Finding a Dog Trainer

FOREWORD

The original purpose of this blog was to give people considering training with me some insight to how I do things. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was also a good way to blow off some steam.

What I also did not realize was how many people outside Colorado Springs would read this blog. A few weeks ago I got a request to print a blog article from New Zealand. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of how much my head swelled up on that day.

So for those of you in Colorado Springs thinking about training here at Pikes Peak Manners In Minutes read this and apply it to me too. For those of you elsewhere, I hope this helps you pick a trainer.

THE DOG DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WANT.

If you look at it analytically, training is getting a dog to do something they already know how to do and can physically perform, when you want them to do it. They know how to sit. You first teach them the word for it and then you teach them that sit is a command to be obeyed. On the other hand since a dog doesn’t have thumbs, you probably can’t teach them to drive.

The key is consistency. If the trainer is not consistent with your dog, or the trainer does not have the time or ability to make you consistent, the training never goes well.

THE OWNER DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT TO DO OR HOW TO DO IT.

The trainer has taught every command, and made it reliable, hundreds or thousands of times. The owner hasn’t. Since the average trainer sees more dogs in a week than the client will own in a lifetime, the trainer is not going to have a problem. But it the trainer fails to teach the owner the what and how of the training system, then the dog will not become reliable.

Some people can train dogs but not people. And I suppose some can train people but not dogs. Find a trainer who trains both.

THE PACE OF THE TRAINING DOESN’T ADAPT TO THE DOG’S NEEDS AND EXPERIENCES.

Dogs can’t be turned out like cookies with a cookie cutter. Different ages, different breeds and different events shape how the dog learns. A six month old retriever who was obtained at six weeks is going to train differently from an eight year old terrier that is at its third home.

If the training system or the trainer cannot adjust the training to meet the dog’s needs, then it will not work.

THE OWNER NEVER LEARNS THE BASICS OF PACK LEADERSHIP.

The pack leader is fair, firm and consistent. If the trainer or the training method fails to teach that to the owner, then the dog will not respect the owner. Without respect, no training method will work reliably.

If the trainer is not fair, firm, and consistent, you will have a hard time being fair, firm and consistent. Both of you may be alpha, but that bullying, not leadership.

THE TRAINING METHOD DOESN’T MAKE SENSE TO THE DOG AND/OR TO THE OWNER.

If doesn’t make sense to one or the other, then it just is not going to work. Some methods make sense to the dog but not the owner. That is the fault of the trainer. Some methods do not make sense to the dog, that is the fault of the system the trainer uses

The trainer has to make a commitment that the dog and the owner will not fail. The training method has to give the owner the ablity to keep that commitment.

YOU AREN’T COMFORTABLE WITH THE TRAINER.

Sometimes people pick trainers because of really good advertising. You call because of the size of the ad or the wording of a website. But all advertising (including mine) is designed to get you in the door. That doesn’t guarantee that what is inside the door is what you want, what you or the dog can do, and most importantly what you feel comfortable with.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there were over 41000 people who listed themselves as full time animal trainers (all animals, not just dogs) in 2008.

Of course if there was a reliable way of grading them you would have a bell curve distribution. Only a very few will be really, really bad, and only a very few would be very, very good. The greatest number will be okay.

So find someone you are comfortable with. Do your research. Look at everything you can find on them. Take everything, especially testimonials on their website and reviews on lists that don’t have everybody, with a grain of salt.

Go and meet with them. Most aren’t so rich and so famous that they do not have time to spend on you before they sign you up. See their training center. If they have an evaluation, watch how your dog reacts to them and how they react to your dog. Ask if you can sit in on a class. And don’t rely on how their dog acts. It won’t be an average dog.

If you are comfortable with the system and the trainer, you probably found the right match.

Doug

Vino the Rottweiler

This is Vino. In a training center where all the dogs are special, to both their owners and myself, he is just a little extra special.

I had trained a traumatized dog for an owner that was close to being put down for behavior. The dog responded well.

A couple of months later the same owner came to me and asked if I trained service dogs. The answer is sort of.

The law that allows service dogs is not very precise on what exactly a service dog is. And there are lots of places that train service dogs. But many of them do not let you pick the breed or provide your own dog. And the dogs are very expensive.

I do not certify service dogs. If I certify them then I have to buy very expensive insurance. That in turn means I would have to charge thousands of dollars to train the dog and would have to train X number of dogs each year to make sure the insurance costs are covered.

So I decided not to certify service dogs. However there are ways you can certify and insure the dog yourself so I will train a dog to be a service dog.

The owner wanted me to train a Rottweiler as a service dog. And since her mother breeds them she wanted to pick her own puppy to train. She had approached several of the big providers all of whom either said they would not train a Rottweiler for that job, or would only sell her one of their dogs.

I agreed to do it.

She has twins. The little boy is autistic, and his sister has grand mal seizures.

We started preparing months before she got the dog. First I had her wipe down the children whenever there was a seizure or an episode. The gauze pads were to be sealed.

In November then nine week old Vino came in for puppy class. He was taken through the basics and imprinted by Tag.

The next couple of weeks were critical. Vino could not be allowed to become a silly indulged puppy. He needed to understand from the start that he was the lowest member of the pack and that he was there to work.

We used a Manners in Minutes technique of the steady point to teach this to him. Three days later he came into Neighborhood Pack. And at his first pack experience he was a loud, demanding, and obnoxious little puppy. And he quickly found out that this did not impress the human or dog members of the pack.

The puppy that came back a week later was quiet and observant. He no longer demanded attention. But he did sit and watch the adults and by seeing how they acted, began to figure out how he should act.

At twelve weeks he could go to a cub scout meeting or the kid’s school where he would always sit respectfully and just watch.

At fourteen weeks he could go into the big pet chain stores and every time he did, he was so well behaved that someone who saw him would call about me training their dog within a day or two.

The plan was to start his adult training at 4 months and his service training at 6 months.

Vino did not want to wait. From 12 weeks on Vino has consistently been ahead of the lesson plan.

Before he was 16 weeks old he had alerted for three seizures. He had also intervened in one autistic episode where he pushed the child away from the wall where he was banging his head and sat with him until he calmed himself. We never had to use the pads. He decided on his own when he needed to alert.

Because he had never been allowed to be a silly puppy, and because all dogs want jobs, he watched the family. He figured out on his own what they needed him to do, and then started doing it.

We did his adult training and he flew through it.

At 5 months he took his Canine Good Puppy test. He passed it on the first try with excellent on every section.

His owner called me recently and told me he has received regional recognition from the AKC due to his performance in CGP.

Vino is also a big asset in Neighborhood Pack. He gets along with everybody, human and canine. If a fearful dog confronts him, instead of backing down or letting the dog know he will fight, Vino just gives them a doggy grin, play bows, and barks to invite them to play. The result, instant de-escalation and another dog has learned that he does not have to fear big dogs. Then when the other dogs see how well he does with his owner, they are motivated to do as well with theirs.

This is not a brag. I take little credit for Vino. What makes him so special is an owner who cares enough to train in a way that the dog understands, and a training method (Manners in Minutes) that works.

I’m just the traffic cop, directing the two of them to the road to success.

Doug

Never ask a Lakeland their opinion

This blog is brought to you courtesy of my wife Yvonne. This is an e-mail she sent out a couple of weeks ago:

Lesson #1: Never ask a Lakeland their opinion……….. If you don’t want to hear the truth.



And so it was…………………………

Sears delivered my new treadmill yesterday. When I arrived home and after letting Tag and Chicklet out to go potty and rid the back yard of dreaded foxes……………..Chicklet came back in to inspect the new arrival. I asked her what she thought of Mommy’s new treadmill………. where Chicklet promptly jumped on the virgin track, daintily squatted, and produced just a few droplets of pee.

After my shock and horror, Ms. Chicklet spent the night tethered a few feet away from Mommy’s new treadmill, a pretty weighted collar added to her neck jewelry, where she watched as Mommy walked on the treadmill.

Chicklet is home today…………………glaring at the ###!!!@@@!!! treadmill.

Lesson Learned: I will not ask Chicklet her opinion of my new lamp. I can’t handle the truth.

Love to all, Yon

Doug

The Honeymoon Period

I get this phone call at least once a week. It goes something like this.

“I adopted a dog (over 6 months old) a little over a month ago. When I brought him (or her) home he was just the sweetest and quietest dog. He listened, seemed eager to please, and didn’t have a single accident. Then a couple of days ago he suddenly changed. He is pooping in the house, tearing up things and doesn’t listen. Did I make a mistake? I really don’t want to give him up but I can’t have him acting like this. Is there anything you can do?”

The good news is that this can be fixed.

What happened is that when you got the dog you went through the honeymoon period. The dog you brought home was not the dog you were going to end up. And the dog you end up with is dependent on how you acted during the honeymoon period.

When you brought the dog home you were thinking that the dog now has a secure home for the rest of its life. You will love and take care of it. You have rescued it because obviously the dog’s previous life was lousy. So to you the dog’s life has just gotten better.

But that is not what the dog was thinking. To the dog he belonged to a pack. It may not have been a very good pack, but it was his pack. He knew the rules and what was expected of him. Life was somewhat predictable, even in the worse home.

In his wolf and then later working ancestors, being kicked out of the pack is a life threatening event. A dog or wolf is not likely to survive on its own. So when a dog is run off, or loses, the pack, it has two choices. Survive for a minimal amount of time on its own, or find a new pack.

In order to be accepted in a new pack, the dog goes in as the omega dog. This is the lowest ranking member of the pack. It has only three jobs, be the last one to eat, be a stress relief to the other adults, and to play with the puppies. If the dog is accepted as the omega dog it survives.

So when your dog came home he did not think “oh boy my life just improved”, he thinks “what did I do to get kicked out of my old pack.” He is not sure he will be accepted into the new pack so he assumes the omega role.

During the honeymoon month, the dog is trying to figure out his place in this new pack. And he is trying to find out how high in this pack he needs to go. And if you did not give him time to figure out his place in this new pack, and clearly define his place in this pack, then he will try to figure it out on his own.

If you got a dog with high alpha drive he will try to take over. He sees it as his job to tell everyone else what to do. And if you got a dog with low alpha drive, he is pushing you to run the pack in a way to feel secure.

The way to handle this is training during the honeymoon period. You should find a trainer who understands this period and gives you tools and methods that allows the dog to join the new pack in a clearly defined role. Ask the trainer how he handles this period. If the trainer doesn’t know what the honeymoon period is, or says they handle it just like any other dog, find a different trainer.

Doug

Dogs who don't speak Dog

I just read in a forum about an owner who has a six month old dog. He has taken the dog to a park where it has been attacked twice by older dogs.

Without further information it is hard to determine for sure what causes this. But there are two general reasons for this behavior.

The first is that many dogs are dog aggressive. Something happens to dog aggressive dogs that has taught them that they need to attack in order to prevent being attacked. Those dogs do not try to read the intentions of the second dog, they act immediately by attacking. The solution is simple, though not easy to do. A dog aggressive dog must be de-sensitized to the presence of other dogs.

The second reason, which I suspect is the case here, is that the puppy doesn’t speak dog.

Dogs do the vast majority of their communication through body language. But many dogs today literally do not know how to “speak” to each other.

When two well socialized dogs meet for the first time, each dog lets the other dog know what its intentions are. If they intend to come close for a sniff (and a sniff is a handshake in the dog world) the dog approaching negotiates the approach and the other dog gives permission. Normally the dominant dog will ask to approach.

But because many of today’s dogs leave the breeder and go to a one or two dog home, they never develop their body language communications skills. Their humans communicate primarily through the spoken word. And if there is another dog in the home that lacks body communication skills, the two dogs may develop a relationship and body language that does not allow them to deal well with others.

This summer I had a dog in that spoke “dog” the way Yoda in Star Wars speaks English. When he first walked in his entire body language said “hi, I’m friendly” but as soon as he got in range he attempted to bite. Later I had him on a line and was sitting (deliberately) where I could just reach the top of his head with my hand. He walked over with body language that said he would bite. When he got to my hand, he flipped it up with his head so I could pet him.

Your dog began to develop its body language skills as soon as the litter began to interact. But before they develop full language skills they are off to their new owners. During the first few months where skills are developed, the dog spends the vast majority of its time with humans. The skills may not progress.

The human analogy is this. If you left a two year old with normal language skills on an island where everyone else is a deaf mute and then came back two years later, the child would have lost most of its limited skills. If you placed two children there, they would have a language that only they understood.

What is the solution here at Pikes Peak Manners In Minutes? After a dog has finished its private lessons it comes to Neighborhood Pack Sessions. In Neighborhood Pack we sharpen their language skills in a safe and controlled environment.

Doug

Domestication

The standard theory for many years is that sometime ten to fourteen years ago (and possibly even much earlier) man domesticated the wolf. For many years it was widely believed that for some reason, humans captured wolf puppies and the domestication process began.

However there is a second emerging theory that says the wolf domesticated itself. After training for a number of years, I am beginning to believe that this theory is correct.

In a wolf pack, there are always wolves that would rather scavenge than hunt. Those wolves quickly figured out that there was plenty of left over around a human encampment. Rather than go out and make a kill they started hanging around to gather up our leftovers.

When a wolf, or its descendants the dog, first meet a strange animal they have to figure out if the animal is a predator or prey. If it is a large animal they not only have to decide if it is a predator, but also if it will come after them.

Since the primary way dogs and wolves communicate is by body language the way to deal with this unknown animal is some very distinct body language.

I have a book on body language that I often consult. In the pictures is one of a dog meeting a horse for the first time. The body language is very distinct. Sometimes I show it to people and ask them to say what the first thing that comes into their mind is.

The universal answer “OH isn’t he cute!”

So here is the scenario. Two wolves are outside a cave eating away at what the humans have left behind. Two humans come out. The wolves react and the first human says to the second “OH aren’t they cute!”

Wolf one looks at Wolf two and says “we can con these things out of meals for the next fourteen thousand years."

And so the wolf became domesticated.

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