top of page
Search
Writer's pictureCindy Benson

Enroll In My Online Livestock Guardian Dog Training Course - Top 5 Reasons Why


This is a graphic of the homepage for my online livestock guardian dog training courses.
This is a graphic of the homepage for my online livestock guardian dog training courses.

The best reason to enroll in my online livestock guardian dog training course is that your dog's life may depend on it, truly. This course will teach you how to be powerful in your dog's life. Learn to create the partnership you have dreamed of with your incredible livestock guardian dog. Here are my favorite top 5 reasons that I believe this course is the most efficient, safe, trustworthy educational opportunity that is currently available. I am proud of this course and I believe in it!


#1 - As the dog's owner, you are his best advocate. Humans are not born knowing how to train dogs or interpret what their behaviors mean; the good news is that this can be learned! The education of the owner must happen before asking a dog to change his behavior.  Online livestock guardian dog training is possible even in the busy life of a farmer or rancher because it is there, even if you only have ten minutes to invest. Think about that. Have 10 minutes? Drop in and learn something, and then pop right back into your busy life. This online course content is available 24/7 so learning can happen around anyone's busy schedule. And dogs don't wait for owners to "have time" for them. They are learning every minute of every day. Do all that you can to make sure they are learning in the direct you want them to go! Think about what it takes to be a great parent to children. Yes, this perfect child has arrived. How much effort did you have to invest in learning how to help a human being become all that they can be? This is true and necessary in doing a great job with LGDs and yet this essential truth is often missed. A parent's education evolves and changes as life experiences happen; so should the education of LGD owners. 


#2 - Armchair experts are incredibly dangerous to dogs. Facebook is full of dramas and egos. Most of the LGD training advice that comes from Facebook actually makes the dog's behavior problems worse. the training advice that is so common on popular Facebook pages is a major to contributor to the number of "failed" LGDs in this country. Did the dog really fail, or did the owner? Being dedicated to your dogs and reaching out for support is highly commendable but the responsibility to evaluate good advice from bad is the task of the owner. Now everything found on Facebook is true - even if LOTS of people are saying the same thing over and over. Has the person "had LGDs for thirty years?" Great. It is possible to do something badly - for thirty years. How many dogs old is the person giving the advice? A thirty year LGD owner may only have owned three dogs in that time if he used single dogs until they aged out. I have been trained by over 300 LGDs over the last ten years. I actively use 20-40 LGDs on my ranch to protect my livestock every day. I have learned how to be very successful with my LGDs by learning from all of them. Couple that with my $20K formal behavioral science education. I am a trustworthy educational option for LGD owners who want to make sure their dogs are successful. I do not dispense advice based on tradition or the current fad or lore; my advice is based in science. Online livestock guardian dog training support takes work. It takes some effort to really, truly become someone who should be offering advice.


#3 - LGDs are expensive; failed LGDs are incredibly expensive. These dogs often fail because they learn to be aggressive due to fear or frustration in the way they are managed by their owners. Learned behaviors are almost always preventable through how the dog interacts with his environment; people, livestock, and other dogs. It is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to retrain LGDs, particularly if learned aggression is the problem. Dogs do what works to meet their needs. When dogs learn that aggression will effectively back both livestock and dogs off that becomes their go-to, and why wouldn't it be? It works. But these big, capable dogs can certainly kill both livestock and humans; that is an untenable situation that cannot safely continue. Save the life of your dog by getting an education BEFORE your dog learns that he has to shout to be heard, rather than using all the wonderful subtle canine body language behaviors dogs prefer to use to communicate. Finally, online livestock guardian dog training support is available. This is a very recent truth. It used to be difficult to find answer in managing LGDs; that is no longer the case!


#4 - Living with an LGD can and should be a joyous experience; this is a realistic goal! The fear, confusion, and frustration both the dog and the owner experience when things don't go well can be changed through the education of the owner, who is then better able to support his dog through skillful training. It is exhausting to worry and feel guilty and doing so does not protect your dog. Getting actionable trustworthy answers to problems feels good; both the owners and the dogs are much happier and life gets easier. Online livestock guardian dog training support is an excellent tool in achieving this.


#5 - Learning the science behind how to nurture and train your LGD well can be paid forward if you are willing to be visible and share your story with others. This kind of mentoring is powerful! Many compassionate voices are what is needed to work toward making the world a safer place for LGDs. You can be part of changing their preventable high rate of failure.


In summary

Every once in awhile, I use Google to see who is offering what, in terms of LGD training advice. I don't do this often because much of what I see is heartbreaking. One offering is someone with one LGD and her opening photograph shows her dog wearing a heavy dragline, promoted as a training tool. Her wide smile tells me that she loves her dog and is there with the best of intentions. But what she is advocating can get dogs killed because of their learned response to the frustration and fear this kind of management causes dogs. 


Try doing a Google search for LGD training support that promotes training options that dogs do not fear or work to avoid - that is MUCH harder to find, and yet it is what dogs need.


The resources listed below are valuable - some of them are free. I hope you will take a look. I hope you will consider using my services in support you and your LGD.


This is the homepage for my online courses:







77 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page