead of walking around your neighborhood block, switching the area or route up to a different area like the park! The park can offer you exposure to new obstacles that together your dog and you can overcome, strengthening the bond between you two. An empty jungle gym is a great place to start, have your dog follow you through the jungle gym, up the stairs, down the slide, while rewarding them for their accomplishments along the way!

Making your dog walk up and through the bleachers at an empty baseball diamond can expose your dog to new textures and obstacles to overcome, the texture of the steel benches and noises they make can at the beginning be intimidating to the dog but you need to have the confidence your dog lacks! By rewarding them with treats for their positive accomplishments can boost their confidence needs in those movements, propelling them forward in their growth!

Adding new environments and obstacles to overcome in your daily routine with your dog will put your relationship on the right path, be the leader your dog can count on, be their confidence!