Gaining Control

It is no surprise that dogs, like all other creatures, have their
own language. While not verbal, the dogs' communications skills
are quite sophisticated, and consist of nuances of facial expression,
body language, positioning, and vocalizations. Watching your dog
in different situations will teach you volumes about what he's thinking.
Teaching your dog to understand key words and phrases will make
you a more closely-knit unit: it will strengthen the bond between
you, by giving you a COMMON language that you'll both understand.

The problem is that while dogs can learn our language to a limited
degree, not all people seem able to learn theirs. Believe it or
not, some people simply aren't born knowing how to cope with their
dog's odd behavior patterns... they're not instinctually what we
call "dog people". We're hoping to make this newsletter into an
interactive teaching tool... questions and concerns recieved about
this issue will decide the topic(s) for the next issue. For this
purpose, we've set up a special mailbox at BehaviorQuestions@StBernardRescue.org.
If you have a question or concern about the content of this mailing,
send it to the email address above, and we'll try to include it in the next edition.

We hope to refute some of the fallacies that can turn your life
with your dog into a living hell. Here goes:

Some people will have you think that because of studies done on
wolves in the wild, man's best friend spends his life trying to
dominate you. The fact of the matter is that while dogs want to
dominate dogs, they are intelligent creatures who are keenly aware
that man is not a dog. They are called man's best friend because
they offer unconditional love and comfort. A dog wants nothing
more than to be with his pack members, and to contribute to that
pack. In order for the dog to be able to be with his human, the
dog must have training... and the key to training any dog lies in
understanding his language, and giving him the opportunity to understand
yours. Others will have you believe that your dog is constantly
sizing you up... in a constant attempt at finding out how he can
move up the ladder in the chain of command. To a point, this is
true... but, if you understand just the basics of how dogs think
and work together as a pack unit, it becomes a fairly simple matter
to live a wonderful, happy, fulfilled life with your dog at your side.

First, let's discuss the use of force, and how it relates to your
relationship with your dog. Using correction and force with dogs
is the normal, everyday, OUTDATED "prescription" for coping with
inappropriate behavior... those who use these techniques are selling
their dogs short -- they're basically thinking that their dogs are
unable to learn to cooperate, based on a system of rewards.

Here's the rub: WHY would you immediately resort to correction and
punishment, when it's just as easy -- and MUCH more pleasant for
ALL concerned -- to look for a positive, happy way to get your point across??

If you are using forceful methods with your dog in response to behaviors
that you believe to be "dominant" in origin, you're setting your
dog up for failure. A truly dominant dog will respond with equal,
crushing force to these methods -- and in dealing with a dog the
size of a St. Bernard, the force *IS* truly crushing. Don't for
a second think that your St. Bernard CAN'T best you, in a show of
force. If he decides it's necessary, he WILL best you. Using force
will only back him into a corner emotionally, and bring about a
confrontation... this is completely unnecessary, and could easily
lead to your having to witness the untimely death of your best friend.
A dog that is NOT dominant, on the other hand, will simply be
bewildered by your use of forceful, dominant methods... and these
methods, with this dog, can actually TEACH dominance! You can actually
create problems where none existed, by using these methods.

Instead, provide leadership for your dog by controlling resources.
Resources are all the things that your dog wants and needs: food,
water, toys, treats, going for a walk, belly rubs, ear scratches,
playing with another dog, greeting a stranger... if your dog is
happy about something (for example, seeing you pick up the leash),
this is a resource, and can be used to gain the dog's cooperation.
If you control your dog's access to these items, you automatically
gain the status of the dominant position. It's entirely unnecessary
to even attempt to dominate your dog, physically.

So, how do you gain control? It's really not that difficult: simply
find what your dog loves, and use it to gain his cooperation: He
must sit to put his leash on. He must sit to greet strangers...
He must approach relatively calmly, in order to be allowed to greet
strange dogs... He must lie down before you'll put his supper dish
on the floor for him. If you're concerned that he'll gain too much
weight in using food as a reward, cut back his meal ration, and
use treats to make up the difference in calorie intake. Always
try to work when your dog is hungry.

Your goal is to have control over your dog in any situation. You
don't need to punish him if he doesn't respond in the way you are
asking... for the most part, a dog will do whatever is necessary
to gain the reward -- if he only UNDERSTANDS what it is that is
necessary. It is your job to find a way for him to understand what you are asking.

Basic obedience and manners training is imperative to the well being
of any canine/human family. What we're talking about here is using
simple, basic manners -- but don't think that he's not allowed to
show enthusiasm! A bouncy, happy dog is a joy to behold... allow
him his happiness! Use what your dog is most likely to respond to
in a POSITIVE manner. Keep your training sessions short. Anything
over 15 minutes is more than any dog should have to bear... their
attention span is relatively short, like a child's. It's simply not fair to ask more.

In every training session, give your dog lots of chances to get
it right -- and, just because he gets it right a few times, that
doesn't mean that he KNOWS what you want! Mistakes are a part of
the learning process... try to control his correct responses, by
setting him up to succeed. It's entirely allowable to *guide* him
to correct responses, using toys, treats, his leash, other dogs,
etc. to LURE him to that correct response. It doesn't have to be
a constant struggle between your will, and his.

Always end your training sessions on a positive note. Once your
dog understands what you want from him, he will respond. If he
doesn't respond in the manner you want him to, look for causes BESIDES
dominance: chances are, he simply doesn't understand what you want.
If he's not sitting quickly enough, he may be unsure, there may
be too many distractions, or his hips may hurt him.

We'd like everyone to choose a behavior problem to work on, and
send in a description of what that behavior is, along with an outline
to achieve a change in that behavior. These can be minor changes,
or major changes: the point is to try to spend 10-15 minutes each
day in making your dog a more valued member of your family. Please
send them to BehaviorQuestions@StBernardRescue.org, and we'll try
to include several of these in next week's issue.

Brenda & Kim