What Braces Taught Me About Dog Training - a podcast by Ty Brown

My daughter is ten and a half—and she needs braces. As we’ve gone to the dentist over the years, it’s starting to look like all of our other kids will need them too. When I think back to having braces, I remember how awful they were and how much I hated those years. My lips got cut, and I couldn't brush or floss. It was ugly, painful, and just no fun at all. And since I didn’t wear my retainer very well, I actually had to get braces twice! To this day, my bottom teeth are still kind of crooked.


Now, my daughter is going in tomorrow to get braces and we were talking about it last night. She was acting kind of bummed about it because she thought she was supposed to be—but at the same time, she was smiling. “Oh man, I’ve got to go in and get braces on Thursday!” she said. I was up front with her: I told her that braces hurt my teeth and mouth, but that technology had advanced in the past twenty and she’d be in better shape than I was. She knows that this isn’t going to be a pleasant thing, but she was still acting excited. “You’re kind of acting excited,” I said. “No, I’m not!” she replied. But she was.


That’s when I realized that braces meant something else to her. She has a few friends who are eleven and twelve years old, and they’ve had braces. She sees kids at church who are a little bit older and have braces. Her cousins have braces. To her, braces aren’t necessarily tools for fixing teeth: they’re a sign of being older. First you get braces, then you get to babysit, then you get your driver’s license, then you date—and so on. She’s our oldest, and she’s always wanted to feel older and fit in with older kids. For her, getting braces is almost a positive.


I’m guessing that once the braces are on, it’ll be a mixed bag. She will probably still feel that sense of maturity that she’s invested in this process, in addition to hating the pain and discomfort. But right now, she’s honestly looking forward to going to thee orthodontist and getting these braces slapped on her teeth.


A lot of people think that correcting a dog is as simple as telling him “no” in a stern voice. That’s meaningful for some dogs, but not all. Some people think that you can praise any dog just by giving him a treat. That’s not necessarily true. Oftentimes, the standard value that we associate with food or correction is very different for different dogs. It’s important that we as trainers and owners find out what actually makes a motivating correction or reward. This will be different for every dog. But if you can uncover it, you’ll be much closer to your goal of the best-trained dog you can possibly have!

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