The Aha Moment

Monday I took Tag and Chicklet to their groomer. Kris has groomed my dogs since I got them. In addition to being a groomer she trains and raises American Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
My dogs love her and we get to sit and talk. Of course we talk about dogs and training. We were discussing that moment in training where the dog realizes what you want them to do. Kris said that she refers to that as the “Aha” moment.

That is a perfect description. And this week we had a couple of Aha moments including one very special one.

One of the dogs at Neighborhood Pack session last Wed was Billy. Billy is a Dutch Sheppard. Billy is a retired military working dog. His back legs were injured in an explosion in Iraq.

Billy was a trained explosives detection dog but like most military dogs he is a jack of all trades. Among the things he was trained to do was never let another dog near the troops since that dog might be wearing an IED.

Dogs are very particular about their space. Two dogs will negotiate any time they come in close contact to each other, if they have learned to do so. In the dog world if you fail to negotiate contact or even passing close by, there can be conflict.

Billy didn’t negotiate. He was trained not to. So he is literally the most dangerous dog I am working with now. However he is also the best trained. I have to watch him like a hawk. If another dog gets too near him, he will grab the dog. However he will stop if I see him in time or will release immediately if I tell him to do so.

I was working another dog, a very nice Siberian Husky. I was letting him go up and sniff and great the other dogs in our Neighborhood Pack session if he used body language to ask permission and if the other dog let him know it was okay.

All the dogs were on lines and in the control of an owner. I was answering a question and had turned to talk to the questioner. I could see Jack and Billy out of the corner of my eye.

Jack started to approach Billy but failed to negotiate. Just as I was getting ready to use the line to correct him and tell him to “leave it” Billy ducked his head. It was a clear warning. Jack reacted instinctively and backed up.

There was no conflict.

And both dogs had just had an “Aha” moment.

Doug

Another Lakeland Terrier

This is Joie. She is a Lakeland Terrier who started training Monday.

About two weeks ago I got an e mail from a rescue group asking for help. I replied with our standard offer. We will give a discount to rescue dogs from recognized organizations for dog’s that come in within thirty days of adoption. I also added that we will donate a free training package to any rescue Lakeland Terrier as part of our commitment to our breed.

Now Lakeland’s are rare so I was surprised to learn they had a mill rescue Lakeland. She got adopted this weekend and Jan called me on Saturday. Joie came in yesterday even though Jan had to come down from the Denver area.

Jan has a sister who lives here in Colorado Springs. Her sister, Debbie has shown Lakelands so Jan was familiar with the breed.

These rescue dogs are breeding dogs that are no longer used and are useless to the puppy mill. If they are not rescued they are put down.

The conditions for most of these puppy mill breeding dogs are horrid. Most are confined to a small cage or crate almost their entire lives. As a result they have never been socialized to people or dogs.

Usually working with this kind of a dog is a long and drawn out process. Some dogs come in to the center three or four times where all we do is let them get comfortable. There is no training, just desensitization to the environment. They not only have trouble making decisions, some of them literally do not know how to be dogs. So it can be months before we start. And sadly not all of them will make much progress.

So when Joie came in I was amazed at how confident she was. It was pretty close to a typical lesson I routinely give to dogs that have normal backgrounds. Joie and her new mom did well.

I think the reason she was so trainable so soon was one of the attributes of this breed. When they worked in England, they sometimes would get trapped and would have to wait days to be rescued. There are even stories of owners having to use explosives to get to them. To be able to lie in the cold and the dark is bred into them.

She will be back in a couple of weeks for her next lesson. She is a Lakeland, and they are the most challenging dog to train. So I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all she is still in the “honeymoon” phase of her relationship with her owner.

But whatever happens I’m pretty sure this dog will make it.

Doug