It's all her fault.
Trainers frequently talk about that dog. The dog that made them want to be a trainer. For me that dog is Caffeine.
It wasn’t just a matter of having a dog that was challenging or even uniquely difficult. (Even though I am often heard saying that John Grogan didn’t know how easy he had it, Caffeine was no Marley.) I had to have a dog that behaved badly and was very trainable at the same time.
A common mistake people make when training their dogs is raising their criteria too quickly. For example, they get their dog to lie down a few times by luring her to the floor with a treat, and then immediately expect her to do it again with no luring at all. The dog becomes frustrated and gives up. The “game” isn’t any fun if there’s no chance to get rewarded. A completely out of control dog would have been the same way for me – endless frustration instead of a challenge.
Caffeine kept me engaged. Very quickly, training her become reinforcing in and of itself. She was learning and I was learning.
Which is where St. Hubert’s comes in.
St. Hubert’s Dog Training School is a community or, as Seth Godin would say, a Tribe. The school is part of St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center a non-profit organization that’s an even greater community itself – involved in animal control, human education, pet adoptions, therapy animals and too much more to list.
From the moment we arrived there I had the feeling of joining a group of people that shared a common interest. Moreover these people were good. Taking classes there and seeing people perform the craft of dog training, combined with seeing immediate results with Caffeine, eventually made me want to become a trainer. The instructors knew what they doing and more important (in my opinion) they knew how to teach it to others.
I remember two “a-ha” moments in one of the first 8 week classes we took there.
The first was while working on a basic exercise – I can’t even say which one. The people and dogs were practicing while the instructor was coaching us one-on-one. While we were working I tried to pet Caffeine on the head. She pulled away and I looked shocked. The instructor, who I later learned is noted for her rather direct communication style, came over to me.
“Why did you try to pet her?”
“Uh. Because she’s doing a good job.”
“She doesn’t want to be pet! She wants to work. Work with her!”
As obvious as it seems, someone had to tell me that what Caffeine wanted or found reinforcing wasn’t always what I expected. Although I had already grasped the ideas behind lure/reward training and positive reinforcement, this quick glimpse into what the dog was thinking had a huge impact.
The second moment was while practicing the recall. During a practice run Caffeine started to veer off toward another dog. I instinctively said “eh!” to try to bring her focus back to me, and it worked. The instructor cited my good timing. Here again, a small lesson opened up the art of training to me.
After this class I became more mindful and starting to truly experience and enjoy the feeling when you and your dog really “connect.” There’s a moment when you are working with a dog when you feel that connection. I really can’t describe it. You’ll know it when it happens.
I still love that feeling — and I love that part of my job is creating it with a different dog almost every day.
It wasn’t all strawberries and cream though. I was a pretty crappy handler for a long time and Caffeine could still be a right pain in the ass. My wife and I had to make the 45+ minute drive to the school early so we could walk her for an hour or so before class to take the edge off. If we fed her before class she was too easily distracted and if we didn’t she was too obsessed with the food to focus. I could be very impatient with no concept of how to carefully raise criteria. (I’m still a bit impatient and need to constantly check myself.)
The title of this series is “The Real Man’s Guide to Dog Training.” Time to start fulfilling what that title promises. Here are some of the things I learned in my time working with Caffeine.
A Real Man knows how to pick his battles, and is aware that more often than not he’s not at war in the first place. A relationship characterized by a struggle for superiority is a crappy relationship.
A Real Man knows that brains solve more problems than brawn. Dogs are largely creatures of action and habit. Humans, (at least the successful ones) are not. A Real Man is able to take advantage of his ability to think like a man, rather than trying to act like a dog (or a mythical wolf.)
A Real Man knows how to be firm without being rigid and how to be forgiving without being permissive. Rewarding good behavior is not the same as appeasement or “spoiling.”
A Real Man is willing to make a deal and pay a decent wage.
Next time I’ll start to go over these rules.
I like this series! My first reaction to your tweet asking why are there more women than men in dog training was, 'well that's easy, it's patience' – then I thought, well, that was sexist thinking:) So I'm here to listen and learn!
Is it possible to have these discussions without crossing into territory that might be considered sexist?
Maybe, maybe not – but it was pretty funny that I caught myself! Had to laugh at me!
It really is amazing how much we learn from our pets.
Swamped with life, but thrilled with where you're headed with all this.
Thank you! Very familiar with the swamped feeling. Checking for alligators in my shoes every morning.
Thank you! Very familiar with the swamped feeling. Checking for alligators in my shoes every morning.