The Real Man’s Guide To Dog Training: Brains vs. Brawn

I used to practice Aikido. It’s something I hope I can get back to, if I ever recover from my current knee issues. I first started at the venerable NY Aikikai in Chelsea, taking the early morning classes. Some of my fondest memories were formed there: the practice of Aikido (some call it play) is amazing – one leaves a good session feeling refreshed and centered.

I’ve been called many things by many people, but “small” has never been one of them. I was in much better shape than I am now, but I was still a pretty imposing figure. Still, I spent my early mornings get tossed around like a rag doll by housewives and college girls.

Aikido is the creation of Morihei Ueshiba, also known as “O Sensei” (great teacher.) Ueshiba spent a lifetime refining jujutsu and religious philosophy into a devastatingly effective martial art that any person — regardless of size or strength — can use to redirect an opponent’s attacks and safely — even gently — subdue or immobilize him. The goal is to find physical and ultimately emotional harmony with your opponent.

It’s brains over brawn.

Recent research places an adult dog’s cognitive ability somewhere in the neighborhood of a toddler’s. There’s been other research showing that dogs and toddlers often make the same cognitive mistakes (Mistakes that wolves do not make.) While we are slowly finding that animals are much more intelligent than many believed and have deeper emotional lives than we previously thought, we are still well ahead of dogs in terms of planning and problem solving.

Dogs are creatures of impulse and habit. Real Men are not, or at least we are not supposed to be. Why on earth would a Real Man want to get himself embroiled in some kind of a silly imbroglio over who walks through a doorway first or gets a hug?

A Real Man applies his brain to the problem of getting the behavior from his dog that he wants (and needs) for a harmonious home. A a result he gets what he wants quickly, with little resistance, and without the risk of damaging his relationship with his dog.

(Yes. I used the “R” word there, guys. More on that in a future post.)

What do you do with a dog that jumps up to greet people? Brawn says push the dog off, squeeze front paws, step on back paws, or knee the dog in the chest. Techniques that — if delivered with enough force — can certainly work. But a Real Man says that they all risk creating a negative association with people and prefers removing the reason for jumping when it happens (people move away as a response) and training an alternative greeting (politely sitting or sniffing a hand.)

How about a dog that pulls on leash? Brawn gets a collar that restricts the airway and/or pinches the neck while making walking on leash not just a struggle, but emblematic of “who’s in charge.” The Real Man removes the reward for pulling (forward progress stops) and rewards walking nicely.

The goal of many modern martial arts is personal growth. (Let’s face it — most people, especially those with the disposable income required to join a dojo, aren’t worried about getting into a fistfight any time soon.) Aikido is a Budō; a “way to enlightenment.”

Can communicating with another species be a path to enlightenment?

Rather than working on establishing dominance over another species, dog training can be about creating harmony. It requires more brains than brawn, but it’s worth it.