Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

My canine companion and me

Last night I started the beginner's dog obedience class I'm taking with my dog, Una. I say that I started it, because the first night was just for the owners. The dogs don't attend until the second week.

The class was held at a local Friends school, which I found with very little trouble, thanks to unusually good directions from Mapquest. I pulled in just as some other owners, lugging folding chairs as we'd been instructed, pulled up. We found the school gym together.

Around the edge of the gym floor were rubber mats for walking on. In the middle of the room, lying quietly on a soft mat, was an aging Rottweiler mix, his tongue protruding lazily from the side of the mouth.

The instructor, a tall woman with long, reddish wavy hair, greeted people as they arrived, handing them some informational sheets and inviting them to set up their chairs on the opposite side of the gym.

As more people entered, the dog lay calmly on his mat, watching them pass but remaining still. In response to a question about his tongue, the instructor explained that the tongue is the result of uneven teeth. "Basically, he needs braces," she said, cheerily. "But he can eat and do everything normally, so we figure he's happy as he is."

I took the opportunity to look through the information we'd been given. It included a list of rules and procedures for the class, a health handout on how to recognize health issues with your pet, a guide to putting on the training collars we'd be required to use, and a handout on "How to Become a Pack Leader," which gave dos and don'ts for establishing dominance with your dog.

The class was relatively small, about 10 people, including two couples who were taking the class together. The Gryphon can't make the class, but I'm going to be filling him in on all the things we learn so that we can both practice it with Una.

The instructor started by asking us all questions about our dogs' problem behaviors. As she mentioned each one, she had us raise our hands if our dogs exhibited that problem. As it turned out, Una has already conquered some of the problems that had brought others to the class: such as pulling while walking and house training.

I give credit to my brother for his excellent tips on how to train a dog in those areas, using both positive and negative reinforcement. He was always the dog person in our household, taking care of the family dog, and as an adult, he's learned even more and has become a great dog trainer.

Surprisingly, I was the only one to raise my hand when the instructor mentioned excessive barking. She joked, "Well, there's at least one honest person here. Let's see if you all change your tune next week."

The other major behavior I want to work on with Una is jumping on people. I've already had some success with that, using tips given to me by my pet store owner, who is involved in the dog training club that is holding the obedience classes. She recommended acting calm when we come home and ignoring Una until she calms down.

This has worked surprisingly well, as Una has learned that the only way to get the attention she craves is to fetch us a toy and wait patiently to be petted. So far, the main challenge is getting her to do this when she's in a strange place, like the pet sitter's. I suppose that will come in time.

Then it was time for a little show and tell. The instructor's assistant put her dog, Annie, an adorably fluffy German Shepherd mix, through the paces, showing us the ideal polite behaviors. As the instructor explained, we can voluntarily sign up for a good citizen test which tests the dog in several areas of polite public behavior. We do not, however, have to pass a test to complete the course.

The good behaviors included basics like sitting and staying, as well as more challenging tasks, such as greeting a stranger politely, walking through crowds, allowing strangers to touch her, and ignoring both visual and aural distractions. Annie behaved superbly, often wearing a smile on her face, as if pleased with being praised.

We watched intently, and I could see the rays of hope lighting up the owners' eyes: "Some day, that will be my dog. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Then the instructor went through our handouts with us and explained them. In particular, she spent some time on the "How to Become a Pack Leader" sheet. As she ran through some of the dos and don'ts, she explained that it's not important to slavishly follow each one. It's simply important that the dog knows who's boss.

If, for example, you want to feed your dog at the same time you're eating, rather than eating first and then feeding the dog, that's fine. It's simply important that the dog knows who controls the food. You can establish dominance by using a technique such as requiring the dog to do some "work" before getting fed. If the dog is just learning to sit, have them sit and then give them the bowl.

She also said that if you want to allow your dog on the furniture, that is OK, provided the dog knows it's at your discretion. If the dog is told to get off, they should do so without argument. Likewise, they should wait until they're invited to join you on the couch.

Finally, the instructor showed us a couple different training techniques, including how to use food as a reward for good behavior. She showed us how you can "bribe" a dog to perform an activity by making the food obvious and then using that hand to guide the dog into the behavior, such as lying down. They're then given the food.

Alternately, you can reward the dog by keeping the treat hidden and only producing it when they've completed the task. Eventually, you make the treats less frequent, so the dog will perform the task even when no treats are given.

As we were leaving, I bought the four-foot leash from her that we'll be required to use for the course. I headed out the door, past dogs who were waiting for a more advanced class, feeling optimistic.

That night, I shared the handouts with The Gryphon, and we've started following the dos and don'ts of pack behavior. This includes making Una sit at the top of the stairs and wait for me to walk before she's allowed to follow, and making her move when she's in my way. Already, she's waiting at the top of the stairs for my orders before simply running down with abandon, like she used to.

I realized that I've unconsciously been doing this with Una for awhile, but in a slightly different way. When we're upstairs and she senses I'm going to be going down, she's been waiting at the top of the stairs for instructons. She's been doing this for a few months now, probably because I yelled at her for running down next to me and tripping me up.

Previously, I had been telling her to "go" and gesturing for her to run down the stairs ahead of me. While the instructor says this is OK, as long as the dog is waiting for your command, I like the "sit and stay" command better, since it gives us an opportunity to work on an important behavior.

So Una doesn't know it, but her obedience class has just begun.

More Musings on Una's Obedience Classes

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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