Keen-Eye Companion Dog Connection Training

©Getting a hold of your dog’s mind - Reading your dog By Diana Gauthier

As people start arriving with their dogs for a training session, one dog comes into the classroom pulling hard on the leash his reluctant female owner. As she is using all her strength to try to hold onto the dog, he in turn is using all his strength to bring her where he wants to go. With muscles straining, toenails digging in for more traction, he’s making slow progress. She in turn is using all her strength to try and maintain stability. Finally arriving at an acceptable spot the woman feels relieved to stop. She feels that she succeeded in making the dog go where she wished just wishing he wouldn’t pull quite so hard! meanwhile.....

Down the block, in a quiet back yard a B-B-Q is about to happen. A man has a hot grill ready to receive a thick tender steak. He remembers something he’s forgotten and sets the plate and steak on the picnic table and returns back into the house. His dog, also in the backyard sees him leave and promptly gets up and goes over to the table and chows down the delicious meat. Owner comes back and sees the empty plate and see's the dog looking very guilty. Angrily he disciplines him, shoving the empty plate at the dog’s face while emitting a lot of unpleasant phrases. Then the man straightens up and even though he is still very annoyed about loosing his steak, he feels he did the right thing to teach his dog a lesson.

That’s how the owners see the situation. Now let’s take a look at how these two dogs see things.

The first dog, at the training session who was hauling his reluctant owner around was indeed doing just that. He has learned that this is the only way to get her to move from point A to point B. He feels it’s his job to tow her, pulling her to where he wishes to go. But alas, once and awhile she becomes anchored and he has to wait and again he can get mobile. But she is just like that to him. A large anchor he needs to drag around. Good thing he is as strong as he is!

The dog back at the B-B-Q was enjoying a little nap when he noticed his owner left, same as discard, a great smelling piece of meat. Quickly, before someone else was to claim it, he took it and wolfed it down. It was delicious! As he began licking his paws, very please with his good fortune, his owner walks back into view. The dog immediately sees the stiffening on the man’s body and a rounding of the eyes. The dog recognizes the symptoms. His owner is about to have one of his fits. Cringing, because he knows what’s about to happen, he braces himself for the onslaught. The dog never knows when one of these fits will come over his owner. The plate being shoved at his face left no meaning, just something handy for the man to grab. He knows it won’t last too long, just take the punishment and he will soon walk away.

The one thing in common with both these incidences is the lack of understanding between owner and dog. The human sees the situation totally different from the dog’s perspective. When you think of it, training a dog, is actually communication to that dog what your wish is. Without a real understanding of the communication, how can there be real clear teaching? Even within our own species, the different races of people often make it hard to understand the other. And not only the language; there is also the lack of understanding the culture behind the language.

How much more confusion is there then between us and our dogs? They not only don’t speak our language, but also are a different species all together. Dogs have their own kind of communication, an unwritten set of rules and guidelines that all canines can recognize and follow. Some breeds are easier to get along with more than others, but all dogs know how to communicate to each other.

There is a common "dog culture" all dogs recognize. And it is that, which we need to learn to understand in order to get a hold of our dog’s mind.

For in getting a hold of the dog’s mind his body will follow!

It is not by imposing ourselves on the dog in the name of training that makes the difference but rather reaching his mind with understanding that gives us a long lasting and fulfilling relationship with our dogs.

Becoming aware of a dog’s body language and learning to read his eyes will give you great insight into the dog’s mind. We as humans have learned to read each other's body language, reading outward body language as well as inward, through the eyes. It can be so too, with dogs.

Learn to recognize small gestures, knowing their importance. For instance, a little shift of the head, a turning of the nose away from you when you reach out to touch a dog on the head, can indicate an attitude of “your beneath me, I don’t want your attention right now, thank you”. The dog is too polite to totally turn his back but none-the less you can see what he is thinking. The attitude will become more visible the more you work with that dog. He will make definite statements to say, “you are not my boss”. It always boils back down to who is truly the boss in your dog’s eyes that will make the difference of a dog who has great listening skills, who is dependable, a great companion or a dog who looks at you as his own private servant.

Recognize these body signals in order to understand how your dog is feeling and what he is thinking. When on leash, does he look up often to see into your face? Is he trying to read you to know what it is you want, or is he just going about what he wants, trying to gain as much as possible of what he wants, the sniffing the looking about, basically ignoring you. If your dog is not checking OFTEN by looking into your face, (checking in with the boss), then you are not OFTEN on his mind. You do not want your dog always looking up as then he is too dependent on you and can not think for himself, there is to be a balance.

Don’t cheat by using food to get his attention. Giving your dog treats to make him listen is only putting a bandage over the problem, it covers up and keeps hidden allot of poor attitudes. By using food, you are still only appealing to his self-centeredness. He still thinks of himself as Alpha. In dog culture, when another dog readily gives up desirable tidbits every time the other dog wants them, he’s saying to that dog “your alpha, what ever you want, you get”. By using food for motivation your actually feeding your dog’s attitude of “I’m alpha, and I will choose to listen or not to, as I wish” Treats are to be treated as a time of sharing, not in order to control. Often we see our behavior as being nice, or compromising to get along with our dogs. Our dogs often see our behavior as weakness, and thus not wanting to entrust the Alpha role to a weak leader. We need to show our dogs we are a fair and just leader that they can admire and respect. Then our dogs will gladly give up the Alpha Role and do our bidding with love and devotion as there motivation and our praise as their reward.

Before you can be truly successful in having your dog want to listen to you, showing that he wants to please and do as you wish, the dog has to have a good attitude. One of trust and respect. Do not confuse love for respect. A dog can love and still not respect you.

Here is a quick test to know where you stand in his eyes, Ask him to do something opposite to what he wants to do and see if he gives up his desire immediately or does he need you to persuade him by giving repeated commands, treats, or promise of play. So many times when told to do something, the dog looks toward the owner and thinks about it, does he or doesn’t he, he questions himself. He may then choose to listen to you this time but he had to think about it first. Just as likely, the next time, he may choose not to listen. There should be no room to “have to think about it” with your dog. If your dog has the right attitude, all he needs to hear is what you want of him and providing he has the understanding for that command he is quick to do it.

Many dogs are treated like spoiled children when we find ourselves using food or the promise of play (sweetening the pot so-to-speak) to convince our dogs to do our bidding. That is really the whole idea of good training in a nutshell, having your dog listen to you because he wants to. Then it is more a matter of communicating WHAT you want, not THAT you want it.

Get a hold of his mind and his body will follow.

-Di

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