Firstly a few words about myself, well it is my site!

Animals have always played a major part in my life and for many years I was very involved with various aspects of the Equine world. Dogs as companions were however always a part of the picture.

Circumstances change and the Equines are now reduced to 2 pensioners who live in a near by field.

My dogs have now taken control of my life.

Training, teaching and competing here in Belgium and abroad has become rather more than a hobby, it has become a passion.

 

Every saturday morning I am to be found teaching at the Symbo dog training school in Antwerp.

 

           

 

I am also sometimes invited to give workshops on Dog Dancing.

 

        

 

When I am giving a workshop the same problems and questions often arise.

This is why I thought it would be a good idea to set down a few of my ideas and tips.

These tips are based on my personal experiences, as taught to me by my own dogs and also ideas from various other trainers that I have been fortunate enough to follow courses with.

All mistakes and errors are mine, all credit goes to Mr Chips, Dusty, Chicka and Kookie who are doing their best to 'train' me.

 

                  

 

 

Where to begin?

 

We all hope to build up a good relationship with our dogs, whatever our aims.

Whether our goal is to stop our dogs annoying the neighbours or if we are hoping to compete it all starts with how well you and your dog can communicate.

Please bear in mind, once trained, your dog will understand clear directions, But the phrase, well 'just this once' holds no meaning for him.

 

      

 

If you don't want to share a sofa with 50 kilos of dog then you have to start as you mean to go on and not allow that delightful cuddly puppy onto your lap!

When your new puppy arrives home, remember, it doesn't speak your language. Dogs use scent and visual cues far more than we do.

An example, we tend to react positively to people who smile at us but in 'dog talk' baring one's teeth is not necessarily a friendly gesture.

Be prepared for adjustments and compromises on both sides.

It is an unfortunate truth that some people will buy the most expensive dog basket, a posh collar and lead, top of the range dog bowls, dog food and dog  toys and then be disappointed when the dog in question is not duly grateful!

If you want to communciate with your dog, find out what it is that your dog wants, is it friendly, shy, a touch macho?

If it could make a wish list what would come first?

Chances are that chasing the cat and digging up your rose bushes come somewhat higher on the list than a pat on the head from the boss!

If you want to make changes in this list it is up to you.

Take the time to be with your puppy, teach it to play with you, give it an enjoyable grooming session or a massage.

Let it know you are a fun person to be with. You have to let it know that you are the most interesting, trustworthy and fun thing in its life.

Have a variety of toys, ranging from an old sock to the latest fashion accessary toy from the dog shop. Attach a toy to the end of the lead and make it move around in  order to make it more interesting to the puppy.

Personally I also always take control of the food from the word go.

In our house food is not something that arrives as though by magic in the dog bowls.

This is something that is life long. On really busy days when I have little or no time to train or work with my dogs we still follow the food ritual.

After all for the dogs it is a very important part of the day so I make use of this.

I frequently use the 'Jan Fennell' method of preparing the food but then apparently eating from each bowl before handing it to the dogs.

This is supposed to communicate to the dogs that I am the boss, the boss eats first.

I must admit I rather poo-poohed this idea until I tried it on my daughter's rather large Boerboel bitch with attitude. As i started 'eating' her food she stared at me, very intensely, and then she shook herself, yawned, stretched and totally relaxed. It was a very strange moment.

I might ask them to do a small trick or simply the discipline of calling each individual dog in turn and giving it its food.

When people tell me they have no time to train their dog I ask if they feed the dog each day.

For me, if you feed the dog it is a golden opportunity to train or to simply strengthen the bond between dog and owner.

When I am starting to train a puppy I will put a small piece of food in my hand, close my fingers and hold the food in front of the puppy. Most puppies will attempt to force the hand open and then at some point they will desist and hopefully then look up at you. This is the key moment to say, 'yes', the hand opens, the food is available.

Occasionally some puppies don't get the idea so I would gently raise my hand until it is at eye level to encourage the puppy to look at me.

All I am looking for is a questioning glance from the puppy (not a menacing stare!)

As soon as the puppy realises that checking in with me is the key to obtaining what it wants we have a first step.

Later in life this can be a very useful habit.

Imagine you are taking your young dog out for a walk and you meet up with another dog that is possibly not friendly. 

If your dog requests permission, by glancing at you, before it goes to greet the strange dog it can give you the chance to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

I am of course making this appear very simple and we all know it is not this easy.

Whole books are written on how to train your puppy.

I am just running through some of the things that I do and that work for me.

I can highly recommend the books written by John Rogerson.

His approach is kind, practical and frequently humerous. I recently followed a course he gave here in Belgium and it was genuinely interesting and helpful.

One of the points he made is that we need to socialize our puppies with us rather than with other dogs.

This reinforces what I was told when I acquired Chicka.

I found it very hard in the beginning to insist she came to me rather than the other puppies in the class. I felt I was being very mean to her. However the lady who was training us (Jules O'Dwyer) was very strict on this point and I am very very grateful to her. Chicka and I bonded and now I have a delightful dog who is totally into human speak but has no problems or hang ups with other dogs.

Whichever method you use when bringing up and training your puppy or dog try to ensure the dog understands what you mean. Watch its reactions, does it understand what you want? No dog will decide 'No, today I'm just going to do everything wrong'. If things are going wrong there is a communication problem and if you can't solve it on your own, try to find a good trainer who will help you. Be very careful of giving any kind of physical punishment. Because the dog lives very much in the 'here and now' if the punishment is not given at the moment of the 'crime' the dog will simply be confused. This can lead to dogs becoming frightened and then even agressive or dogs that simply wont do anything for fear of punishment.

That is why, in my opinion, the present 'dog friendly' training, based on positive reinforcement (you get it right, you get a reward, you get it wrong, no reward) is far more appropriate and leads to better results.

Lets face it we all try that bit harder if we think we will get a reward.

 

              

To be continued.

I welcome any comments, experiences or tips you might wish to share