Training Vent

I believe training dogs is as much an art as it is a science. To deny this is to deny the uniqueness of the dogs we work with. There is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ method of training. The more we understand what motivates an individual dog’s behavior the more apt we are to achieve success. Relying on more than one tool in our training toolbox is key when addressing the various temperaments and behaviors of the dogs we are training.  For some dogs, focusing on the behavior will also change the motivating emotional component for the better, for others, dealing solely with the emotional component will cause a positive behavior change, and for still others, dealing with both the emotive and the behavioral will lead to a successful outcome. Do food rewards work in training? Absolutely when teaching and rewarding new behaviors. Do aversives play a role in training? Absolutely, with most dogs all of the time and with some dogs some of the time. If someone tells you otherwise, rest assured that they are not doing right by the dog. All dogs need to learn what is acceptable and what behavior simply won’t be tolerated. The point is to have enough tools on hand to gage what is working and what is not, and to have the knowledge and skill to switch gears when necessary without letting rigid ideologies get in the way of doing right for the dog and his owner.

Timo is my dog with a heart of gold that shines as brightly as his fox red coat.

I have always had Labs and also volunteered for a Lab rescue group. I was asked to evaluate Timo because his former owners could not handle his high energy. He was very destructive and had ripped apart their kitchen cabinets and tile floor not once, but twice, and when I met him he was confined to an enclosed carport to prevent further destruction. He was totally out of control when I met him, jumping and nipping at me like a very large land shark. I took him, not knowing that he would end up being mine. Shortly after I took him home to foster and live with my three other Labs, our rescue coordinator was diagnosed with lung cancer. She passed away six weeks later. There was a mad rush to place the 14 dogs she was fostering and by default Timo became mine. He was a handful from the start and could not be trusted in the house without being tethered to my side. I really did not want a fourth dog, and not one requiring so much work! Yes, he tried my patience more often then I’d like to admit, but at those times especially, I’d look into his eyes and see the intelligence and the love hiding just beneath the surface and I knew I had to help this big bad boy achieve his potential.

He eventually settled down and we trained in earnest. He earned his therapy dog certification and became the dog I knew he always was. Over the years he has become my best friend. We would take long walks in the woods and trips to the beach. We loved to explore street fairs, me always looking for new finds, Timo looking to make new friends. He has helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. Truthfully I don’t know how I would have survived those times without him at my side. I have had many, many dogs throughout my life, each of them very dear and special in their own unique way. I have loved them all. Timo, however, holds a special place in my heart. He is that once in a lifetime dog, my spirit dog,  the dog with which I have the deepest connection. My boy is getting up there in years. He loves to fetch a tennis ball and he loves a good swim. Arthritis has slowed him down and he will limp for days after even some mild activity. His naps are more frequent and the sleep is deep. We don’t take the long walks we use to do. I have to help him into the car and up on to the bed. My boy is slowing down but his spirit is still strong. I know our time together will soon end; if lucky, we may have another year or two before that final goodbye. I will do my best to make whatever time left as joyful and as comfortable as I can for my dear sweet Timo; the dog with a heart of gold that shines as brightly as his fox red coat.

Happy Thanksgiving

Live Right with Your Dog

 

"How You Live With Your Dog

Determines 

How Your Dog Lives With you"

                                        Larry Krohn

I came across this one night while searching the internet and thought it perfectly expressed my own thoughts and philosophy about dog training, so much so, that I had to share.

How do I train dogs? "I train the dog I am training." While this might be ambiguous, it is true. I have been getting drilled on my training method.... so here it is - hopefully more cut and dried.

Training is about getting into your dog´s head, and understanding what motivates him, what make him smile, and what concerns him. It helps to be able to think like your dog, so that you can be one step ahead of him.

This is defined as a relationship with your dog. You understand him so well that you can think for him, know his struggles in advance, and adjust his mood as needed, to help him learn what he needs to learn to be the best dog that he can be.
Cookies cannot buy this. Corrections cannot buy this. Something this precious and this complex cannot be purchased with a cookie or a leash correction.

You should be able to laugh at him for his silly antics, realize when he is trying but misunderstood your words compared with when he completely blows you off because you are not important compared to what is going on. Or realize when he disobeyed, but gave you his all - and could give you nothing better.

You must realize when he is stressed by his environment and needs more help from you, or when he is stressed by his environment and needs to be told to grow up and act like a man.

You need to be aware when something completely alien might be going on - is he sitting really slow because he hurt himself?
So the question still remains of "What method do I use." I train the dog I am training. There is no one thing that I can do to create the beautiful relationship that I have with my dogs. I respect dogs for who they are, I believe in their potential, build on their strengths, and chip away at their weaknesses. I build a relationship with them so that they care what I think and try really hard to please me. I build them up to be the best that they can be, and encourage certain traits to hide their weaknesses. I truly "train the dog that I am training".

There are no rules for this process to take place. What is necessary for one dog might be detrimental in that moment for another. While in puppy class, I might instantly stop one puppy from dragging his owner, and I might request another owner to allow their puppy to drag them for two more weeks before we stop it. There are no absolute rules when it comes to training dogs.

Each dog has to be trained by his own criteria, working with what he brings to the table. Every dog has the same goals and directions, but we might get there fifty different ways, depending on the learning ability, emotional need and intelligence of the dog, and always considering the handling abilities and personality of the handler. Our timeline will vary as much as our methods; you can only train the dog at the speed of the dog. This is a relationship, between one dog and one human, and rules might need to be gently bent and swayed, depending upon the individuals.

This is not science. It is art. We are given a blank canvas with every puppy that we get, and it is our creation to build, alter, discourage, or deny. Each of our canvases will look different when our dogs are a year old, depending upon our feel and timing, our dreams and vision, our denial, our work ethic, and the dogs that we get.

How can you define this training method with one set of limiting rules? You can't.

I train the dog I am training.

Monique Anstee,
Victoria, BC