by Kay Green

Tally-Ho: November/December 1983

No matter what aspect of dog training and exhibiting you enter into, you will eventually encounter problems. Many problems are so obvious that take long to determine what they are and how to work them out. However, many problems are not as easily detected and solved, and therefore, one needs to learn how to deal with them effectively. I feel that this is true not only for obedience, but field work, tracking and conformation as well. No matter what field of endeavor you and your dog enter into, I believe that you can learn problem-solving techniques and use them in all areas of dog training and exhibiting.

When I first started training in obedience 9 years ago, I assumed that my instructor had all the answers. What I discovered after only a few months of training was that my basset wasn't responding in a positive manner to the training methods I was taught to use. I questioned my instructor about the fact that my Basset was getting progressively more stubborn, wasn't learning much of anything, and had a negative attitude toward training. I was told that, after all, I did have a Basset (one strike against me) and that I just had to keep doing the same things over and over again and that eventually they would work. My faith in my instructor was beginning to crumble, and I began to think about what was going on and what I could do about it. It was about this time that I discovered food training and began to see immediate improvement in all areas of obedience training. My instructor wasn't thrilled about losing her Olympian status, but I sure have found dog training a lot more interesting and rewarding since I started taking a more active role in designing my own training program.

Over the years as I have trained more and more basset hounds and tried my hand at other difficult-to-train breeds, I have found myself frequently on the doorstep of an incredibly effective problem-solver, Sally Terroux. As a youngster, Sally started her career in animals by training horses, but after a back injury she was forced to give it up. She started training dogs as a hobby in her teens and then turned professional about 25 years ago. Sally devised a training technique and trained the first hearing dog (for the deaf) more than 15 years ago. At the present time Sally is primarily an obedience instructor for both pet and show dogs. In addition, she provides field training services and breeds flat-coated retrievers. Sally is one of the most knowledgeable people in animal behavior that I have ever met. She the unique ability to break a problem down into its simplest form and then devise a solution. I learned many of the techniques discussed in this article from Sally and she deserves a tremendous amount of credit for being one of best in her field.

Many components make up a successful problem-solving program, including dog and self observation, knowing what is right for you and your dog, being open-minded, developing a sense of timing, arranging to have someone else observe you and your work to help find those small problems, the importance of footwork, the down stay, fun matches, and knowledge of how to use different kinds of training equipment. All of these aspects of problem-solving are important, and I will go into each one in some detail.

Dog and Self Observation

Probably one of the most useful techniques that I have learned is the ability to observe my dog and myself constantly while training so that I can catch any unwanted behavior long before it becomes chronic. I need to be as detached and unemotional as a computer in my observations, so that I can detech and alter any training techniques that are not effective. At these times I feel like part of me is standing outside, watching and making notes for future evaluation. After class, on the way home, I usually run through these mental notes to determine what changes, if any, are necessary in my training program. I guess the best way to describe this process is that I view part of myself as a reporter always looking for the facts. The only difference is that I am watching myself and my dog for that story. I block out everything else at class except for instruction and what my dog and I are doing each and every minute. In short, I stress concentration and awareness.

Many trainers miss the first small signs of a potential problem and only recognize that there is a problem when it becomes fully obvious and chronic. Since many dog trainers are not aware of their own footwork and body movements, inconsistencies in those movements can cause inconsistencies in their dog's performance. For example, your dog may sit crooked in the heel position in response to his perception of your footwork. Unless you know exactly what your feet are doing and how your dog perceives this, you may be unconsciously teaching your dog how to sit crooked. As your dog becomes more used to sitting crooked (in response to your movement), the problem will become chronic. By noticing the small things (like your footwork) at first, a problem like this can be avoided. Believe me, this is much easier than trying to correct the problem later.

When you and your dog are enjoying working together, the dog's eagerness and the flow of energy between the two of you will be the best indication that your training program is right for you both. In virtually all obedience exercises you will know when you have a potential problem by the slight resistance the dog gives you through the lead. Dogs who do not like a particular exercise will usually let you know in this subtle way, so of course the use of the lead as a barometer is an excellent source of early detection.

Anyone can acquire this skill of intense observation. Learning to channel that part of your mental awareness will seem awkward and energy-draining at first, but the more you direct it the easier it will become, until one day you will do it automatically. One very important point to remember is that you must never, truly never become rigid and dogmatic in your mental processing or you will lose a very fragile and important aspect of problem-solving.

What is Right for You and Your Dog

Knowing what is the right training program for you and your dog can save hours required to undo all the mistakes that you have made. For example, long before you start any obedience training you need to know what the mental, emotional and physical make-up of your dog is. If you have a very soft dog who is especially sensitive to correction, you will definitely not want to use force training. If you have a dog who is a very slow learner, then you need to set realistic goals for that dog. Pushing a dog beyond his capability and his own learning rate will more than likely be frustrating for you, and may create a dislike for obedience in your dog. You need to be honest with yourself about the physical build of your dog. If your dog is sleek and wiry with lots of energy, then it is probably realistic to expect that he is agile enough to do well in obedience. If you have a dog who is physically unsound, over-weight, low energy, or has a temperament problem, then you need to be honest with yourself about what his potential really is. If you have a very large, dominant and insensitive dog and you are a very small person, then you will probably need special help in designing a training program that will allow you to be in control of your dog. You may need to have someone else train him, or find another dog more physically suited to you for training. BE REALISTIC!! Don't take on something that you can't handle. Remember, this is a sport and not a method of torture for dog or trainer.

Know what is right for you. For example, I personally do not like rough, physical training techniques. Therefore, I will probably never train a dog who needs that type of force. I find it so offensive that the few times I have worked with aggressive dogs in class, I have always been grateful that I don't have to train those dogs myself. While I'm not fond of working with too-soft dogs, I prefer them to the ones that you have to hit with a 2 x 4 just to get their attention. I also like intelligent, high-energy dogs, so I select for those behavioral traits as well.

Know what you like and don't like, what training techniques you can handle and what you cannot tolerate. Stop and think about yourself and your dog when an instructor or someone of authority tells you about a particular training technique. Does it make sense to you and does it fit the type of training that has been working for your dog? If you have any doubts then either go very slowly and stop if you see any negative reaction, or don't use the idea at all.

Know and accept yourself physically and mentally. Some people just do not have good eye-hand coordination, nor are they very physically agile, nor do they have lots of energy. Work on changing the things about yourself that you can, but also be realistic about your own limitations, just as you must be about your dog's.

Being Open-Minded

One of the signs of a good trainer as well as a good instructor is that he is always open to learning new training techniques. We are very fortunate in this area (Denver) to have obedience seminars put on by some of the top obedience exhibitors in the United States almost every year. Over the years I have attended 8 seminars and while I may not have found all the ideas presented workable for me, I have walked away from each one with at least a few very good ideas. I certainly do not advocate that you attend a seminar, then rush home and try all the techniques presented on your dog. Here again is where knowing yourself and your dog really comes in handy. You will find that some techniques are very offensive to you and others are just too harsh or ineffective for your dog. Do attend seminars whenever you can because you just may find the very answer you have been looking for to a problem.

When you attend out-of-state dog shows, spend some time talking to exhibitors in that area. Almost every time I have done this I have gotten some very good ideas. You may also find that you have the answer to someone else's problem as well. Sharing our training techniques and ideas with each other is part of the fun and camaraderie of our sport.

Timing

Knowing the right time to praise, correct, reward, withhold, work, stop working, try new ideas, and give old ideas one more week is extremely important. In fact, it may make the difference between a nice-working dog and one who looks untrained in the ring. Some people have a natural sense of timing and coordination about them and have the ability to make dog training look easy. Just because you do not have this natural ability doesn't mean that you cannot work on it and develop it. When I first started training I felt so awkward and had such bad timing that my dog didn't work as well as he might have. When I was exhibiting my dog I didn't feel that we were a team and the exercises didn't flow from start to finish. It took me years of hard work to develop that special timing and now when I start training a new dog in obedience it looks and feels easy for me. Here again is where mental observation will help to guide you in the right direction. When you do something right and the dog immediately responds the way you wanted him to, make a note of what you did. It certainly helps to have a very knowledgeable instructor (preferably one who exhibits) watch and work with you, individually at first. Spend the extra time and money in the beginning; it will certainly be worth the investment in the long run. I was fortunate to find a very good instructor (who became a close friend) who spent a lot of time working with me individually on my timing and coordination. I spent lots of time working on each exercise without my dog so I could observe what I was doing and listen with my mental observer to the way my verbal commands sounded. I know it looked strange heeling around with an empty lead in my hand, but by not having the distraction of my dog at the time I picked up many things that I could improve on. Some people are able to do a variety of different things all at the same time and be able to observe them well. I am not one of those people and so therefore working on myself first without my dog didn't seem as overwhelming as trying to do everything at the same time.

Praise, correction, and reward must always be given immediately after the dog's response. If your dog does something right, then immediately praise and reward him. If your dog's response was not what you wanted, then withhold praise and reward and show the dog what it was that you wanted from him. Be aware that If the dog didn't respond the way you wanted him to it is probably because you did not present it to him in a way that he could understand. Many trainers become impatient and feel that their dog is doing an exercise wrong on purpose. You and your dog are individuals with individual needs and so therefore you should never compare yourself and your dog to any other dog-handler team. If a technique doesn't elicit the response you wanted after a few tries then either your timing is off or the dog cannot learn by that technique and you may want to check with your instructor for another method.

Another important aspect of timing is knowing when to work your dog and when not to work him. For example, my dogs do not like to work in the heat so I do not work them in the middle of the day in July. You may find that it you get up early in the morning and work your dog, he is more responsive and eager. If you live in an area where it is hot even then, you might want to give both of you a vacation from training during the summer and start up again when the weather has cooled off. If you force a dog to work who is uncomfortable in the heat you just may be teaching him to hate obedience. However, remember that you should expose your dog to all possible conditions that you might encounter at a show (including heat). It is just that adverse conditions should not be pushed to the point where the dog stops working, If your dog is not enjoying the training sessions for whatever reason, stop and figure out what you can do so he will. If you cannot work around the problem then do not work your dog until you can come up with a solution.

Experiment with how frequently you can train your dog during the week. Many sporting, herding, and working breeds can be worked every day and the more they are worked the better they get. This is usually not true for most terriers and hounds, however. I have found that somewhere between 2 and 4 times a week (depending on the dog) is about all that hounds and terriers can handle until they reach a point where they get worse instead of better.

If you find you have a partiucular problem then work on that problem for a few minutes each day, but do not do all the rest of the exercises each day. I have found that the exception to this is the dog who doesn't like heeling. If you force a dog who doesn't like that exercise to heel every day you will probably make a worse heeling dog out of him in the long run. Only work on heeling for a few minutes a few times a week, then move on to something that he does like. When you are at a training class you should not heel for the whole time if your dog isn't enjoying it and starts to resist you after only a few minutes. When I am training a dog who isn't thrilled about heeling I will usually heel him for a few minutes, and then work on the dumbbell or perhaps play ball. One very effective technique for motivating dogs for heeling is to go for a walk, or some other pleasant activity that can be combined with heeling. Many dogs who do not like to heel in a classroom situation will perk up when they have some place to go to.

Have Someone Observe You and Your Dog

Another valuable problem-solving tool is to have another exhibitor or your instructor observe you while you are exhibiting at shows, fun matches or run-thrus. Man times someone else can pick up the little things that we do to create problems that we are totally unaware of. For example, my friend Barbara was having about-turn problems with a novice dog she was training. We all watched her footwork and timing and the way she held her body, and offered ideas for footwork changes; but the dog still swung wide with a slight lag almost every time. That mystery was finally solved at a seminar when Barbara did her about-turns for the seminar leader. She told Barbara that when she came out of the about-turn she did not walk straight and therefore her dog was busy getting out of her way until he found out which way she was going. After Barbara learned to walk straight after each and every about-turn, her dog started doing better and better and now has no problem with that part of heeling.

At an obedience trial recently, I was watching another friend (Nancy) with a Newfoundland who should have been getting better scores than she was. As I watched Nancy in the ring, i noticed that she stepped into her dog on each halt. Because of this her dog sat at an angle to avoid being stepped on (smart dog!). Nancy also could not walk a straight line and weaved all over the mat during the heeling. Naturally, her dog, not being sure where Nancy was going to walk next, was either too far away from her or bumped her. When I mentioned this to Nancy after she left the ring, she was totally unaware that she had been doing this. Nancy worked on this problem and now she and her dog work together more smoothly as a team, with fewer point deductions. Some trainers assume their dog will accommodate their errors and compensate for their inability to walk a straight line. The dogs that can do this are mighty rare indeed.

Remember, the idea of having someone watch you very closely is not for that person to put you down. That is not constructive and no one needs that type of help. The purpose of outside observation is to help you find the areas that you can change and thus improve you and your dog's performance.