Want to train a dog? - Reward us. The key is consistency in your message and determining the right reward. I’m a rat terrier and we are ‘rewarded’ by pleasing our beloved master. Other dogs are a lot like men and the best motivator is through their stomach. Offer them food or treats and they will do whatever you ask.
There are exceptions to this rule. Certain breeds of dogs (and humans) are more stubborn or like Piper (a fox terrier mix). They are often smart, to the point of being clever but they are like willful three year olds who may know what to do but CHOOSE whether or not to obey depending on their mood.
Piper is a very bright dog. She knows our walking rules. Jet (our foster mom) doesn’t have many rules but she is strict about those that exist. Specifically: stay on the leash unless we are in an open field. Commands like ‘stay’ mean stop immediately and do not move until you get the command to do so. If you break the rules, you lose a privilege for a while. It’s sort of like a time out for humans. There is one rule that Piper will mind – IF she wants to but she will ignore the same rule if it suits her. She ‘stays’ when she feels like it but if she wants to run or chase a rabbit and not stop when commanded to then she races on. A command to stay has nothing to do with being near traffic or roads; it is about adhering to rules set up to protect us. No matter how many times Piper is told, she will ignore the “stay” rule sometimes and lose the privilege of our field walks off leash. Why repeat the same mistake over and over?
TO PONDER:
• Is it because the punishment isn’t strict enough?
• Is it because the reward for adhering to the rule isn’t good enough?
• Is it because the price paid for disobeying the rule is so quickly overcome?
• Is it because the taste of what is loved so much is so much better than the taste of
the punishment that comes from misbehaving?
• Why is getting our way more important than the consequences of doing the right
thing? What does it take to get a willful dog (or human) to do the right thing when
they don’t want to do it?
(Such deep questions... I was probably a Zen philosopher in another life.)
Humans struggle the same way with addictions. I’ve witnessed some of the brightest and most successful humans lose almost everything they have (or lose it all) because there is just one thing in their life they know they shouldn’t do but do it anyway. Maybe it is spending money in a poor fashion; perhaps it is excessive gambling. Regardless, they lose so much when they insist on pursuing 'it' to excess.
So, here’s my lesson of the day… Maybe the “Pipers” of the world need to look at the situation differently as defined by the author of “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking”. The author reminds us that we are not giving in to something when we buckle under to an obsession or constantly breaking a good rule; instead, we are giving up the ultimate something: our liberty, our freedom to really choose what is best for us. – I’m paraphrasing of course but my advice is to consider this perspective before paying the price of resisting the rewards best for us before the rewards stop being offered.
Okay, the question of the day is from Charlie who asked: Hey Parker, I am a new reader of your column. I’ve got my humans reading it too. My question is what can my parents use to measure me properly for a new winter coat?
Dear Charlie:
Try this site for your humans Charlie. It shows a diagram with the proper way to measure a dog for collars and coats.
http://paradiseamerica.hypermart.net/efy/dogmeasure.html
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