The Unconventional Dog Trainer by Luzelle The Dog Trainer

July 08, 2024 Behind The Scenes: How to Socialise Your Puppy Book

I wrote a book. I wrote a book. I wrote a book. I wrote a book. I wrote a book. I wrote a book. Hi. Sorry about that. Um, but I'm just really excited that I wrote a book because Me actually achieving something and getting to the finished product of anything is really hard because, uh, I have a million half projects and, um, finishing anything is, is, it's got a very small chance of happening.

So the fact that I wrote to book and published it is. Huge. I do hope you, um, find value in it and you enjoy it and it helps you, uh, because that's why I wrote it. So, why did I write the book? How did I write the book? What's the backstory? And what was my ultimate motivation? I will share it all with you in this episode.

So firstly, uh, I really had to learn the hard way. So like I was thrown in the deep end with my first litter. So I basically found out my female was pregnant 10 days before the puppies were due, um, because I'd swapped dogs with another trainer who apparently could read dogs and, um, I was teaching his female to do.

Um, competition heeling because he couldn't train her for some reason. Um, and so I've worked with her and I was really into high drive, lots of play, and she did really well with it. Uh, by the time I was finished with her and stuff, but he was supposed to do some bite work with my female and he did nothing.

Um, just ended up with her pregnant. Anyway, uh, lessons learned. Natalie, one of my very good friends and one of the people who's a lot of their, uh, Uh, thoughts and ideas I share in the book. So it's not just my thoughts and ideas. You will learn a lot of, um, some really, really good trainers, um, thoughts and ideas in the book.

Uh, said to me, you know, it was an accidental litter. Nobody likes the sire and dam because everybody in New Zealand has this sort of mindset. A Dog's only good if you import it. And the dogs bred in New Zealand are terrible, which is untrue actually, because Delta, the dam of the litter went on to become a very good military working dog and so did her puppies.

Um, they actually have very exceptional service records, uh, one of the highest performing dogs of their generation. So that was really cool. And especially because it was an accidental litter and. Basically at that stage, like before this litter, I was like, I'm not following anything. Natalie has to say, because she does low drive training because she trains show line, golden retrievers, and I've got working line Malinois.

So. That doesn't fly, but I wasn't such a like these puppies were my everything. I'd always wanted to be a breeder, but never had the guts to become a breeder. So when Natalie basically said to me you're gonna have to do something different because there's a chance these puppies may need to go to pet homes.

I was by that stage. I was so low. I was so done. I was so stressed that I was just like I will do whatever I can to save these puppies and I did. I did, I did everything I could. Um, ultimately, four of them became working dogs and one went to the lady who had one of Delta's brothers. She was the best in the litter, but yeah, of course.

Um, I was really pleased with how they all turned out, they all turned out to be really good dogs. And Yeah, I'm really pleased with that litter and I'm really happy. I actually took a chance and took Natalie's advice because without Natalie's advice and I wasn't ready to take it anytime, any other time, I had ideas of raising these puppies like everybody else raises the Malinois and it took a lot because I had no homes.

I had no, these puppies were doomed without me trying something else. So, yeah, um, I was really stressed and so being at rock bottom, sometimes that really is the motivation you need to try something different because like I was very, I had a lot of cognitive dissonance, like, no, Natalie's way is not the right way because she trains low drive dogs and like now I'm all about low drive training, but I didn't start there.

Like I tried it. And the thing is, throughout the last decade and a half of Having dogs and training dogs and trying stuff. I actually tried everything and I tried doing the opposite of what everybody said. And I was probably ended up with some unique circumstances, like my first litter of puppies trying what Natalie said, then, um, fixing a dog that was going to fail their training and fixing a lot of messed up dogs.

And then, um, Raven who was so accident prone that basically she was always, always either had an injury or a cast or something. She's still accident prone, like seriously the other day she like cut herself again dog. I dunno how she does it. So yeah. So I couldn't really do like a lot of things I'd normally do and actually I observed without.

Like other people's influence telling me differently and I observed stuff and I tried stuff and I tried doing the opposite of what people say. And I was actually really impressed with the results and yeah, the book kind of came about because I tried everything like I have done so many online courses, like I could have labeled myself as certified in so many different areas.

But I refuse to, simply because I don't want to be put in a hole with that style of training. I want to be free to try stuff. Um, but I've done plenty of certification courses. I've done plenty of online trainings. I've done plenty of actual, just read tons of stuff online about dog training, tried it, watched videos, tried it.

And then spent some time observing the results and what I got from it. So the book is really a result of trial and error for want of a better word. And like a lot of the information there has been extensively discussed with trainers, some of New Zealand's best trainers, best hidden gems, because nobody really knows about them.

And I wish they did because they would. Everybody would be in so much of a better situation if they only knew Natalie and Guus and, um, trained with them because I've learned a ton of stuff from these two trainers. So Guus is a third generation KNPV trainer, his father and grandfather trained dogs for a living.

And, and now he does, and so he's just about ready to retire. So you've got so much knowledge there that, um, people aren't making use of. And it's really sad because it's all going to go to waste if people don't. Um,

get to know these people, Natalie as well, she's freaking awesome. Like I just wouldn't be here today without Natalie and Guus. And then of course, um, more recently I met a lady in Perth called Charlotte Moore and she's a horse trainer and she has three working line German shepherds. And, uh, from a really good breeder that I really love too.

And what was going on was, um, I was, because I love the breeder. We were both in the same breeder group and what she wanted to do with her dogs is what I was doing. But she was told by everyone that that's not what you can do with working dogs. So when she found me, it was really cool because, um, I was doing what she want was wanting to do, and so I really proved her theory.

And then she put the science, because she studies neuroscience. She put the science behind what I was doing. And so, yeah, it just made so much more sense, but anyway, so that's really how the book came about. The reason for writing it is because most of the time when I have owners come to me with their dogs issues, no matter what the age of the dog is, they say one of two things.

So they either say to me that.

But my dog did so well at puppy class, I don't understand why they're behaving like this. Like, as if puppy class could fix everything. I mean, you've got four weeks of one hour sessions. What do you do with the other six days and 23 hours? There's so much you can do. So puppy class is not really like all you need to do with your puppy.

There is more. Um, and also the other one is owners who feel they failed their dog because they couldn't take them to puppy class. Either the puppy classes were full or their puppy was too old. And so they couldn't go to puppy class. So they feel like, Oh my goodness, I failed my puppy already. Now I've seen these behavior problems, what have I done wrong?

Like, is it because I didn't go to puppy class? And usually I assure them, I say, I don't take any of my puppies to puppy class. Now, um, I did take one puppy to puppy class. It was Delta. Uh, the trainer that took the class didn't like Malinois. And so I didn't let her play with the other puppies because she was going to bully them because she's just a cow.

I say that with all the love I possess. I love that damn dog. I see. Like she's amazing, but yeah. So, um, because of that Delta, I didn't want, uh, people don't like Malinois, they are hard dogs. And so I didn't want. Um, Delta to, uh, be further labeled. I was quite in a sensitive period of my education. So people's opinions really mattered to me back then.

Now I don't care about your opinion. I've already proven what I need to approve. And if I've got a question, I will go check with Guus Natalie and Charlotte. We will discuss it. Um, so, other people's opinions don't really have any weight with me anymore. Because, uh, if a third generation KNPV trainer, a trainer who trains service dogs and a horse trainer, can't, if we can't get the answer, then somebody else's opinion means nothing.

Nothing. And also, Una's been one of the hardest puppies I've raised since Delta and oh my goodness, I think I have conquered the beast finally. So yeah, I'm really comfortable with what I've achieved and what I've done. And so I wanted to share that with you because obviously I want owners. To be more successful because of I can help owners understand their puppies and dogs better.

They're going to have happier, longer lives and the owners are going to be happier and there's going to be less drama. Just life's just going to be so much easier. So that's where I really wanted for owners is to get to know their puppies a lot better. So who's it for? Can you, will you learn something from it?

If you own working dogs. Absolutely. The problem is though, working dog trainers generally will have a lot of cognitive dissonance because this is not the way we raise Malinois puppies or German Shepherd puppies and so they'll have prejudices about the training I suggest. That's their thing they have to work through.

I can't Tell you it works or it doesn't because my opinion will mean nothing because cognitive dissonance shuts down a two way conversation So like ultimately it will help even if you have working dogs, but you do you you've gotta like try it Test it and do what you need to do to get to the other end.

I can't, like, make you believe that this is gonna work. You've got to do it for yourself because until you do, you're not going to believe it. And that's fine. Everybody has their own journey, and this is a lot of things that happens with owners. It's, You have each owner has to go through their journey and I can guide them, but sometimes they're just not ready to take on the information.

Like I actually had an owner say to me after I've been telling them the same thing for weeks, Oh, you're trying to get us to figure this out ourselves. I said, no. No, I've been telling you this. You just weren't ready to hear it. They had a lot of stress going on in their lives. And if you read my book, you'll find out how stress impacts our learning ability.

So, um, yeah, it's quite interesting training dogs and working with people. And it's quite fun, especially when they get over that, um, stage of

continuing to do what they've always done and cross that bridge to the other side where they try stuff. Oh, that's so, that's so beautiful because. That's where the magic is. So I wrote the book in three days, probably because. I was going through a bit of a stress patch, we were moving house and, um, I was waiting for the house to go unconditional and so, I just was hit with inspiration and like, I was fidgety and stuff so, I wrote the first draft in three days.

I could do it because the information was just sitting below the surface. I'd been obsessing about raising better puppies for a long time. I have been you have no idea how many training plans and stuff I've made for puppy raising. It's insane. Um, and so, yeah, when I, this is like a well over a decade's worth of work.

And. Like paying attention, testing stuff, trialing stuff. This has been raising litters of puppies and following them through and this has been raising my own puppies and testing them. This has been helping owners with really really difficult puppies and getting them to the other side and seeing where they're struggling and stuff and why they're struggling.

My ultimate motivation really was, I was part of a Uh, dog trainer, professional dog trainers, Facebook group. And then somebody was complaining about the fact that another trainer wouldn't let her in the puppy class. I was like, why do you need a puppy class for like, you could do this yourself. Like I haven't attended puppy class in like a long time.

My last puppy went to puppy class 11 years ago. So. And I've raised every single puppy without puppy class. I've, I mean, I've run a puppy class, a couple of puppy classes, I think, but the way I run puppy classes, uh, is completely different to what everybody else would do with the puppy classes. So, I mean, everybody's got to make their own choices at the end of the day, but to me, it was really weird to hear a bunch of dog trainers not understand how to create a socialization plan for their puppy if they didn't have a puppy class. So I was like, there's a need for this book. Like if even dog trainers are struggling with this, we, we have problems. Even dog trainers can't socialize their puppies without a puppy class or do not know what to do without a puppy class.

We've got a problem. So that's where the book came from and I hope that Understanding a bit of the background helps you decide whether the book is for you or not. I do hope that if you read it, you read it with an open mind, and I do hope that, um, you figure out You try some stuff, even if you're not convinced, try it at least.

I wasn't convinced when I first started training either. I was high drive girl. We were doing high drive training, lots of play, maybe a bit of about one to two minutes of actual training. The other 20, 30 minutes we were playing. And, um, now it's completely different and I have much nicer dogs and they're not less capable.

They're actually more capable. So anyway, that's my thoughts. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I hope that you give the book a chance and I hope it helps you raising your next puppy. Happy training.

Want more?

Get The Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1067022813

More Support & Resources: https://www.thedogtraininglab.com/

Follow Us: YouTube @theunconventionaldogtrainer Facebook @DogTrainingLab Instagram @TheDogTrainingLab

We aim to share unfiltered and honest findings and experiences. We hope that what we share with you helps you and your dog become a better team and you enjoy a long, happy life together!

Kindest regards

Luzelle the Dog Trainer & The Chompy Malinois

...more

Share The Unconventional Dog Trainer

The Unconventional Dog Trainer

FAQs about The Unconventional Dog Trainer:

How many episodes does The Unconventional Dog Trainer have?

The Unconventional Dog Trainer episodes:

FAQs about The Unconventional Dog Trainer:

How many episodes does The Unconventional Dog Trainer have?