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Words That Don't Mean The Same Thing

I often hear complaints that start with, “My dog is usually well-behaved, except when…”

To a dog, there is all of the difference in the world between well-behaved and obedient. They aren't the same thing at all. If a dog chooses to do something on his own, even something as innocent as resting quietly at your feet, you might think that he is being “good,” but there is no possible way that he is being obedient. Why? Because you never gave him a job to do.

In a dog’s mind, only the leader makes decisions, and all of the other members of the pack are happy to do as they are told. As soon as a dog is allowed to make a decision, he begins to feel more powerful in relation to you. When he decides to go out the doggy door and choose a place to relieve, when he decides to go investigate something that he sees out the window, when he decides to nudge your leg until you give him affection… you may think of these all as “good” behaviors, but to your dog they are very clear messages to him that as far as you are concerned he is the leader of your pack.

On the other hand, if you give your dog a command such as “Down - Stay,” he is then either being obedient or disobedient, depending on whether or not he does as you say. The important concept here is that “Good” is not the same thing as “Obedient.” When you sometimes give your dog commands, and then sometimes allow your dog to make decisions on his own, you are sending him mixed messages.

Do not ask yourself if your dog is being “Good.” Instead, ask yourself if your dog is being “Obedient.” If you haven’t given him a job to do, you may be creating a stressful and confusing situation for your dog. Remember, leaders make decisions. Give your dog the gift of clear leadership.

The Relationship Comes First

If a professional trainer can get your dog to be obedient, does that mean that you’ll have the same results? That’s an important point to consider. Training isn’t about teaching your dog tricks. It’s about developing a relationship between you and your dog. Everything else is just details. When a dog follows a command, he is doing so for two reasons. He does what he is told because he understands the concept, but even more importantly because he respects the person giving the command.

Think of it this way: imagine that you are at work, sitting at your desk and working on a project. Someone comes up behind you and says, “I need you to stop what you’re doing and get to work on this new account.” You turn around to discover… it’s the janitor. Would you respond the same way as if it had been the CEO of your company? Why not? The words might be exactly the same, but if it’s not the boss asking you do interrupt your important business, why should you listen?

If you find yourself working with a trainer who spends all of his time teaching your dog trick after trick, you might want to consider whether or not anything is being done to help your dog understand his place in your pack. As soon as he is left alone in your house and no one is standing right in front of him barking out commands, will he still consider you the boss?

Why Use Food Treats?

I want a dog that will respond to me because he knows it’s his job, not because I’m waving a sausage in front of his face. So why start training a dog using food treats as a reward?

We have all heard the expression about “the carrot and the stick.” In life there are two great motivators: reward and punishment. You will work to get something good, and you will work to avoid something bad. A dog in nature has learned from a very young age that he has an important job to do in his pack, and he does it simply because it’s his place to do so. When we bring a dog into our home, he may very well have never had an opportunity to learn this important lesson.

Until your dog learns his place in your pack, we can take advantage of either of the two great motivators. We can either punish him for doing the wrong thing, or we can reward him for doing the right thing. Eventually he will consider the act of following your leadership reward enough (along with lots of affection given at the appropriate time, and the occasional treat), but at the very beginning of his training why not take advantage of the fact that most dogs are extremely food motivated?

If I hold a food treat in front of a dog’s nose, I have his full attention, I have a lure to get him to follow, and I have an obvious and immediate incentive for his willingness to work to get the reward. Just like with a young child who is old enough to understand your words but too young to show a great deal of self-discipline, you can either tell your dog what to do (which will probably be ignored), you can threaten and intimidate your dog into doing what you want (in which case he is only acting out of fear), or you can show your dog that it is in his best interest to do what you say (by rewarding him with a yummy treat).

Once a dog is mature enough, and your relationship with him is solid enough, he will be happy to do as you say, even if his only reward is pleasing you.

A Funny Conversation

I just wanted to share this with you. A lady called me on the phone to ask me for some advice regarding her puppies.

Her: My puppies aren't going for the nipple, so what should I give them to eat?

Me: What's happening? Is the mom avoiding them or being aggressive? Do the puppies look weak or sick?

Her: No, they're just playing with each other.

Me: How old are the puppies?

Her: About half an hour.

Me: (pause) OK, you might want to give everyone a chance to get their bearings.

Her: Oops! Here comes another one!

Me: Yeah, I'd say that maybe mom has other things on her mind right now.

Her: OK, thanks!

The Ten Commandments of Dog Training

1. Socializing IS training. A dog that can't play well with others or that is frightened of its environment is not trained.

2. Do not repeat your commands. Saying a command more than once teaches the dog that you didn't mean it the first time.

3. Be patient. Do not allow anything to convey the message to your dog that you are getting angry, impatient, or frustrated. Not your tone, not your volume, not your body language.

4. Be consistent with your commands. Every time you change something, it's a different command to your dog.

5. Be consistent with your expectations. Everything that you let your dog get away with undermines what you are trying to train her.

6. Keep your dog under control at all times. Yes, that's part of training, too. The fewer choices your dog has (pulling on the leash, sniffing, jumping, paying too much attention to anything but you), the fewer choices she will try to make. If she knows that you are in control, she will respect you as her leader and look to you to for guidance.

7. Make sure your dog gets her "paycheck." You may be philosophically opposed to using food treats while training your dog, but what are the chances that you'd keep your job if they asked you to do it just for a feeling of personal satisfaction?

8. Do not anthropomorphize. Your dog is not a furry little human. Learn everything that you can about the way that dogs really think and feel.

9. When giving corrections, work your way up from the least aversive. A severe leash correction may solve a problem, but so might a firm tone or a shot from the squirt bottle.

10. Keep it fun, and always end on a positive note. Training isn't Boot Camp, it's Summer Camp.

A Very Sad Conversation

I had a guy sign up for a series of obedience lessons. His dog was a black lab mix, and the poor thing just seemed lonely and needy. The man's first question was, "How do I get him to stop scratching at the back door?" to which I replied, "Why is he in the back yard?"

He said, "That's where a dog belongs." I reminded him that dogs are social animals with real emotional needs, and he repeated that dogs belong in the back yard. I tried another tactic and talked about the dog's safety. I pointed out that we live in a desert and the poor pup might be scratching at the back door because he just wants back inside where it's cool. The man said that there's a pool in the backyard.

A pool! Like the dog is going to spend the day swimming to keep cool! I said that not only are dogs not safe unsupervised around pools, but also he was probably going to start drinking out of the pool since to him it's just a big doggy bowl. I reminded him that pools have chlorine and acid in them, and I told him that in time the chemicals could destroy the dog's kidneys.

He said that he wanted a dog to protect his backyard, and I pointed out that a dog in the backyard really couldn’t do much if someone breaks into the house. What's he going to do, keep someone from stealing the pool?

He said that a dog in the house all day might make a mess. I told him about crate training, and he said that crates are cruel.

I talked about the dog developing bad habits like digging or eating rocks while unsupervised. I talked about the dog barking and maybe bothering the neighbors. I talked about the dog jumping the fence and running away. I talked about the dog getting desperate to get in the house and becoming destructive by scratching and chewing at the door. And on and on and on.

He just kept saying, "Well, that's not the way I was raised." I finally said, "What does the way that you were raised have to do with it? Surely you must see by now that it is not in the dog's best interest to be outside all day. It's hot, it's unsafe, and it's just sad for your dog."

So he asked for his money back.

The poor, poor dog. I’m sure that when the man drops him off at the shelter, he'll say, "I tried training him, but the trainer couldn't get him to stop scratching at the back door."

“Time Out” For Your Dog?

When a child misbehaves, we sometimes send her to her room or to the corner for a time out. Children are usually sufficiently displeased by this form of social ostracism that it is an effective form of punishment. Dogs, on the other hand, naturally find their crate to be comforting. In the dog’s mind, the crate simulates the den, the natural place for the dog to rest and feel secure.

In other words, if we send a dog to his crate as a form of punishment, we are either rewarding his behavior by allowing him to go to his den, which is an inappropriate and inadequate form of punishment, or we are teaching him that his crate is a bad place. How quiet and content is the dog going to be in his crate from then on if you have to leave him in it while you are at work during the day?

The crate is your dog’s safety, his security, his home base. Do not use it as a form of punishment.

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