Much has been written about Positive and Negative reinforcement in dog training, so I mean to speak only from my experiences.
I took several puppies through basic beginner obedience courses. It is the owner who must take his own dog through these tests, and it is the owner who must be ‘trained’. Of course, puppies (and dogs) learn along the way.
What I found in obedience training was negative reinforcement. For example, I had to pinch my dog’s ear, causing him pain, before he could take the dumbbell. It really disturbed me. Our Sheltie club joined a sister club in inviting a special dog trainer as a visiting speaker. He trained dogs for police work, bomb and drug detectors, etc. What surprised me was his statement that he could train a dog for sixteen hours (my memory is a bit hazy here) without treats, and the dog wanted to continue. My eyes were opened. I never used negative reinforcement again.
It’s nice to see a dog walk beside his owner off leash, ignoring everyone around him except his owner. It is true that some dogs are easier to train than others, but it is a joy to see such a responsible dog and owner knowing the work behind it.
I imagine many are aware that in order to take a dog to trials, it must be registered, in Canada by the Canadian Kennel Club and in the United States by the American Kennel Club. The Novice classes include Basic Obedience and Companion Dog (CD), the Open class, Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) and the Utility (UD) class. These latter dogs are used in movies and television, for example. There are many other specialized degrees of training.
A wonderful poet named Anonymous wrote: “You can’t buy loyalty, they say. I bought it the other day though. You can’t buy tried and true friendship. Well, anyway, I bought that too… .” The poem is used by most dog breeders, so you can find the rest on any breeder’s site. Some may think the words are hackneyed, but I have certainly found them to be true. The reason I mention this poem is because of the following.
I took a favorite bitch through her CD title. At the time, I belonged to a group of local women who were looking for interesting items for their meetings. They asked me to talk about my dogs because they knew I was a breeder, and since we met in a salon and not a restaurant, I was able to bring my ‘girl’. She had her sitting at a small table, high enough for the hundred plus women to see her. I was in the middle of quoting the above poem, when I unconsciously reached out and touched her head. She looked up at me with adoring eyes, and the entire room let out a collective sigh. I quickly forgot the words of the poem and had to do a lot of thinking to get back on track. I will never forget that incident, nor my dear Katya, although I spoke to her at other meetings, testing her.
My favorite quote about dogs is from HL Mencken. “Living with a dog is easy, like living with an idealist.” You are the most important person in their world. He is humiliating. May we be worthy of his commission.
Copyright Audrey Moorhouse