How to Correct Dog Behavior Part 2
Most bad habits in a dog have been contracted because his owner has not taken the trouble to correct the dog at ‘the proper time. They can be corrected but, of course, the longer the habits have been permitted to go on, and the older the dog is, the more difficult they are to eradicate.
The average dog-owner is convinced he is capable of training his dog, but in fact very few can, generally because they have not the slightest idea how to do it. Some say they could do it if they had the time, but the truth is that if dog- owners would take the trouble in the first instance to acquire the necessary knowledge, and to devote a little patience and time to it, they would save themselves a considerable amount of worry and have a dog that is a pleasure to themselves and not a nuisance to others.
Attending dog-training classes is a great help, but even here their activities are limited, and whereas the average dog-owner will find such courses beneficial, the dog that is just a little more than disobedient is always a difficult proposition. Most with strangers, etc. With such it is wiser to obtain the services of a professional trainer. It is possible for an owner to correct his dog, but it must be realized that all dogs cannot be dealt with in the same way, and the professional who has far wider experience with all types of dogs is more likely to get good results, especially with the larger breeds. Even so, no professional dog trainer can give a guarantee that his efforts will be successful, any more than the best teacher in the world can guarantee that a child will get through his or her eleven-plus examination.
The dog will, however, be considerably improved, and provided the owner is willing to continue training in accord- dance with the instructions given by the professional trainer a degree of satisfaction can be attained. Once the basic training has been instilled into the dog then it is only a matter of going daily through all the exercises in obedience, which should take only about thirty minutes each morning, for the next month or so, and occasionally afterwards. This will enable the dog to get used to the articulation of the owner.
It may be said that relatively few people are capable of controlling and working a dog that has been trained by a professional. If that were true I would soon be out of business and, what is more to the point, many dogs would have had to be put to sleep if they had not received some proper form of training in obedience. It is essential that the professional trainer should, as I do, give instructions to a client’ to enable him to carry on where he, the professional, leaves off. This includes the method used in training the particular dog. Judging by the number of dog-owners who have written to to use the root of the tree to hold him down, so that if by chance the dog should get up it is quite easy to draw him to the ground again. Go through the same procedure with a leather collar instead of the chain collar. After about a fortnight it should be possible to make a dog sit on the offender for several minutes without any attachments other than the lead and leather collar. Walk round both dogs saying, ‘Down’, ‘Down’, `Stay’.
Sometimes an owner has two dogs that persist in fighting with each other, and up to the time of correcting them it has been necessary to keep both dogs apart in the house, and when exercising them outdoors.
The procedure is practically the same, but in this case the owner needs no second person to assist him, provided both dogs have been trained individually to have become obedient enough during the exercises described in the earlier sections devoted to the training of stay and down positions. As both dogs, however, cannot be trusted with each other, it will be necessary to muzzle them both, and they must be made to lie down within a foot of each other’s noses. To do this, use an iron pin at the end of each of their leads, the leads, of course, being fully stretched for this purpose. Provided both pins are well placed in the ground there is no possibility of either dog getting free. The dogs are now directed to down, and stay, the commands being repeated several times if necessary. Walk over each dog swinging another lead or a conveniently looped rope, and bang a stick on an old tin or pail to make as much noise as possible near the dogs. Every now and then throw the tins over both dogs, the object being to distract the attention of them both.
Then, if neither shows any inclination to get up, unmuzzled one dog, and take it round to the back of the other dog, but do not allow any attempt on the part of the dog that is lying down to get up and attack the dog walking behind it. The should be made aware of the objects, and have sympathetic natures.
It will be appreciated that the dog should always be given his daily ration by someone other than the owner, thereby expediting the correction of the dog.
After a little while it should be possible to take the dog into a street frequented by a few people, then into main streets, and in and out of shops. The dog must get accustomed to people passing by and obstructing its path, so that later, when it is taken into crowded parts, it behaves rationally. It may take time to achieve this object but it will certainly be well worth the effort.
The owner must also try to understand that, in all probability, he himself has been responsible for the dog’s becoming nervous, by not taking the dog out and about when he first acquired him. It is, therefore, up to him (or her) to try to remedy the trouble. The excuse that the dog is too big or too difficult to handle is a poor one. Inquiries regarding the possible growth of the animal should have been made when the animal was obtained. In any case now is the opportunity to treat the dog in the correct manner, and to help the dog overcome hand-shyness, by training him in obedience.