Training Your Dog, Part Two: A Four Legged and Furry Series

In part one of our pet training series, - and yourself. You have determined how you want to approach your pet during training.  Now, it's time to get started. 

Lesson 3:  There must be a method to your training           

I decided to use treats as a conditioning for good behavior when training Barnum.  As I mentioned in the previous column, Barnum spent his early years as a puppy mill breeder.  He is very shy, and anything too intrusive or even slightly uninviting can set him off.  One thing that Barnum loves no matter what is Scooby Snacks.  So, I set out to train him using these.

Let me reiterate here, that I am not an expert my any means.  I am a dog lover, and that is all.  So I sought some professional advice: the "dog whisperer," Cesar Millan, wrote in detail about training in his book, "Be the Pack Leader."

Millan's words helped me feel better about using treat conditioning as my form of training for Barnum.  He writes, "My philosophy about discipline and correction with any animal, for any purpose, is that they should always be applied with the least force necessary to accomplish the behavior you are asking for."

As Barnum will be five years old in a few weeks, I also used David Taylor's "Old Dog, New Tricks: Understanding and Retraining Older and Rescued Dogs" as a reference.

Taylor writes, "The relationship between handler and dog must be one of mutual respect, free of fear, with both parties attentive and employing and unambiguous common 'language.'"

It has taken almost a year and a half of work to get Barnum to the point where we could even consider training him because he was so hurt from his earlier experiences.  It was really important to me that I didn't lose any of that love or trust he has so generously given during this process.

Lesson 4:  Be consistent

It was important to me that Barnum understood what this was all about.  I didn't want him to just think he was getting more treats for no reason.  So I made sure to only give him treats if he did what was instructed, not just for being cute. 

When we were working on the sit command, I would say to Barnum, "sit." At first, he would just stare at me, confused.  So, after repeating the phrase several times, I would just gently push Barnum's bottom toward the floor until he sat down.  When, he did, it was time for lots of praise. I immediately gave him a treat to reinforce the good behavior and cheered him on as well. This exact pattern, we repeated time and time again until Barnum began to pick up on the command and sit without any help from me.

Taylor writes of the importance of consistent behavior when training your dog. "Sloppy talk or careless hand signals (indeed any imprecision or ambiguity on our part), make it difficult for an animal to respond correctly," he says.

Millan warns of the dangers of not being consistent with your pet. "The owner uses food treats for conditioning the dog to sit and stay, but also in situations where the cause and effect for the dog is often unclear," he writes.

"If a dog is growling at another dog, the owner will redirect the behavior with treats … The problem is, the owner may have temporarily redirected the behavior, but he hasn't addressed the state of mind that was causing the behavior in the first place.  He hasn't earned the dog's respect by letting her know through energy and body language that no, it's not okay with me." Millan says.

So, with all of this in mind, (and I know it's a lot), I encourage you to get to work with your pet this week.  Develop the method to your training and put it into action.  Be sure to be consistent in your actions and patient with your pet.

Then, check back with Riverhead Patch for the next column in this training series.