Teaching Calm: The Life Skill Many Dogs Never Learn

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Welcome to Tale Talk Grooming Chronicles with Health Therapy, the podcast where we talk all things pet grooming, daycare, academy, and more.
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Hosted by Shannon and Tanya of Health Therapy, serving pet owners across North Texas.
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We're here to share expert tips, hilarious pet stories, and the inside scoop on keeping your furry friends happy and healthy.
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Our motto, humanity over vanity.
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And don't worry, we don't fight.
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Let's get started.
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Welcome back, everyone.
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I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host and producer, back in the studio with professional groomers at Hound Therapy, Shannon and Tanya.
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Hi, ladies, how are we feeling today?
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We're great.
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Great.
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Well, let's get into it.
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Why is teaching calm such an important life skill?
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And why do so many dogs never truly learn it?
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So I mean, it's definitely a life skill, right?
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Some dogs haven't learned.
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Um never will.
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Yeah.
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Um what if your dog just really doesn't know how to calm down?
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I mean, that's just a lot of that is just your dog.
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Uh it it can I often say most things are not breed specific in this case.
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In this case, this is probably the exception to the rule.
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Um and and I say that because we own Vishlas, and I know that we've said that before, but um, if you've got an Aussie, uh if you have a cattle dog, if you have a high-energy working dog, you know what we mean.
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And I I when we say that too, like we both own Vishlas, but we own two very different types of Vishlas.
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Yeah.
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Hers knows calm for the most part.
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Mine But but mine had to learn it.
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So calm is something that a dog is taught.
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Not all dogs just come with that.
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And that is that is your seven basics.
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That is, you know, we teach dogs to sit, to stay, you know, to come or to hear.
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Um, we teach them regular manners, you know, don't pee on my curtains.
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Um, you pee outside, not inside.
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Um, relax, wait, you know, don't pull.
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Um, how to walk on a leash, you know, these are all things that are calm.
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A dog, when you go out on a leash that walks next to you calmly and is not dog reactive, those are all things that a lot of dogs need, they need to be taught how to do that.
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They don't just come with the calm attitude.
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Now, there are the exceptions to the rule because some dogs just come out with a chill.
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Which is great.
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We didn't get those dogs.
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Um, and so if you have a high energy dog, you you need to teach them that calm school.
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You've got to get that energy out.
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And there's a sweet spot.
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You can't teach them when they're, you know, at a hundred.
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They're just not gonna hear you.
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Um, you you can't teach them when they're at zero just because it's, you know, they're too tired.
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So you've gotta, you know, somewhere in the middle.
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Yeah, get some of that steam off and then they're ready to learn, but they still have enough energy to learn and then we're gonna teach them.
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Calm dogs, it's it's it's harder to teach them extra calm because they're already calm, but they still need to they still need to know what is appropriate and when they need to not be calm.
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So it it just doesn't always come naturally to every dog.
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Um I I mean, even the ones that are naturally laid back, I would say those for me, I would much rather have a dog who needs to learn calm versus a really calm dog who is um not as alert.
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Uh they're they're more nervous or more reactive.
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They're a little bit more like they they don't they they don't want to learn new things.
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It's it's harder, it's harder to a food motivated dog is really easy to a toy motivated dog is really, really easy.
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I mean, we know how to motivate these, but a really calm laid-back dog that isn't interested um in really much is much harder to teach how to stand, how to do because it we it's harder to motivate those dogs.
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Um so yeah, it's kind of a that this is the one time I'm gonna say breeds breed specific specificity.
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Yes, if that's a word, if it's not, I just made it up.
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That one.
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Um those are those are gonna be words that um, you know, those dogs that that that take those words and and learn those commands with, you know, hey, I want to be a better dog, I wanna be a partner, I wanna be, you know, better at this.
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Those are the the doodles are really good um because they're excited, they want to please.
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I would say it's usually like those those working greets, those herding breeds, you know, those dogs with that kind of a mental status of, hey, we've gotta do this, this is what we have to do.
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Like a great Pyrenees doesn't really want to please me.
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A great Dane could care less if it wants.
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It it doesn't, but that's where routine, I guess, would come back in for that.
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But uh yeah, it's it's um calm is definitely it's it's it's starting early or starting directly when they come into your house about staying consistent, uh learning those words and your demeanor.
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Uh, you know, you've got to know when to be excitable and when to calm it down.
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Uh and that works for even these little dogs that you know are piddling when you first hi, how are you?
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Oh my gosh, piddle.
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You know, it's how you have to learn how to to to teach that dog to calm down instead of getting so excited that you know she can't control herself.
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Like regulating yourself as well.
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Like don't throw a huge party as soon as you come home.
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Go put your things down, then come back, then you greet the dog.
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Yeah.
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Uh once everybody has had a second to calm.
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Yeah.
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Unless you have my house and it's just pure chaos all of the time.
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Yeah.
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So how does a lack of calm show up during grooming sessions?
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Oh gosh.
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Well, I mean, we had one today.
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I mean, we have well, we have them every day.
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Um, and they're usually the 150-pound dogs, um, which is just crazy to me.
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Um, the little dogs usually, I mean, they're not calm, but they're a little bit easier to manipulate and maneuver.
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Uh, you get a 150-pound dog or a big doodle or you know, large, like, as I've mentioned, great Pyrenees, great dane, any one of these dogs, a Vishla, I mean, they have a lot of power behind them and they know it.
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So when they're not calm uh and they know they can push you around, yeah, you know, the the second you've you've got taken a step back or they've pulled their foot away from you and like stable.
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Yeah, I'm not doing that.
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I'm not, I I don't have to.
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And when they they see that they don't have to do it because they're physically able to get away from you, then we have to take a step back and say, okay, look, I'll let them.
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We had a dog that came in today, um, new dog to us, um, a big dog.
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And he was so excited to be here.
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I mean, just so excited.
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We can't get the collar off, we can't get the leash off.
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We can't, you know, wrapping himself around the owner.
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And he's just like, it's circle, circle, circle, circle.
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Oh my gosh, uh, I'm so excited.
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And we're just like, can you sit for just a minute?
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And the owners are just, you know, they look like what do I do?
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He's just so happy, and that's great.
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Let go of the leash because you're gonna fall.
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Um, so what we do for them is just we we let them, we give them some time, either, you know, in a in a in a run next to where they can see other dogs, if I don't know if they're good with other dogs, or we'll put them in if we know that they can, you know, play or they're really friendly.
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We'll go in and introduce them to some new other hyper friends and uh they can run off the energy.
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Just kind of kind of detox that happiness, like smell, you know, check it out.
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We're so excited to see you.
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Okay, now.
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And so we're setting um a calmer routine uh without the owner here because it's it's a lot of times it's the owner too.
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You know, they it's great they've got a good dog, but they obviously haven't taken the time to teach these simple basic rules.
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And it goes right back to right, if if you have children, we you have to learn how to act.
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You have to learn how to act in school, how you act at home.
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Um, you know, my kids always did so good when they were with somebody else, and then they would come home to me and I'm like, what happened?
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My kids are the same way.
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So uh you know, your dogs are often that same way.
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Once they come here, they have rules to follow.
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They want the rules, they want the routine and the regulation.
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They need them.
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Yeah.
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So we give that to them, and then they go home and they're just right back too.
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So I mean, job stability for us, you know, if they won't stand on your table, at least they'll stand on ours.
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Well, thank you both for breaking down such an important life skill that truly changes a dog's grooming experience and for the very fun conversation.
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We'll see you next time.
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That's a wrap for this episode of Tale Talk with Hound Therapy.
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Ready to book your pet's next groom daycare state or grooming academy tour?
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Call us at 469-367-0009.
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That's 469-367-0009 to schedule an appointment or visit us online at www.houndtherapy.com, serving North Texas with expert bed care.
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Until next time, keep those tails waxed.