Dog owner, mommy, coach,...

We live in a society where we are careful with our choice of words.

For example, you can analyze that the word 'dog owner' has a negative connotation. This implies that you 'own' your dog. Same goes for 'trainer'. It is no longer accepted and it must be 'coach'.

Before I get into this, I want to say something about the evolution of dog training.

There used to be a very strict approach, based on the dominance theory, which has meanwhile become obsolete. Then you had the wave of positive trainers and later the non-trainers. It evolves, as with many things, from one extreme to the other.

Personally, I think as a trainer you should always be open to learning. There are trainers who used to - when people didn't know any better - work according to the dominance theory and have now become positive trainers. In my view, these are trainers who evolve along with the latest scientific insights. The aspect of learning is therefore extremely important, also for experienced dog trainers.

In dog world you also have trainers who conclude that the dog must always be able to make it's own decisions. This ideology presumes that you look at the needs of the dog and that the dog feels good at all times. There is certainly nothing wrong with that in itself, but something important is being forgotten. A dog lives with humans. So there must always be a balance between the dog feeling good and the human feeling good. Therefore concessions must be made from both sides. I always compare this to raising children according to the 'free upbringing'. Both children and dogs need consistency and a certain structure. This provides them clarity. A dog has to be educated just as a child has to. The way of parenting is another matter.

From this movement, words such as 'dog owner' and 'commands' are examined. I also understand why. 'Dog owner' sounds like your dog is your property. 'Commands' sounds like you're in an army platoon. 'Mommy' is an exaggeration to some people and so on.

Personally I think it's a waste of energy. You will see that out of convenience I often speak of 'owner' and 'commands'. Does this mean that I therefore think I am in charge of dogs? Not at all. You can call me mom, coach, trainer, owner,… It doesn't matter to me. It's just a word.

What I find more important is how you treat the dog and I gladly will spend my energy on that.

In the end, that's all that matters. Your dog really has no clue what is hidden behind the word owner, mom or coach, but he will sense how you treat him.