I treat Sandy as my equal, but also keep in mind that she is a dog. She reacts and views life in a very different way to me and it has always been my aim and I feel, my responsibility to try and communicate with her in a way she will understand and will use everything at my disposal to help me do this. Food rewards, clicker training positive reinforcement but also understanding (or trying to) dog psychology and behavior.

Watching 'the dog whisperer' has shown me how easy it is to make mistakes and what effect those mistakes can have on your dog. I've learnt to 'listen' to what my dog is telling me and when she is doing something wrong, to ask myself, where I have gone wrong? What did I do, or not do, that caused her to behave that way.

If you ask ten different people how to train a dog, they are all going to give you a different answer, and who are we to judge them? People will do what works for them and their dog. Whats so great about this forum, and indeed shows like 'the dog whisperer' is that we get to hear or see how other people do it and pick out the bits we like to try with our dogs.

By teaching Sandy some simple boundaries such as staying by my side or behind me, letting me go through a door first and walking loosely on a lead, we can enjoy each others company without me falling over her or having to drag her around. I had to be 'calm and assertive' when teaching her these things and she was calm but attentive while she learnt them. Is that being dominant? I don't think so. IMO It's just teaching her how to live in our world with us. Not above or below, but by our side.

On a lighter note to finish, I know the lambs are cute - just wait until the micro piglet arrive in a couple of weeks.