Before throwing on your favorite faded blue jeans, a white T-shirt and work boots, and packing your dog in a newly purchased (for the occasion) ’67 red Chevy convertible for your dream Keroacian coast-to-coast pilgrimage, you have to first make sure that your four-legged traveling companion is well-behaved. Even ‘pet friendly’ hotels and motels dotting Route 66 will insist upon a disciplined pup. We’re not talking about pinkies extended or anything-just the basics-sitting, staying, and laying down on command.
Breon O’Farrell, trainer and author of Philosophy Dog, reveals how to get your dog up to sniff. By understanding his experience, and learning his philosophy and tactics, your beloved pooch should be able to demonstrate the appropriate reverence for the King at Graceland, style on the Baywatch beaches of California, and strut the strip in Las Vegas without incident. In telling his story, Breon reveals the ‘making of a dog trainer’– the do’s and don’ts he learned by trial and error–essential if you want to find Zen in your cross-country travels with your canine co-pilot.
the teacher’s pet
My career as a dog trainer was all set. But during my first lesson, I failed. Painfully.
Wally was one of my first students-class of ’88. His owner was a gentle, compassionate and gifted person. Wally, however, was more than a little bit spoiled. The little dog had chutzpah though, and I liked him straight away. Unfortunately, Wally refused to give me a chance to be his friend. My inexperience didn’t help the situation either.
More than anything else, my feelings were hurt because he didn’t like me. What had I ever done to him? All dogs liked me, so I wanted to blame him for the tension between us. The truth is, I was not a very good dog trainer at that time. In 1986, I learned to communicate leadership through tough treatment.
This destructive philosophy proved erroneous. Now I teach people to communicate through leadership by leading. When I entered the apartment to meet Wally for the first time, he ran up to me and bit me on the hand. It was a warning bite and just barely broke the skin. I figured Wally needed to know who is boss, but he already knew.
His owner was the boss. My face glowed with embarrassment, and my hand throbbed with pain, as I attempted, awkwardly, to get tough with the little dog in front of his owner. Wally taught me always to bring a treat when visiting a new client’s home.
lead the pack
Animals are not human beings, so their needs are not identical to ours. While this fact is obvious when talking about birds or crocodiles; it is sometimes difficult for dog lovers to admit that difference on an emotional level. For instance, humans dislike being ordered around, but dogs feel secure with a bossy leader. Dogs are hierarchical animals, so if your dog isn’t convinced you are the boss, he will be insecure. Dogs want your leadership role to be clearly defined.
I use a dog’s own nature to teach him that I’m the leader. I use his territorial nature, his pack instinct, his early life den experience, and his natural cravings for a hierarchy in the way a real top dog would. I lead the hunt for food and water; lead him through doorways; ignore him strategically; name his toys; and design territorial restrictions in the apartment. I teach him to obey various commands or tricks; I communicate that I’m the leader when we exit my home together by choosing our direction.
‘He is going to hate me,’ you may worry. ‘It is not my personality to be bossy,’ some say. People resist leading their dogs for these and other reasons. Nobody wants to deprive his dog of the freedom humans consider so precious. But freedom is a responsibility, and dogs must earn increments of it over time.
Throughout history, humans have put dogs to work and led them. That is how dogs became ‘man’s best friend’. Dogs who didn’t work hard were tossed out of the pack or house. A dog that has high regard for his owner’s leadership will be a better friend.
simon says stay
Start in a small room so you don’t need a leash to control him. Have your Little Anchor ‘Sit’ at your heel, give him the ‘Stay’ command, and slowly step away from him, but not straight ahead as if you were going for a walk. Instead, step off to the side with your right foot and slowly drag your left foot until you are standing with your feet together again. He won’t understand what is going on and will try to follow you. Now you can teach him what not to do. Do not reprimand him intensely. Instead, create an indignant urgency in your voice, but not anger, ‘Ugh, ugh’ and take him back to his original place, facing in the same direction. Again command him to ‘Stay’ and slowly step away with a smile. Move slowly so he doesn’t reflexively follow you. As long as he stays, praise him in a continuous, soft and happy voice. Use a low-energy tone of voice because if you are too ‘big’, he may be compelled to come to you for some affection and food. Have him ‘Stay’ for ten seconds, then go back to where he is and give snacks. Again command him to ‘Stay’, and step away again. Return frequently with a snack. Don’t travel too far away. Repeat this a few times, and then finish by returning to him and saying ‘OK, all done’ as a release from ‘Stay’. Explode with praise, ‘Yes, we are all done, you are so smart,’ and throw his favorite toy. He’ll like the work you do together.
As he progresses with ‘Stay,’ remaining still for longer periods, you should slowly introduce variations of it. For instance, walk around him in a circle. He will want to keep an eye on you, and might stand up from ‘Sit’ in order to keep you in front of him at all times. He should only move his head to watch you.
Next, step into another room for a moment so that he can’t see you. His jingling dog tags will alert you to whether or not he might be leaving ‘Stay’.
Slowly increase the duration in a way that allows him to feel like a success instead of pushing him beyond his limits too soon and failing repeatedly. But every time he breaks the ‘Stay’, you must reposition him in the exact spot he had been in. Do all this work in your home until he is good at it. Add distractions, like toys and food tossed on the floor. Graduate to outdoors where there will be more distractions. Outdoors, you can tie a long rope to his leash and safely put a substantial distance between you.
He will learn to ‘Stay’ in any position you to tell him to, whether it is ‘Sit stay,’ ‘Down stay,’ or ‘Front paws up on the wall and stay.’ These are different from each other, and you need to make time to teach him the various positions. Teach one new trick at a time. More than one in the same lesson will confuse him.
Never tell your dog to ‘Stay’ when you are leaving the house to go to work. You don’t really expect him to ‘Stay’ for ten hours do you? He will eventually break the ‘Stay’ without your permission and you will have, in effect, taught him to ignore your commands. You must always release him from a ‘Stay’ with ‘Ok, all done!’
leave it
What makes a dog obedient? Isn’t it as much his willingness to not commit certain acts, as it is his ability to perform commands? Use ‘Leave it’ when he’s about to do something you don’t want him to. It doesn’t matter what it is. If you are not in the mood or you don’t have the time, you can tell him to leave it alone. This command includes greeting other dogs, strangers, a baby carriage, urinating on objects, and so on.
Place some food on the floor in front of your unleashed dog, and say, ‘Leave it’ as you prevent him from gobbling it up. Place yourself between him and the treat, stomp your foot, push him away, whatever it takes. Do this until he chooses to control himself, and praise him with ‘Good leave it’. When he willingly behaves himself, pick up the food and feed it to him as a reward and say, ‘OK, eat it up.’
Next, put a few of his favorite toys on the living room floor, along with a remote control, and your favorite sunglasses. Without the leash, walk him past the items. If he reaches down for one of your things, say ‘Leave it’, and stomp your foot on the ground. He will probably stop and look up at you with a quizzical expression. Praise him because he obeyed, ‘what a good leave it!’ If he reaches for one of his own toys, praise him with ‘yes, that’s your ball,’ as you repeat the name of it.
Do not allow him to have many toys on the floor at the same time. You are not his toy slave. Give him a chew toy and a play toy and put all the others in a box. Exchange them a few times a day so you are the manager of the toys.
just say no
If you own a particularly strong-willed dog, you should avoid using a strong reprimand voice. Instead, remain calm and use a word that means, ‘Don’t do that.’ I like ‘uh uh’. Say it in a normal tone with no emotion. You do not want to be confrontational with a domineering dog, and a tough tone of voice would be.
Here are the important parts of a verbal reprimand that should be used with most dogs: emotion; drama; facial expression; and tone of voice. The words you say are not as important as snarling your lip, wrinkling your brow, and growling your words. Do not yell; sound disappointed instead. Depending on his personality, this display of emotion will distress your dog to some extent. He will understand you don’t accept his current behavior. Learn to create this energy and demeanor in an instant. If you can do this, then he will never have any doubt where you stand on an issue. Never reprimand for more than three seconds. More is unnecessary. And always give commands and praise after every reprimand.
praise him
Help your dog to apply meaning to your praise. Tell him why you are praising him. Say ‘Good Come,’ rather than ‘Good Dog’. Repeat the word ‘Come’ several times as you praise him. The tone of your praise should be very easy to distinguish from the reprimand tone. Use lots of high-pitched inflections; smile and stroke your dog; clap your hands, and give him a standing ovation. Rub his chest, scratch his neck, and kiss his face while you praise him with words and emotions. Give him food when you praise him, and he will build an even happier association with your praise. I like to sing a little song and do a happy dance because it makes me feel more joyful, and then my praise is more sincere.
Following these easy training tips, your wily pup will learn to respect and listen to you, and soon transform into a well behaved ‘on the road’ travel companion. But let it not be forgotten, a little discipline and a lot of love is the best philosophy of all.
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