Hey, Traverse City dog owners!
I hope you are having a great summer with your dog. Here is a little update from our corner of the world.
A large portion of our business is Stay & Train dog training where client dogs live with us in our home for Phase One of their training.
And the most frequent question I get is, "Will the dog listen to the owner when he goes back home?"
The short answer is, yes!
The longer answer involves overseas travel.
We traveled to France in 2019 and I made the effort to learn some rudimentary French before we went. Now imagine what it would be like if I was only able to recognize French when speaking with my instructor.
But that isn't how it works!
Once you know French, you can communicate with anyone who also knows French!
It was more challenging to communicate with people other than my instructor. But with some back and forth, and especially if the other party spoke slowly and used basic words, we could usually reach an understanding.
And if we did reach an impasse, there was always handy dandy Google Translate app to help us through the rough spots. Like trying to buy a bottle of un-oaked Chardonnay in the Latin Quarter. True story!
But as our time in France went by, I began to pick up on small inflections or practices by observing those around me. My French began to improve and I felt more confident about my ability to speak French.
And that is how it is for the dogs we train. They learn new behaviors and then their owners learn how to get their dogs to do those new behaviors.
It can be a little awkward at first but, with some practice, they improve and become a fluent team. And if they find themselves in a sticky spot there is always Google Translate, also known as our lifetime group training outings.
So, if you are a past client, remember we are here for you. Check our Facebook page for our outing schedule. We would love to see you and your dog again!
And if you are not yet a client, feel free to check us out to see if we might be the right "translator" to help you and your dog be able understand each other.
You can find our website here: http://beaconbaydogtraining.com
Au revoir,
~Meghan
